"Singing" sustain on bend vibrato- is it a matter of "touch"?

[guitguy26]

I've been getting into practicing bend vibrato, and usually the note tends to die out after a few seconds. I'd like to be able to get the notes to ring out a little longer before they fade. My guitars are set up properly, so I don't think it's the guitar, I think it's more about my abilities as a player.

I think that maybe my abilities to control note duration might improve when my finger callouses harden up a little after some serious practice, and I get a better sense of how to "control" the guitar when bending- figuring out all the subtle nuances of applying bend vibrato, and learning how to apply the exact amount of tension to bends.

Right now, my finger callouses are a little on the "soft" side, and when I'm playing it often seems to be a matter of chance as to exactly how much sustain I can get on a bend, depending on how I'm fretting the string, etc.

Does anyone have any advice on this subject?

[Lee33]

Your finger ends have nothing to do with it as the string is bent over the fret.

 

What you need is more compression and higher levels of overdrive.

 

You can extend the sustain a little longer with vibrato - but not a lot.

 

You need a heavy guitar like a Les Paul so that the energy isn't absorbed into the guitar body.

 

 

 

Lee

[Nickdel]

 

Originally posted by Lee33 Your finger ends have nothing to do with it as the string is bent over the fret. What you need is more compression and higher levels of overdrive. You can extend the sustain a little longer with vibrato - but not a lot. You need a heavy guitar like a Les Paul so that the energy isn't absorbed into the guitar body. Lee

 

 

I disagree. Bending, vibrato, and sustain are ALL a matter of technique. I have a friend who is pretty new to guitar. but he thinks he can compensate for lack of skill with effects. I have seen him click on three distortion pedals at one time, and a compressor. While I think this is stupid, he seems to think it helps. So I showed him that I could get more sustain out of a barely overdriven amp and a strat than he could with all that gain and, yes, a Les Paul. he was dumbfounded, couldn't understand how that could be. I said it's his technique, but he doesn't want to have to bother improving his technique. he just wants to use effects.

 

The point? Without technique, it doesn't matter what you play through. I suggest it's your technique, not your gain levels. In fact, if I were you, I'd practice my bending and vibrato/sustain on an acoustic guitar. If you can do it on that, you can do it on anything.

 

As for a heavier guitar, I play a swamp ash strat - real light! The strat's p-ups have very low output. I play through an almost clean amp. And my sustain is fine. It could be better. I'm working on that.

 

As for a suggestion for technique, the only thing I can say is make sure you are not using too much pressure to fret the note. Use only enough pressure to sound the string. if you use too much pressure, not only will you grind your frets away that much faster, but you will strangle off the note. Also, vibrato adds sustain. I see you're trying to add vibrato to a bend. Make sure you have some helper fingers during the bend. Start with a slow sweeping vibrato, build from there.

 

High gain levels will improve the sustain, but your technique will not improve. Work on technique first. And when you up the gain level, you'll sound even better.

[Lee33]

You can disagree all you like but you are still wrong.

 

Lee

[D8rkn3ss]

Whatever you believe, {censored}ty guitar playing wont sound better through effects. If anything it just amplifies {censored}ty playing in some form.

[Nickdel]

 

Originally posted by D8rkn3ss Whatever you believe, {censored}ty guitar playing wont sound better through effects. If anything it just amplifies {censored}ty playing in some form.

 

 

Exactly! An amplifier does just what it says - it amplifies the sound of your guitar. That's it. If you can't play without an amp, you can't play with an amp.

[Lee33]

 

Originally posted by Nickdel Exactly! An amplifier does just what it says - it amplifies the sound of your guitar. That's it. If you can't play without an amp, you can't play with an amp.

 

 

 

This thread has nothing to do with music - just elementary physics.

 

It's all to do with gain and absorption of energy by materials.

 

 

Lee

[Nickdel]

Originally posted by Lee33 This thread has nothing to do with music - just elementary physics. It's all to do with gain and absorption of energy by materials. Lee

 

So it's impossible to get sustain out of a hollow-body without high gain levels?

[Lee33]

Originally posted by Nickdel So it's impossible to get sustain out of a hollow-body without high gain levels?

 

Listen to Moore's Parisian Walkways - then try it on acoustic.

 

 

Lee

[mattyk]

Listen to Clapton.

 

 

And shut up.

[Lee33]

 

Originally posted by mattyk Listen to Clapton. And shut up.

 

 

 

I have. What's you point?

[Nickdel]

We can talk about players until the sun explodes, it won't get us anywhere.

 

Gain improves sustain. That's obvious. No one is saying this isn't true. But a player with good technique will get better sustain than a player with bad technique. This is also obvious, I hope. Technique should always come before effects. When the technique is mastered - or at least known well, to be realistic - effects will add to a player's sound. To me this is logical. I don't see how taking a poor player and handing him a Les Paul, or any of the other heavier guitars, and all the gain in the world, is supposed to make that poor player sound better.

[ottobahn]

Originally posted by Nickdel We can talk about players until the sun explodes, it won't get us anywhere. Gain improves sustain. That's obvious. No one is saying this isn't true. But a player with good technique will get better sustain than a player with bad technique. This is also obvious, I hope. Technique should always come before effects.

 

CRAP!! I've been plugging in my technique in AFTER the effects.