Sustainer-Ebow - Difference and availability

[WMerkert]

Whats the difference getting a tone from a sustainer or an Ebow? What sustainer uses Vai, where in Germany is it available and what are the costs ? Many questions, no answers.

[bduersch]

I have an ebow, which I used to use religiously but haven't used as much lately, but I've never played a guitar with a sustainer. So what I'm saying here may be completely wrong!

I think the biggest difference between the sustainer & ebow is that the ebow only works on one string at a time, while the sustainer can work across all 6 (7) strings at once.

That said, I think there would be some different technique required for each. I think the sustainer would require you to mute all the strings but the ones you want to sound, which could take some getting used
to. The ebow probably provides greater versatility, because you can hold it at different locations on the string, fade in & out by moving on and off the string, and even sweep across strings with it, but of course, the downside is that it only works on one string at a time.

--B

[Metal7000]

if you manipulate the Ebow correctly, you can also bring out the 3rd partial (an octave and a 5th above the fundamental note). *it sounds really cool.

jon

[SteveW]

I have a Jackson PC1 with A Floyd Rose sustainer and you guys are not quite right about the sustainer.
An EBOW (I've tried one a few times) is quite an "agressive" tool that actively vibrates the string (one at a time) and thus requires no picking. A sustainer system is more "natural" and kicks in on a held note or chord, but still by physically vibrating the string. You can adjust the intensity of the effect (which changes how soon it kicks in) and also add in a harmonic mode. Again this is all just by vibrating the string.
There is no change in technique required - you can play the guitar exactly as you normally would as far as muting etc. is concerned you just have this extra long smooth sustain available if you want it.
If anyone is interested, the Floyd sustainer is different to the one found on the Fernandes guitars in that it still allows you to select pickups when using the sustainer, which they do not.

It's a fantastic system *- wish I had one on my RG1077XL!

Hope that helps!

[WMerkert]

Steve, please can you tell me a source to aquire a Floyd sustainer ?
Wolfgang

[darren wilson]

As far as i know, there are only two places you can get a Floyd Rose Sustainer: on a used Kramer model that came equipped with one, or new on a Jackson PC1 Phil Collen guitar. I don't know if the cheap Kramer Infinity sustainer guitars sold on MusicYo.com are based on the Floyd Rose design. Jackson also has a limited run of DK-2s with the Sustainiac Stealth Plus pre-installed.

The other option is to buy either an aftermarket Fernandes sustainer kit or a Sustainiac Stealth or Stealth Plus unit.

Both the Fernandes and Sustainiac units only let you use the bridge pickup in the sustain mode, due to the extremely high output the unit produces. Microphonic feedback would result if you used a pickup closer to the neck position transducer, and i suspect this is also the case with the Floyd Rose Sustainer.

What made the Floyd Rose Sustainer unique when it first came out was that it was the first magnetic sustainer unit that let you use the sustainer transducer as a pickup when the sustainer was turned off, not that it allowed you to switch pickups when the sustainer was active. Since both the Fernandes model and the Sustainiac Stealth Plus now allow this behaviour as well, the Floyd Rose Sustainer's benefits are few, if any.

[WMerkert]

Thanx guys!