Any tips for simulating an E-bow?

Smittefar

Smittefar

Axe-Master
We have started to rehearse "Rio" with Duran Duran



In the chorus, the guitar is played with an e-bow. I don't own one, and I would not know how to use it. So I am going to fake it.

I intend to use the synth block with an ADSR modifier on the output into drive pedals and amp block. but it would be nice to have a starting point.

Any tips? Is my strategy good at all? Should I try something different.
 
Digitech Freqout emulates my eBow pretty well

Or the feedback emulator patch that's been kicking about for a while might do the trick
 
Honestly : I wouldn't mess too much with effects in this case. Just use the neck pickup, turn down the guitar treble and use a civilized high gain amp (maybe plus compressor). Glue things together with reverb and delay. Nobody will notice if you will have to pluck a string every now and then. I do the same for my Rebell Yell preset to emulate the keyboard lines during the verse.
 
Smittefar said:
Any tips? Is my strategy good at all? Should I try something different.
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An off the wall idea is place a parallel series Reverb block with 80% mix in front of your Amp/Cab combo and have the "Hold" feature of that reverb enabled with a CS1 or CS2? The only downside is it's one particular note, not multiple...

Synth block may also work in that case for that specific spot of the song same signal path as above. Or a chorus in Pre-FX.
 
I like David Gilmour's trick.

You probably know it, but here it is:

You get a metal slide, you sand it in one area, in its whole length, until it loses it smoothness, and then you put it in your finger like a regular slide. Then you slide it up and down, perpendicular to the string length, like a violin bow. And there it is!
 
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@Smittefar Couple of E-Bow tips. It sounds much better if you slightly roll back the treble on the neck pick up. It is unusable on the bridge pickup. You can control the sound by adjusting the distance between the E Bow and the pickup. When you first get the E Bow, try starting with it far away from the pickup, and then slowly glide it towards the pickup. Listen carefully to what that does to the sound. With a little bit of practice you can control the sound you want. The E Bow has grooves to ride the adjacent strings. It vibrates the string directly under the magnet. All of the middle strings are pretty easy to play because the E Bow rides on the adjacent strings. Obviously, it cannot do this on the first or 6th string. They are more difficult to master, but with a bit of practice you should be OK.

I prefer the sound with some reverb and just a hint of delay, but with some experimentation, a great player like you will find the sound you are looking for. I personally find it sounds more ethereal if I play the melody lines moving up and down the same string. You get an interesting sound moving from string to string, (simply slide the E Bow over a different string to change strings). You can also achieve an interesting sound by raking the E Bow across the strings, as you would if you were strumming. The trick to this is to hold the E Bow flat as you strum. It sounds almost like a violin.

Back in my Supernal Endgame days, I played the E Bow on a few of our recorded songs. Check out Supernal Endgame Touch the Sky Volume II. I played E Bow on "White Flag" and "The Endgame". On Endgame, my E Bow comes in right about the 5:30 point. There is an interlude on White Flag that also has my E Bow. When playing live, I stretched out the E Bow parts because it just sounds so cool. I do hope you enjoy playing your E Bow as much as I do. Such a great sound.
 
Just to add to these great tips, I find the B string to be the easiest for ebow, so maybe start there. Also, if you have a hard time getting the string vibration started, just pluck it with the fretting hand to jump start it, then move the ebow close and it should continue.
 
Geezerjohn said:
I have been using and E Bow for years. It adds an interesting texture and harmonic frequencies that I doubt you’ll be able to obtain any other way. It does take a little bit of practice to get used to using one, but it is easily mastered. I would give it a shot
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+1

there is no substitute ... YMMV
 
You can also do interesting things by raising the back of the EBow so it's not parallel with the strings, or by inverting it's orientation (pointing the "curved" part to towards the headstock vs away from it), pressing it down on a string that is currently resonating, etc.

You'll be surprised at how much drive it will create on a clean sound.

Finding the sweet spot on your guitar is good... Then you can use that to swell or fade the volume.

I need to go find a 9 volt battery and fire mine up... It's been a few years!
 
I recently replaced my 1990s E Bow with a new one (2017) and it has an extra switch that brings out the harmonics very strong. I think it must change the frequency that the magnets are normally running at. I plan to make a detector one of these days so I can look at the field it produces. (So many plans, so little time.) The E Bow is a wonderful device IMHO. Check out "Heroes" by David Bowie, there are several live videos that show it being used. Then there's Jimmy Page who just used a real violin bow; that way you can play chords. The real bow is more difficult I think. I had no trouble getting used to the E Bow. Good luck!
A further tip: you can use it on steel strung acoustic guitar too. And, if you position it over a harmonic interval (like touching the string as you pick it) it will bring out the harmonic of that point.
 
RogerAF said:
I recently replaced my 1990s E Bow with a new one (2017) and it has an extra switch that brings out the harmonics very strong. I think it must change the frequency that the magnets are normally running at. I plan to make a detector one of these days so I can look at the field it produces. (So many plans, so little time.) The E Bow is a wonderful device IMHO. Check out "Heroes" by David Bowie, there are several live videos that show it being used. Then there's Jimmy Page who just used a real violin bow; that way you can play chords. The real bow is more difficult I think. I had no trouble getting used to the E Bow. Good luck!
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I think that's called Ebow+ or something. I think it's raises the resonant frequency by a 5th or an octave, if my memory is correct.

Edit:

The website says "rich upper harmonics" :)
 
unix-guy said:
I think that's called Ebow+ or something. I think it's raises the resonant frequency by a 5th or an octave, if my memory is correct.

Edit:

The website says "rich upper harmonics" :)
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That sounds right. I've been trying to work on my technique for switching back and forth between normal and "plus'. I think a push-button would be very helpful. I would try to mod it myself, but it is a glued case and I'm afraid of breakage.
 
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