Introducing the EBow

Guitars and other fretted instruments provide musicians a great expressive outlet.

However, guitars suffer from two major problems:

Notes on guitar quickly decay

&

Fretted instruments like guitar all produce some degree of twang

Depending on what you are playing, the twang and quick note decay of the guitar is not necessarily a bad thing.

That being said, guitarists cannot sustain a note for an infinitesimal amount of time nor can they produce the clean sound akin to fretless instruments until now.

What is the EBow

The EBow or energy bow is a handheld electromagnetic used to create effects similar to that of strings, horns, and woodwind instruments

Jimmy Page Playing With Bow
Photo Credit: Bob Gruen

First introduced at the National Association of Music Merchants in 1976, the EBow relies on a feedback loop between the guitar’s pickup and the EBow’s string driver to produce an electromagnetic field that amplifies the strings vibrations. This ultimately creates an infinite sustain similar to that of bowed instruments.

By reversing the current thru the output coil of the EBow the fundamental frequency of the string decreases in intensity and the harmonics of the string can be played. On the current EBow model, the PlusEBow, this feature is integrated into the device through a switch which allows the user to change from "Standard" to “Harmonic Mode”.

Currently, EBows sell for around $100 a piece.

Who Uses the EBow?

There is a long list of artists who have and still use the EBow.

The first notable use of the EBow was in the song Carpet Crawlers by Genesis.

EBow has been used extensively by fretless bassist Michael Manring who sometimes uses more than one EBow at once to create amazing ethereal effects.

Michael Manring Jamming
Photo Credit: Philippe Lissart

This amazing device has also been used by Pink Floyd, the Cure, Bela Fleck, Kiss, Pearl Jam… The list just goes on and on.

Limitations of the EBow

The EBow was specifically designed for guitar. Therefore it can be difficult to use it on the electric bass. However, as pointed out above Michael Manring has been able to overcome the limitations.

EBow Over Humbucker Pickups
Photo Credit: Paul J. Marossy

Similarly, EBows work best on humbucker pickups. If you are using a single coil pickup or an acoustic guitar with an electric pickup, the playing area is smaller and the tone produced is thinner.

At the same time, the EBow cannot play more than one string at a time unlike hybrid picking and finger picking styles.

Although the EBow has some disadvantages, it allows guitar players to unlock a whole new world of sound on their instrument. If you have the cash you will not regret investing in an EBow.

Source:

http://www.ebow.com