Ebow techniques, tricks and other cool stuff

[Brant Walkley]

Theres not a lot of stuff out there on the good old ebow.... and its definately an awesome effect.... so I figured that it'd be good to have a thread that discusses various techniques and other cool shit you can do with these things...

I play in a noise rock/post rock/alterna-grunge watevathe**** band and use the ebow in about half of our songs during a set.... sometimes just to build a nice atmosphere or get some controlled feedback, sometimes for some really experimental noise making (such as billy/james from smashing pumpins at the end of 'drown') and then in a couple of songs i play the ebow through the whole song....

basically i've got a few techniques I use that i'll list here, and was hoping anyone else who uses it can list theirs so we can share ideas etc...

I personally think ebow is best when your running a fuzz/dist pedal, I use the big muff exclusively (I have a DS1 and it just squeals). Using the big muff makes it sound much more like controlled feedback of certain pitch rather than like a violin.

Another cool thing is to run a delay as well, with about 500ms or so, this creates a fantastic spacey effect.

I push the ebow in towards the pickups and then release as needed to build the right volume and tone you want, and by bending the notes that you are holding you can warp and shape the sound to create that atmospheric spacey sound I was talking about.

If you push the ebow all the way in so it 'just' touches the string whilst still allowing it to vibrate, it changes the pitch and 'direction' the sound is heading.... really cool to build up the song...

Another really cool thing is to play a chord/note, and then use the ebow to take this note as it begins to fade and build it back up again into a controlled feedback...

And of course the harmonic mode.... I use this mode almost exclusively.

Thats all I can think of at the moment, sorry if you all do this already or if this thread has been done... it just seems to me not many people use the ebow or use it to its full potential.... please post anything about the ebow and the way you play it!

[Stratobuc]

Spicatto effect, where you sweep the ebow across the strings while playing chords creating arpeggios.

Which guitars do you use, and with what pickups?

[DemoColorScheme]

I watched same videos about the different techniques a few days ago on the E-bow website. It was actually quite informative, especially seeing as I don't use it often at it. It's kind of become an obvious sound through out the years.

[Brant Walkley]

stratobuc..... I use a newish fender japanese jag i bought in 2005 with standard fender single coils (or whatever it comes with) and a 94 reissue of a 65 fender japanese mustang, again with standard fender single coils... what do you use? I have never used the ebow on any other guitars, have you and if so what are the variations with different pickups? also when trying that spicatto effect, im the signal drops out as i move to different strings due to the time it takes to get the string i've just moved to vibrating... does this happen to you or am i doing something different?

[Stratobuc]

For that effect you need to sweep the ebow directly on the hotspot over the pickup or it won't work. I normally play single coil pickup guitars (Fenders) but I think the ebow seems to work best with humbuckers.

[drolling]

Originally Posted by Stratobuc

Spicatto effect, where you sweep the ebow across the strings while playing chords creating arpeggios.

I've had a 'red label' since they came out, and I've never been able to get this technique to work for me, in spite of the fact that this model's supposed to produce the strongest magnetic feild

Originally Posted by Stratobuc

For that effect you need to sweep the ebow directly on the hotspot over the pickup or it won't work. I normally play single coil pickup guitars (Fenders) but I think the ebow seems to work best with humbuckers.

I get the best results with high output (neck position) pickups, but regardless, I need to leave the eBow over the hotspot for at least a couple of seconds to drive the string into audible vibration, so my arpeggios are pretty sluggish, at best - but it's a very cool trick I'll continue to work at..

String spacing's a big factor in how well the eBow performs as well. Ideally, you want the two adjacent strings to sit snugly in the guide channels (the 2 grooves on either side of the LED) for the best result

[karma1]

I've been a big fan of Ebows and have been using them since they came out in the 70's. One small tip I can pass on is to try playing with your guitar's tone knob all the way down or on a very low setting. It takes some of the metallic edge off and gives a smoother sound. I also like to bend a string while sustaining it with the Ebow, but the trick is to move the Ebow along with the string while bending rather than holding it stationary.

[Bryan T]

I like to play a melody with the eBow on the B string while playing accompaniment on the E, A, and D strings. I kind of stole this from Ken Rosser, who does the accompaniment with hammer-ons. I pick the notes with my thumb, as I'm playing on an acoustic.

[rah3]

Brant,

As a new member if you search TGP you'll find quite a few posts on Ebow. I have an Ebow quartet located in NYC. We use all the various versions of Ebow. The original chrome model has a very mellow drive. Great for cello and horn tones. The Black/red logo has a heavier drive allowing for arpeggios. The Black white logo has the best drive for string skipping and overdriven tones. The plus is great for getting the high octave on demand. The quartet members prefer the Black white logo of all the Ebows.

You might recognize this tune, but done with all ebows:
http://www.broadness.com/EBOW-Quarte...nding_road.mp3

Here are some ebow pieces:

http://www.soundclick.com/player/sin...&q=hi&newref=1

http://www.soundclick.com/player/sin...&q=hi&newref=1

http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=4901219&q=hi&newref=1

-RAH3

[ItsaRat!]

I use the ebow clean exclusively. It can sound so distorted anyway, and you have tons of control over volume and tone just by where you place the ebow in relation to your neck pickup. I don't do anything revolutionary with it by any means, but I've gotten to a point where I have pretty good control over what I do. I can't wait to check out the ebow quartet when I get home.

www.myspace.com/chrisfrankhauser2

Check out the song, St. Crispin's Day (long intro, and no vocals yet so the ebow stuff is a ways back). This song is by my band and is the only song I've recorded using the ebow.

[karma1]

Originally Posted by rah3

Brant,

As a new member if you search TGP you'll find quite a few posts on Ebow. I have an Ebow quartet located in NYC. We use all the various versions of Ebow. The original chrome model has a very mellow drive. Great for cello and horn tones. The Black/red logo has a heavier drive allowing for arpeggios. The Black white logo has the best drive for string skipping and overdriven tones. The plus is great for getting the high octave on demand. The quartet members prefer the Black white logo of all the Ebows.

You might recognize this tune, but done with all ebows:
http://www.broadness.com/EBOW-Quarte...nding_road.mp3

Here are some ebow pieces:

http://www.soundclick.com/player/sin...&q=hi&newref=1

http://www.soundclick.com/player/sin...&q=hi&newref=1

http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=4901219&q=hi&newref=1

-RAH3

An Ebow quartet - what a cool idea! I was really looking forward to hearing your sound samples but the first link didn't work for me - it came up as "Not Found". I tried the links on Firefox and Safari. The other links went to the soundclick.com homepage and I didn't see where to go for your clips. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I'd definitely like to hear your music.

[GaryE]

[/QUOTE]

What is the chrome ebow 4th from the left? Never seen one like that before.And where can I get one like it?

[94prs22]

Originally Posted by GaryE

What is the chrome ebow 4th from the left? Never seen one like that before.And where can I get one like it?[/QUOTE]

It's a Pedal Steel ebow with 2 drive channels instead of the normal 1. Very rare.

[GaryE]

Thats what I was afraid of ! Now I MUST OWN ONE!I have always wanted a multi string Ebow . I never bonded with the sustainer systems.

[jhc]

Ebows really seem to take to lap steels - must be a function of the high sting tension. Delay + lap steel + ebow = fun

Also like to use it with a wah. Can get a pretty accurate facsimile of the synth into to Wilco's "War on War" using an ebow, wah, and overdrive. Sounds extra cool using a Prunes and Custard as the OD for extra harmonics.