# Anyone ever try/use a E-Bow ?



## thebulldog (Sep 27, 2010)

Hello all, has anyone ever tried an e-bow ?
check a search engine, it seems to have quite the artistic possibilitys,
such as a violin, cello etc

looking forward to any feedback, cheers ... this rounds on me !


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I've used one for many years, usually to emulate string (violin section style) parts, or add ambient tones, but ocassionally to use as a lead instrument. Lots of players hang it from a mic stand to make it easy to pick up and put down.

Ever wonder what a banjo sounds like with sustain? Use an EBow.

Peace, Mooh.


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## hogweed (Jan 16, 2011)

I've used one. It can be tricky to get an even volume happening when you move from string to string because it takes a little time for
the e-bow to "excite" the string and get it to vibrate. Also the little string guide "ridges" can catch the strings.(Apparently the first ones had a smooth chrome surface with no guides). But obviously with technique and patience you should be able to get a flow. I remember seeing Ty Tabor experiment with one using delay/echo and his volume knob for an extended solo in the 90's he didn't cross strings so much as stay on a string and do trills up and down the neck. Also, the Collective Soul lead player had one hanging from his mic stand and used it on a couple songs.
When I first tried it, I had to adjust the pole pieces height on my pickup to get some strings to work better with the E-bow.
I recently saw a youtube vid with E-bow and a looper to create a string quartet-like piece...


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

Yeah I bought one back in the mid 80's and used it for a while. At the time it came with a cassette demoing the sounds you could get with it. I still have it but I haven't used it for years. If you like to experiment you can come up with some pretty good sounds with it depending on which pickup you use and where you place the EBow.


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## Peter (Mar 25, 2008)

Anyone know where the cheapest place to get one is? eBay?


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

A friend of mine bought one years ago--they took some getting used to, and he decided it wasn't his thing, and it broke, so it was never used again.

As for seeing it in use--I saw Blue Oyster Cult live, and an E-bow was used for the long sustaining guitar note in Don't Fear the Reaper.


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## The Lullaby (Dec 8, 2010)

I use one a lot, if you go deeper with it than the guy who will just pick it up and think 'IT'S FOR SILLINESS' then YOU CAN GET SOME GREAT TONEs FROM IT.


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## thebulldog (Sep 27, 2010)

*e-bow source/price*



Peter said:


> Anyone know where the cheapest place to get one is? eBay?


Hello, you can get e-bow Long & Mcquide


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## benisonstar (Feb 11, 2011)

I like mine. It's even better when two guitarists get together and each have one for some neat harmonies and cycling sustaining type voices....worth the money and with a little prctise you can play very quick arps up and down the strings.....the trick is to use your tone and volume knob and volume pedal together to tweak the output to yer amp. get it, just don't use it tooooo much.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

What sorts of string properties bring out the best qualities in an E-Bow? Lighter? heavier? amount of nickel content? wound vs unwound? Do coated strings work as well? Newer better than grimey? I'm curious.


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## benisonstar (Feb 11, 2011)

mhammer said:


> What sorts of string properties bring out the best qualities in an E-Bow? Lighter? heavier? amount of nickel content? wound vs unwound? Do coated strings work as well? Newer better than grimey? I'm curious.


i would say it has more to do with you than the strings. maybe a research project or focus group is in order........


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Let me just emphasize that I don't know that string type/properties matter. I am just asking whether, in anyone's direct or 2nd hand experience, they do. And even if they do, I don't expect it to be a matter of works/doesn't-work, but really more a matter of how long you need to apply the E-Bow to get the string moving, how easily re-energized it is if you back off for a moment, and so on.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

I got one in the mid-70's - a chrome one, with a nice leather holster. It automatically turned on when you got it near a moving string (or when set on a speaker cabinet or near a transformer....). 

Buggering around, I could get trumpet (palm mute with sharp e-bow attack), flute/clarinet, synth/squeely sounds and neat arpeggios (sweep across the strings right over the pickup). But live, I never was good enough with it to do much more than the long, sustained overdrive tones. 

But as an unabashed '70's Nazareth fan, I couldn't live without one. This Flight Tonight, Love Hurts - and I use it for parts in everything from Copperhead Road to the aforementioned Don't Fear The Reaper. Its a fussy piece, but what it does is hard to duplicate any other way.

I've since replaced my 30+ year old fella with a new one with the two mode switch. At least it doesn't kill its battery while sitting on the speaker cabinet.

And as for strings, etc. - I don't think they make much difference. But pickups sure do. I've gotten so used to using it with humbuckers that I can't get what I want out of it with single coils (so it limits my guitar choices for those songs I use it in). And even the difference from low-gain to hi-gain humbuckers can take some getting used to. But definitely not an effect you buy, plug in and get good at right away.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Lots of information here:

The Amazing EBow :: Home

Fwiw, I prefer only one pickup on when using it, only because it makes what I do easier to recall. I don't have a genuine preference between singlecoils or humbuckers, but I think I end up using it more with a humbucker. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## gearalley (Oct 23, 2009)

It's a great tool, but changing strings can be difficult and takes practice. You also have to learn to control the volume of it. Try it with a reverse delay - trippy!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

gearalley said:


> It's a great tool, but changing strings can be difficult and takes practice. You also have to learn to control the volume of it. Try it with a reverse delay - trippy!


True. I rarely use it on the first string, mostly on strings 2 and 3. Volume is easier to control with one pickup and less spikey with a humbucker in my experience, riding a volume pedal for swells is both a safety net and another method for articulating notes. The Ebow one of the required ambient fx for me.

Peace, Mooh.


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## benisonstar (Feb 11, 2011)

mhammer said:


> Let me just emphasize that I don't know that string type/properties matter. I am just asking whether, in anyone's direct or 2nd hand experience, they do. And even if they do, I don't expect it to be a matter of works/doesn't-work, but really more a matter of how long you need to apply the E-Bow to get the string moving, how easily re-energized it is if you back off for a moment, and so on.


 lighter strings will be affected quicker than a heavier string at equal volume settings.....I wouldn't choose my string gauge based on wanting to use an e-bow mind you.


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## whackystrings (Feb 11, 2006)

I have an EBow from circa 1990 that is still with me today (black w/white logo, red light) and bought the dual mode, blue light version used in the past couple of years. I love them, but they are more loved the less they are used. I find them easier to use on my Les Paul with the humbuckers because I believe it compresses the sound, rather than jumping out at you which happens more with single coils (in my experience, anyways). Using it with a volume pedal is great fun and practical for adjusting volume on the fly. Using a harmonizer effect is cool, and I recommend echo. Using one with strong modulation effects or even square-wave tremolo is cool.
Gilmour used one on acoustic guitar...Take It Back and Keep Talking (The Division Bell album) and I like Coldplay's use of one with a slide in "Spies". 
Fun, but not essential. Most people use their wah more than they'd ever use an EBow in a band situation.


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## Deef (Nov 5, 2006)

I've used it often over the years, although I tend to use it as a sound effect (with delays and such) and haven't used it "musically" in any song I've ever written. Mostly just for trippy intros!


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