E-bow Magic...

[mobis8]

Check this out...

I just got an e-bow recently so I decided to check out some clips to see if I could find some non-obvious ways to use it.

This dude is insane with this thing.

He actually pulls off a very convincing BAG PIPE sound...(check out at 2:09)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwq0i6jP7dQ

Also - what is he using to get that breath like effect?

 

[placebo62]

that was great. i'd like to know how to get the bagpipe sound too

 

[geetarman]

That reminds me of using the Ebow to cop the bag pipe sounds on "In a Big Country" many moons ago.

 

[bhelvick1]

Keaggy is the MAN.

 

[this1smyne]

i saw him use it on an acoustic live.... was pretty epic. won't even deny it.

 

[jfromel]

Keaggy is incredible, I have seen him live a few times, it's really amazing how much music he gets out of his guitar.

 

[fr8_trane]

Man the youtube posts are pretty funny.

Its pretty obvious there's a loud rhythmic delay that he's using to get the cascading arpeggio effect and a volume pedal for swells... no looper or special gear necessary. Its the old VH cathedral effect taken to a higher level. using the ebow takes it to another level of coolness.

Speaking of which here's Yngwee doing something similar without the ebow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvxPui7s4so

 

[drolling]

He's using a *vintage* chrome model as well.. I'd love to track one down, as it obviously generates a much 'hotter' magnetic field than the black one I've had for years.

The string skipping he's doing, for example; completely impossible to do with mine, as you've got to leave the ebow directly over a string for almost a second to get enough vibration going to generate an audible tone.

Been meaning to try the current production grey model for some time now - thanks for posting!!

 

[hudpucker]

There are four major iterations of the Ebow.

The first was the chromed model which has no on/off switch (senses string automatically). It is the weakest and slowest of all the versions but is also probably the 'sweetest' sounding as well.

The second version is black with red script. It is MUCH louder and more powerful than the first version but is still fairly 'slow' compared to version three (black with white script).

The newest version has a new 'harmonic' mode with a purple LED.

Personally, I prefer version 2 for its raucous sound but someone like rah3 (who is in an Ebow-centric ensemble) prefers version 3.

 

[fr8_trane]

Cool. I love the holster.

Tell me about the harmonic mode? I've been meaning to pick up an ebow for about 15 years and just never got around to it.

 

[mobis8]

Mine has the harmonic mode. Instead of just the natural note sustaining, it shifts it to a sustain in the harmonic of that note. Kind of like if you hit a note on the 5th fret, then do a harmonic at the 5th fret; just across the whole fretboard.

 

[kludge]

Cool. I love the holster.

Tell me about the harmonic mode? I've been meaning to pick up an ebow for about 15 years and just never got around to it.

I meant to get an EBow for 15 years, too. Then I got one, and have spent the past year or so absolutely boggled that I lived without one for so long! If I had to have just ONE effect, it'd be an EBow.

Harmonic mode is... well, behaviorally, it makes it much more likely that your sustained note will turn into a harmonic rather than the fundamental, although you can coax harmonics out of regular mode, too. Harmonic mode also makes it a little harder to get the strings going to start with, and harder to control.

Implementation-wise, the EBow is just two magnetic fields pulsing at an angle to each other, and I think for harmonics mode they just change the phase of one of those fields, which changes the drive behavior.

Playing an EBow is in many ways similar to playing with controlled feedback, so the results of changes like harmonic mode are about as difficult to explain as the difference between playing feedback through a Tube Screamer versus a fuzz.

 

[kludge]

I should add that the EBow is VERY sensitive to your neck pickup choice, and some guitars work far better than others. Keaggy's ability to play cross-string arpeggios is probably tied to a specific guitar. Remember, the EBow is reacting to the pickup's magnetic field, so it "hears" differences in pickups that we may not. My EBow works about ten times better on my Schecter with a Z90 neck pickup than it does on my Tele with a mini-humbucker. The Schecter can do the arpeggio thing if I'm careful.

 

[Andre357]

makes me want to dig mine out and use it tonight !!!!

brilliant.

 

[mobis8]

Keaggy is the MAN.

I am starting to believe this after checking out his bio on wikipedia. Funny that he has been voted the best fingerpicking guitar player, yet he is missing a finger on his right hand lol... Amazing.

And it is rumored that Jimi Hendrix labeled him as the best guitar player in the world...

 

[this1smyne]

he would deny that. or at least he did when we were driving him around charleston for his gig... extremely humble to boot.

 

[starfish]

I should add that the EBow is VERY sensitive to your neck pickup choice, and some guitars work far better than others. Keaggy's ability to play cross-string arpeggios is probably tied to a specific guitar. Remember, the EBow is reacting to the pickup's magnetic field, so it "hears" differences in pickups that we may not. My EBow works about ten times better on my Schecter with a Z90 neck pickup than it does on my Tele with a mini-humbucker. The Schecter can do the arpeggio thing if I'm careful.

Yes, that is my experience as well. My 335 using neck pickup is easy, much more difficult with a Rickenbacker. I have the first version chrome and second black w/ red. The first version is weaker as someone noted.

I also think part of the magic of the earlier versions is playing into the harmonic instead of just flipping a switch to get there.

Dueling Ebows:
The Church covering The Endless Sea
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u54XxMfV2us

 

[Pat Healy]

And it is rumored that Jimi Hendrix labeled him as the best guitar player in the world...

That's urban legend (check Snopes.com), but Phil is an absolutely amazing player and person. I was fortunate to share the stage with him and spend some time around him in the early 1990's, and his spirit is just as brilliant as his musical ability.

And there's no better guy on earth with the Ebow.

 

[shngn7]

Wow that was absolutely insane!

 

[rotren]

cool video!