how to sustain a note
- Thread starter zeynep
- Start date
Well a guitar has it's own sustain and there are a lot of factors that are involved in that:
- Guitar build
- Pickups
-Amp settings
- Pedal
So a guitar build affects the sustain because of how the vibration traverse the body. This really comes down to everything about the guitar: nut, birdge, wood,build... I could go on but frankly that goes into a deeper ''scientific'' discussion that I dont completely grasp myself. I would say that generally, guitars who are neck through (setneck) have much more sustain than bolt on guitars.
Now the pickups. Same principle as with the guitar body in the sense that there is a lot of science behind how the magnets pick up vibrations and all of that. Generally speaking, yes pickups with a higher output can produce more sustain because it will take longer for the magnetic field of the pickup to stop detecting the string. (can be active pickups but there are some passive one with high output that are incredible. Syn's pickup for exemple). And though its an expansive modification, if you want endless sustain, the sustainiac pickup will be your best bet as it produces infinite sustain.
Amp settings also have an effect on that. Putting more gain will make it that the receptive zone is larger and could produce more sustain but there is a much higher risk of feedback and to be honest, it's not the best way to go at it in my humble opinion.
A good solution though would be pedals. A good compressor can and will help in making the notes more even to each other and some more specialized pedals, like the boss compression sustainer, will definitely help with that!
In conclusion, there are a lot of factors that go with sustain. Now Syn himself plays solo that requires a lot of it. First example, the so far away solo. Beautiful and simple solo however to play like syn does, the sustainiac is required as it uses a lot of ''artificial'' sustain. And I say artificial because the sustainiac pickup is the one that does the heavy lifting making all the other parameters like guitar, amp and such irrelevant. But again, that is just one option amongst other. so yeah, here you have comes to my mind that could help you get more sustain. There are a lot of options but really, it's for you to see which one will work best for what you can do as I will grant you that, it can get very expansive! However, there are solutions and i hope you find something that will help!
Good luck!
- Guitar build
- Pickups
-Amp settings
- Pedal
So a guitar build affects the sustain because of how the vibration traverse the body. This really comes down to everything about the guitar: nut, birdge, wood,build... I could go on but frankly that goes into a deeper ''scientific'' discussion that I dont completely grasp myself. I would say that generally, guitars who are neck through (setneck) have much more sustain than bolt on guitars.
Now the pickups. Same principle as with the guitar body in the sense that there is a lot of science behind how the magnets pick up vibrations and all of that. Generally speaking, yes pickups with a higher output can produce more sustain because it will take longer for the magnetic field of the pickup to stop detecting the string. (can be active pickups but there are some passive one with high output that are incredible. Syn's pickup for exemple). And though its an expansive modification, if you want endless sustain, the sustainiac pickup will be your best bet as it produces infinite sustain.
Amp settings also have an effect on that. Putting more gain will make it that the receptive zone is larger and could produce more sustain but there is a much higher risk of feedback and to be honest, it's not the best way to go at it in my humble opinion.
A good solution though would be pedals. A good compressor can and will help in making the notes more even to each other and some more specialized pedals, like the boss compression sustainer, will definitely help with that!
In conclusion, there are a lot of factors that go with sustain. Now Syn himself plays solo that requires a lot of it. First example, the so far away solo. Beautiful and simple solo however to play like syn does, the sustainiac is required as it uses a lot of ''artificial'' sustain. And I say artificial because the sustainiac pickup is the one that does the heavy lifting making all the other parameters like guitar, amp and such irrelevant. But again, that is just one option amongst other. so yeah, here you have comes to my mind that could help you get more sustain. There are a lot of options but really, it's for you to see which one will work best for what you can do as I will grant you that, it can get very expansive! However, there are solutions and i hope you find something that will help!
Good luck!
Physically speaking to create sound you need to have a vibrating wave. This means that the string needs to vibrate at a frequency and an amplitude that makes it audible for the human ear.
To do this you can use distortion but the more effective way would be developing a good vibrato
To do this you can use distortion but the more effective way would be developing a good vibrato
This is a far more complicated question than you probably think it.
"How do I make a note last longer?"
