e-bow on acoustic guitar?

[blue on blue]

has anybody used an e-bow on an acoustic guitar? if so, what kind of results did you get? i'm thinking of buying one, but since i only own an acoustic guitar, i'm not sure if it's the wisest purchase. thanks.

[cptgone]

I don't think it would work with nylon strings.

[lunarhalo]

The response of the string to the proximity of the ebow will be weak. The ebow works best with steel or nickel formulations of string and a magnetic pickup to drive it a bit harder. Of course the effect width the acoustic may be desirable for what you are trying to achieve. I have used the ebow on a 12 string acoustic, slow attack with better response on the higher strings (unwound).

[blue on blue]

i use a 6-string, steel string acoustic, not nylon strings. a friend said he thought the interaction between the e-bow and the pickups helped to achieve its sound, so thanks for confirming his theory. guess i'll probably look into something else for now, since i can't really afford to buy an electric.

[P.T.]

Go down to the local shop and try it out.

[AndrewSimon]

e-bow can be a nice "trick" on stage.
But I don't see any use for it in a studio set up.
If I want synth or horn sounds I have plenty of it , I don't need the guitar for this.

[lunarhalo]

e-bow can be a nice "trick" on stage.
But I don't see any use for it in a studio set up.
If I want synth or horn sounds I have plenty of it , I don't need the guitar for this.

Who said the ebow was just for emulating "synth" and "horn" sounds? It is a creative tool like many others that can produce unique waveforms.

[heavyj]

guess i'll probably look into something else for now, since i can't really afford to buy an electric.

Iv'e got bunches of nice playin electric guitars that cost less than an ebow.

[heavyj]

....Got an E-Bow too ...and love it!!! But not on an acoustic!

[Peel]

It works on acoustic -- as people have said, with an electric, you get a lot more power holding the ebow near the pickups, but it's still completely usable on an acoustic.
FWIW, the "string" interlude of Smashing Pumpkins' "Soma" from Siamese Dream is done with ebowed acoustic.

[dystonia_ek]

Ebow sounds very cool on piano strings.

[Stupid American Pig]

it works on acoustic, and its a cool toy, so why not get it. play anything with metal strings

[seamoss]

e-bow can be a nice "trick" on stage.
But I don't see any use for it in a studio set up.
If I want synth or horn sounds I have plenty of it , I don't need the guitar for this.

well....not exactly. there is a certain type of sound that you can get with an ebow if you slightly push the ebow down and touch the string while you are sustaining it. feedback-ish

would be hard (impossible?) to recreate with a any synth.


also, I agree with peel. listen to the pumpkins song "soma" and you will hear many ebowed acoustics. incredible sound IMO

[Len]

I use e-bow on acoustic all the time and the sound is truly beautiful, especially if on a high-end, solid wood guitar, because the resonance you get is incredible. I also use it "live" with my acoustic, which has a pickup.

Another UK guitarist (who was on the Pink Guitar CD that won a grammy this year), Amrit Sond, also uses e-bow on his acoustic. He's fantastic.

Len

[Stupid American Pig]

Pick a harmonic and ebow it