EBOW CLONE

[rayc]

I was getting tired of parcels arriving and nothing being for me...my wife even gets her cigarettes delivered now...so I ordered something I've been looking at for decades...well I've been wondering about the REAL Ebow anyway.
I bought the Joyo Infinite Sustainer.....EBow clone.
At AUS$110 delivered it's not cheap but then, not as expensive as a good pedal.

JOYO-JGE-Ebow (10)-800x800.jpg

First thing is that it came with a battery installed and a spare...ominous in terms of charge life.
Secondly I had a sore wrist/hand after experimenting with it for an hour - it's not heavy but it's a different angle, movement and requires consistency so muscle tension.
Thirdly it's complicated. I fluffed about for an hour and left it alone for a day then dug up some how to videos...they really helped me a lot.

CONS
It doesn't "DO" the E strings easily...requires a different angle and more grip consistency. When that's achieved they both sound good but it's a learning curve for me.
I WAS WRONG ABOUT THIS. IT WAS MY FAULT. (It isn't great going higher than the 12th fret...that,) along with sweet spot placement, are a matter of having enough string length to vibrate easily.
The harmonic mode is a bit harsher than the "normal" mode.
The top end needs to be rolled back on guitar and amp as the thing generated a lot of it.
String crossing generates a bit of clank which is almost unavoidable.
It can get loud very quickly with just a small movement forward or backward.
The complications & learning curve do encourage single string use.

PROS
It's fun
It LOVES overdrive and distortion
It sounds good to my ears
That feeling of being Robert Fripp playing Heroes is easily acquired though actually doing it well is another matter.

INTERESTING
I placed a sustain pedal between the guitar and the amp with a just a bit of sustain and that was enough to allow me to switch strings without it being too obvious/clunky.

I recorded with it yesterday...I didn't keep anything as it was an already dense project...and it records really well DI or from an amp.
Given my propensity for drones and stringy synthy guitar things it'll get plenty of use I suspect.
I will do a demo when I've spent a little longer with it.

Here's a quick glimpse ...I recorded sep tracks L & R to show how nicely they blend and I threw an attempt at arpeggio in the middle.

brunowebow.mp3

These Ebow tracks were recorded DI so they aren't flavoured by an amp or pedal.
It's more fun with an amp and, I think, a little more controllable PLUS feedback adds to the joy.
Crappy playing of course but it's a demo of a cheap clone of a now old technology...there's another clone on the market that's a little dearer than this one.

[Greg_L]

They are difficult to use. Good on you for trying it out and sticking with it.

[Armistice]

@rayc !! I would have lent you my actual eBow indefinitely... one of those things I thought would be handy but I just can't be arsed dealing with. I did get reasonable at it, though.

[Tadpui]

I keep forgetting that I even have an e-bow, but I do really enjoy it when I find a good application for it in a song.

I agree with all of your points...it's a surprisingly difficult thing to use, for such a simple concept.

I love layering it a couple/few times and having an e-bow orchestra type thing going, with intertwining melodies. There's some cool possibilities, glad to hear that you're powering through the learning curve!

[vomitHatSteve]

I tried out an ebow on my bass once. I liked the idea, but just couldn't get it to do anything fun consistently.

Back in college, my lead guitarist had an e-bow feature built into one of his pickups. That worked great!

[Tadpui]

I tried out an ebow on my bass once. I liked the idea, but just couldn't get it to do anything fun consistently.

Back in college, my lead guitarist had an e-bow feature built into one of his pickups. That worked great!

Was that the Fernandez Sustainer? I vaguely remember those pickups built into guitars in the late 80s and early 90s.

[Greg_L]

The sustainer. Pure madness.

[JD01]

I played on a Fernández with a sustainer once. It was fun. Reckon it would become annoying if you owned one though.

[Lt. Bob]

sustainiac I believe one pickup is called.

[vomitHatSteve]

I don't recall the brand, but it might have been.

JD, you could toggle it on and off by pushing in one of the volume knobs. Was the one you tried always on? That would be awful.

[JD01]

I don't recall the brand, but it might have been.

JD, you could toggle it on and off by pushing in one of the volume knobs. Was the one you tried always on? That would be awful.

Yeah, it was a button or a switch or something and you could change it to harmonic mode which was cool. Just sounded like nice feedback from what I remember

[liv_rong]

Fuck yeah! I’ve wanted one forever but never bit the bullet, also due to price. Maybe I’ll think about this.

[rayc]

Audio sample in OP

[JD01]

Well, it appears to work! A slightly more adventurous and less dry tone might be easier on the ear! Sounds almost like a sine wave generator!

[rayc]

Well, it appears to work! A slightly more adventurous and less dry tone might be easier on the ear! Sounds almost like a sine wave generator!

Yeah, it does. I didn't want to "flavour" the 1st demo though.

[CrowsofFritz]

Sounds like a synth. You can hear some subtle overtones, too.

[Greg_L]

The only problem with that is there's no movement or variation. It's monotone and lifeless. That's a technique thing. You got the basics of it working, now learn how to use it. Make it musical.

[vomitHatSteve]

I think it takes a lot of arrangement to get an e-bow to sit right. When I think of good mixes with them, I think of dense, dense Smashing Pumpkins songs.

[rayc]

The only problem with that is there's no movement or variation. It's monotone and lifeless. That's a technique thing. You got the basics of it working, now learn how to use it. Make it musical.

Agreed,
this wasn't a demo of anything but the straight sustain and the arpeggio thing.
I was BORING holding it still for that length of time I can tell you.
Some reverb, some EQ roll off, some dirt and some actual 'playing" would see a better thing.'

[rayc]

Sounds like a synth. You can hear some subtle overtones, too.

Yep, the overtone switch makes them more prominent BUT dry it's harsh and not pleasant.