What you're asking about is called sustain, as in, "how long can I sustain this note?"
There are two fundamental parts to this. The first is "How do I keep the string vibrating for as long as possible?" There are natural and artificial ways of doing this.
NATURAL: Proper setup, allowing for the string to have the least contact between fretted spot and bridge. This includes string height, neck bow, and pickup height, and the mass and density of the wood of the guitar (part of why people love Les Pauls). It also includes things like holding the string down with just the right amount of pressure, and also adding some finger vibrato. These methods all eventually fade out.
ARTIFICIAL: Syn's own Sustainiac (or the handheld version, an eBow), which uses a close-range electromagnetic field to make things (ALL THINGS) vibrate. And the "feedback loop," which you can see when the raging metal axe-slinger stands in front of a giant stack of speakers, using the vibrations generated by their own guitar coming through the speakers to make the string keep vibrating. These methods can all be maintained continuously for, really, about as long as you want, but they also require that you actively mute ANYTHING you don't want to make noise.
The second fundamental part is "how do I keep HEARING it, even when it gets quieter," and that is where the magic of COMPRESSION comes in. Compression comes in many forms for guitarists, but the most common is part of gain staging or "distortion." Yes, that same circuitry and tubes that makes a guitar CRUNCH and CHUG makes heavy use of compression. How? The way gain works is to amplify things to radical degrees so they overload the circuits, tubes or valves until the sound distorts, and then it compresses, clips, or limits them back down to a useful level. That's why the artificial harmonics that chime on a clean tone scream and squeal in a high-gain tone - they've been amplified along with everything else, and then squished down to the same usable level.
Alternately, with clean or low-gain tones, you can also use a compressor pedal or effect to achieve the same end without the whole screaming part.
If you provide more details about exactly what you're using and what you're trying to accomplish, I can give a more specific answer.
"How do I make a note last longer?"
What you're asking about is called sustain, as in, "how long can I sustain this note?"
There are two fundamental parts to this. The first is "How do I keep the string vibrating for as long as possible?" There are natural and artificial ways of doing this.
NATURAL: Proper setup, allowing for the string to have the least contact between fretted spot and bridge. This includes string height, neck bow, and pickup height, and the mass and density of the wood of the guitar (part of why people love Les Pauls). It also includes things like holding the string down with just the right amount of pressure, and also adding some finger vibrato. These methods all eventually fade out.
ARTIFICIAL: Syn's own Sustainiac (or the handheld version, an eBow), which uses a close-range electromagnetic field to make things (ALL THINGS) vibrate. And the "feedback loop," which you can see when the raging metal axe-slinger stands in front of a giant stack of speakers, using the vibrations generated by their own guitar coming through the speakers to make the string keep vibrating. These methods can all be maintained continuously for, really, about as long as you want, but they also require that you actively mute ANYTHING you don't want to make noise.
The second fundamental part is "how do I keep HEARING it, even when it gets quieter," and that is where the magic of COMPRESSION comes in. Compression comes in many forms for guitarists, but the most common is part of gain staging or "distortion." Yes, that same circuitry and tubes that makes a guitar CRUNCH and CHUG makes heavy use of compression. How? The way gain works is to amplify things to radical degrees so they overload the circuits, tubes or valves until the sound distorts, and then it compresses, clips, or limits them back down to a useful level. That's why the artificial harmonics that chime on a clean tone scream and squeal in a high-gain tone - they've been amplified along with everything else, and then squished down to the same usable level.
Alternately, with clean or low-gain tones, you can also use a compressor pedal or effect to achieve the same end without the whole screaming part.
If you provide more details about exactly what you're using and what you're trying to accomplish, I can give a more specific answer.
Good question!
There are loads of possible solutions:
1. A strong consistent grip on the note
2. A distorted signal
3. A Compressor in your signal chain
4. An Ebow - this will give you everlasting sustain as it's a Guitar Gadget
It really all depends on what you're aiming to do though
There are loads of possible solutions:
1. A strong consistent grip on the note
2. A distorted signal
3. A Compressor in your signal chain
4. An Ebow - this will give you everlasting sustain as it's a Guitar Gadget
It really all depends on what you're aiming to do though
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