What Do You Know About The EBOW?

[MikeRivers]

So then the magnet "drives" the string by attracting and repelling the string at a rate equal to the notes frequency?

Yes. It's a feedback thing. The eBow picks up the vibration of the string, amplifies that voltage, and feeds it to a coil which drives the string. The result is that the vibration is sustained as long as the "pickup" coil is close enough to sense the string's vibration and the "drive" coil is close enough to the string to drive it hard enough to sustain vibration.

 

Both coils can actually be the same coil (though I don't know what's actually inside of an eBow). It's done with mirrors and a man inside the box.

[BATCAT]

Yeah, this is true. It certainly works great in a two-guitar band. I have never been able to play the E-Bow in my trio, though, because it takes too long to switch between E-Bow and non-E-bow mode. I've used it in the studio on overdubs, but the only time I've been able to use it live is in my second band, where there's another guitarist who can hold the rhythm down while I mess around on E-Bow and other leads.

 

Ha, yeah. I was playing in a two-guitar lineup (but a song where we really need to both be playing) and we were doing a song where I'd done an ebow/slide lead bit on the recording. Basically it came down to me having about three to four seconds to put my pick away, grab a slide, grab an ebow, and step on a couple pedals, play the part... then do all that in reverse at the end.

 

I ended up just playing the part normally with lots of overdrive and reberb.

[Lee Flier]

LOL... yeah... exactly. A little too much to do in too little time there.

[ggm1960]

Yes. It's a feedback thing. The eBow picks up the vibration of the string, amplifies that voltage, and feeds it to a coil which drives the string. The result is that the vibration is sustained as long as the "pickup" coil is close enough to sense the string's vibration and the "drive" coil is close enough to the string to drive it hard enough to sustain vibration. Both coils can actually be the same coil (though I don't know what's actually inside of an eBow). It's done with mirrors and a man inside the box.

 

A positive feedback loop, cool!

 

Well, I feel fairly certain that I'm going to order one before the week is over.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Yeah, this is true. It certainly works great in a two-guitar band. I have never been able to play the E-Bow in my trio, though, because it takes too long to switch between E-Bow and non-E-bow mode.

 

 

This was challenging at times in my band, but I also played keyboards, so I made a tray and attached it to my keyboard via industrial-strength Velcro so I could put the eBow down somewhere. But yes, it's definitely easier in a two-guitar band unless you play fairly sparsely, which we did often do.

 

I use it with analog delay (sometimes two, one shorter one, one longer one) and a volume pedal to either ease in to some of the notes or to simply control the volume better. I almost never used it with overdrive or anything like that.

[Coaster]

here's a fun one - try an ebow on a grand piano. it doesnt work on all the strings but does work on the middle strings. press the dameper pedal, then wait. it takes several minutes to notice the sound but after that it gets REALLY LOUD.

 

go on, try it. i dare you.

[UstadKhanAli]

Oh, that sounds really fun.

[halfnote]

 

Yeah, this is true. It certainly works great in a two-guitar band. I have never been able to play the E-Bow in my trio, though, because it takes too long to switch between E-Bow and non-E-bow mode. I've used it in the studio on overdubs, but the only time I've been able to use it live is in my second band, where there's another guitarist who can hold the rhythm down while I mess around on E-Bow and other leads.

 

The best way to avoid such gaps in presentation is to have something else happening to cover the switchover. It can be another instrumental part or a sonic creation such as a delayed line from yer gtr.

 

SIDE POINT:

The above comments, from LF & others on the subject of time-gaps using EBow live, are valid points but I suggest that the differentiation be made between playing with another instrument, esp a harmonic inst, & in a trio, rather than just playing "with another gtr".

 

Personally, I've never seen/heard the attraction of playing with another instrument that basically & primarily made the same sounds as what I play.

FWIW, to hear how even a monophonic trio can cover some rich ground, check out Colin Hodgekinson's band Back Door (vocals/bass, sax & drums) from the mid-1970s.

[ggm1960]

 

I still have the silver model, and it still works

 

 

These must be sought after. I was surprised to see one go for $200 on eBay the other night, that's twice the price of a new one!

[Chad-Chicago]

:thu:Just scored one off of CL for $40. I totally dig it!

 

This vid made me want one.... Ebow starts at 3:35ish

[video=youtube;t5EO8tEpVYg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5EO8tEpVYg

[UstadKhanAli]

Congrats! They're a lot of fun!!! Try one with a slide too.

[Bookumdano2]

Ebow... never thought of trying it on a piano. I'll have to open up the little Ebow leather case and try that. It usually sits on a self year after year. In fact, I may try that on pedal steel too. The old Bosstone Fuzz that sits next to the Ebow used to be cool for getting sorf of violin sound from the pedal steel.

