What does Syn do in So Far Away?

[Sayonil Mitra]

In the first half of the song, sometimes a note has a high pitched, shrieking tail end to it. It sounds like some artificial harmony but I am not sure. I really love that vibe, let’s say, the aftertaste of those notes in that solo. I am clueless about how to do it, how to bring out that tone? Help Please. To point out what I am exactly looking for, go to 2:06 or 5:20

 

[Filip Tomiša]

I’m guessing he probably does a pitch harmonic and then uses his whammy bar. Could be wrong though.

 

[Jak Angelescu]

At 2:06 it’s a volume swell I think with a hell of a lot of feedback. Normally with high gain and reverb you can do something like that. Sometimes I do it on accident but I notice it’s only when I have really high gain and good reverb. And at 5:20 he’s doing a vibrato and controlling it enough to where when held out, feedback starts. It takes a lot of gain and reverb.
I may not be 100% right but I only have these suggestions as this effect has happened to me on accident when I’ve turned on more reverb and higher gain, rolled back on the bass and mids just a little and allowed the feedback to happen.

 

[Dan Shipway]

It may be the sustainiac

 

[Gabriel Corso]

I think he does use the sustainiac Pickup option for this parts.
It can build a pretty high gain feedback haha.
The newer models of the Synyster guitars have this options.

 

[idssdi]

I think is it’s the sustainiac. Reproducing a sustainiac without actually having one is pretty hard.

 

[Sayonil Mitra]

Wow, such wonderful insights. Thanks guys. So one thing is for sure, I can’t get this effect with my current guitar…a fender strat with rusty single coil pickups.

 

[idssdi]

@Sayonil that’s usually what I think too but for whatever reason people seem to be able to do it anyway so maybe experimenting a bit works. It does seem to be pretty easy to let strats feedback when you use enough gain(a sustainiac basically creates feedback)

 

[Ed Seith]

The one at 2:06 is a natural harmonic hit with the bar depressed, and then allowed to return to pitch. At 5:20, a regular note is fading out, but generating a feedback loop. This is done with high gain and high volume (in-room) – this cannot be done with headphones or direct input, and it also can’t be done if you’re using a drop pedal or similarly using signal processing to alter pitch. It is the result of a vibration being produced by the guitar, amplified through the amp and speaker, and that output going back into the guitar’s pickup. It can be accomplished at lower volumes by holding the guitar with the pickup close to and facing the speaker cone you’re pushing sound through.
This can be done with a Sustainiac, but that is by NO MEANS required, and you will definitely be able to do it with a Strat, as long as you’re playing with high gain and at a good in-room volume.

 

[Ed Seith]

The feedback at 5:20, I always interpreted how Syn cuts that note off sharply when it was just “getting good” to be metaphorical for Jimmy’s life. That ending was what made me believe that Syn was doing more than just noodling wickedly and that he was really putting deep thought into a lot of what he did.
For whatever that’s worth.

 

[Sayonil Mitra]

Thanks Ed. I really did not think of the interpretation you came up with, about Syn cutting of the note. Ya, it makes perfect sense. It is surprising that, even after listening to a song 100 times, we can miss certain aspects of thought process of the artist behind the song.That was superb observation Ed.
As far as the technical stuff you said, I will keep that in mind. I will try and see how much feedback I can manage to get.

 

[Ed Seith]

https://www.fender.com/articles/tech-talk/friend-or-foe-a-feedback-primer

 

[Andrew Fernandes]

Its a sustaniac before the solo it sounds like he either uses a volume peddle or he doesnt pick the note and just taps on it. I tried to replicate it here some parts are better than others, disregard the main solo bit. https://www.instagram.com/p/BmJN_DmFyF2/?taken-by=a7xentertainment

 

[Sayonil Mitra]

Sure I will check it out

 

[Sayonil Mitra]

Ed, that was a very helpful article. Thanks man.
Andrew, I loved those squeals in that solo. Sometimes it felt a bit overwhelming bit it was crisp.