 

Gizmotron ... uggh ... bought that. The white wheels were plastic. You had to use a teeny tiny screwdriver to get in their to re-angle the little wheels to hit the strings. never worked. hunka junk. sounded terrible. completely wasted $500 and you had to driill it on to your guitar too. I had the bass model. junk. still have the holes and the mounting clamp on that one bass. Gizmotron ranks right up there with the Arp Avatar as the worse investments I ever bought ... that also didn't become magic "vintage" caliber in later eons.

[angstwulf]

This was challenging at times in my band, but I also played keyboards, so I made a tray and attached it to my keyboard via industrial-strength Velcro so I could put the eBow down somewhere. But yes, it's definitely easier in a two-guitar band unless you play fairly sparsely, which we did often do. I use it with analog delay (sometimes two, one shorter one, one longer one) and a volume pedal to either ease in to some of the notes or to simply control the volume better. I almost never used it with overdrive or anything like that.

 

For me it's E-bow and a looping delay pedal. Yum.

 

I tried tying one end of a string to the e-bow and another to: my wrist, my guitar (around the volume knob post) and finally the guitar strap. The first two were not good ideas.

 

I didn't know about the dual e-bows. I recall seeing Rob Dean of Japan playing one (I think it's caught on the solo for the Quiet Life video) and always thought that he combined two with duct tape, hence the silver color.

[rasputin1963]

Wow... Can't believe I've never heard of the eBow... Is that how Big Country achieved that quasi-bagpipe effect in "In A Big Country" ?

[ggm1960]

 

Is that how Big Country achieved that quasi-bagpipe effect in "In A Big Country" ?

 

 

Seems to me that you'd have to move it around too fast to be able to pull that off.

[UstadKhanAli]

Wow... Can't believe I've never heard of the eBow... Is that how Big Country achieved that quasi-bagpipe effect in "In A Big Country" ?

 

This may answer your question!!!

 

[video=youtube;SUxOJr1RseQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUxOJr1RseQ

[UstadKhanAli]

For me it's E-bow and a looping delay pedal. Yum. I tried tying one end of a string to the e-bow and another to: my wrist, my guitar (around the volume knob post) and finally the guitar strap. The first two were not good ideas.

 

I thought of doing that, and actually started doing it and realized that only bad could come of that.

 

I didn't know about the dual e-bows. I recall seeing Rob Dean of Japan playing one (I think it's caught on the solo for the Quiet Life video) and always thought that he combined two with duct tape, hence the silver color.

 

Wow, I know absolutely nothing of that! Interesting!!!!!!

[Jeff da Weasel]

Seems to me that you'd have to move it around too fast to be able to pull that off.

 

You don't have to move the eBow... think of it like a pick that keeps a-pickin'. You just move your fretting hand to hit notes, which is how "In a Big Country" was done.

[ggm1960]

You don't have to move the eBow... think of it like a pick that keeps a-pickin'. You just move your fretting hand to hit notes, which is how "In a Big Country" was done.

 

Yeah duh, what was I thinking?

This might also work great for that bagpipe solo in Long Way To The Top.

[Jeff da Weasel]

Yeah duh, what was I thinking?

 

The same thing many people think... that you'd use it like a slide, which was what I also assumed before using one.

[ggm1960]

The same thing many people think... that you'd use it like a slide, which was what I also assumed before using one.

 

Yeah but I knew better, I have actually had one in my hand before and even if I hadn't it should be pretty obvious from the many posts in this thread! I fired before loading!

[angstwulf]

 

Seems to me that you'd have to move it around too fast to be able to pull that off.

 

 

I'd have to look back at some concert video but I think the main riff to In a Big Country was picked. He also used a MXR pitch shifter, reverb and overdrive/compression to get his signature sound. If you go back to his guitar work in the Skids (expecially The Absolute Game) you can hear his sound in its earliest stages. I don't think that he was using the E-Bow in those days but a lot of his leads were starting to get that bagpipe sound.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Yeah but I knew better, I have actually had one in my hand before and even if I hadn't it should be pretty obvious from the many posts in this thread! I fired before loading!

 

 

I've seen people move it around from string to string, which requires a lot of practice and talent. And they'll get these amazing arco string sounds and arpeggios that are really interesting texturally.

 

I basically just place it on one string and then fret the strings like normal (or play slide), although sometimes I will move it closer to/away from a pick-up to get a volume swelling effect that is different tonally from what I would get from a volume pedal, often doing the two in conjunction. There are a lot of tonal variations that one can get from simply where it's being held, just like using a pick.