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electric bowing


Shannon

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Dial-up, 56k modem; that's one of the reasons I keep 'em short! (Like the one in my sig-line below; about forty seconds.)

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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if ya want you can email it to me. I've got all the webhosting I need due to my failed attempt at a good website. I would have no problem hostin sound clips for all of you guys, I might as well put the space to use. If you would like me to host anything just ask me and I'll send you my email.

The forumite formerly known as Cooper.

 

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John Lennon

 

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will finally know peace." Jimi Hendrix

 

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." Jimi Hendrix

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  • 2 weeks later...
Originally posted by J J:

"We didnt forget about this, did we?"

Oooops...

 

Yeah, "we" did...

 

Well, I'm a terrible repeat-offender procrastinator, sorry! I'll get on it, it'll be up in the next few days one way or another...

 

:idea: THE PRECIOUS!!" :D:thu:

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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All right, cough it up, Caveman! Ya big tease. :D Actually this is a particularly relevant thing for me right now cuz I have a couple of songs that need some bowing sounds. I have an E-Bow, and those ARE a lot of fun, but the only drawbacks are that you can't bow multiple strings, and you can't alternate quickly between picking and bowing. Not a problem for recording, but on stage, it's a big sticking point.
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This is taking longer to post than my rendition of Whiter Shade! :freak:

 

Has anyone tried one of those Fernandez Sustainer upgrades or Fernandez units containing such a device?

 

What I read mad it sound like a built in E-Bow or sorts and that would give you chording ability among other string tinkering things.

 

(ahhh that HP commercial with The Who in the back track just played. That catches my attention every time!)

 

sorry... finger diarrhea :freak:

I still think guitars are like shoes, but louder.

 

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O.K., O.K.- I'll tell you first, and post an example later.

 

It may seem like a weird, stupid idea, but this really works, and sounds amazing in the right context.

 

Simply use an electric fan to blow across the strings (NOT to emmit buzzy noises through the pickups, but to actually drive the strings themselves by the blowing of the air), and use left- and right-hand damping and muting tecniques to control unwanted sounds; play chords, single-string lines, what-have-you, do volume-knob or -pedal swells, whammy-bar gargles, dips, and warbles, get all Jimi 'n' Jeff wit'cha bad seff!

 

I've done this "live" a number of times, and it never fails that a surprising number of folks- band-members, audience-members, diss-members, buddys, whomever- will totally fail to notice the connection between the fan and the sounds, inspite of my hovering up close over that caged, whirling blue blade. I've even have people argue with me over what and where the sound is really coming from, supposedly I'm lying and there's a synth of some sort tucked away somewhere, or it must actually be the motor's electronic noise being picked up by the, well, pickups, or somehow magnetically driving the strings...

 

I first got the idea playing my acoustic flat-top outdoors on a windy day, years ago; it sounded so cool, letting the wind "play" the strings I fretted...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Well that's in effect what the "Sustainer" thing does.

 

Okay... I don't have a fan that's not physically attached to the house but I can take a 6 inch squirrel cage blower and port it to a chunk of 2 inch flex pipe!

 

Strikes me as one of those bizzaro Zappa stage shows where a young lady comes out on stage with a hair drier and begins to dry his strings. Or at least that's what it might look like. :eek:

I still think guitars are like shoes, but louder.

 

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that's bad ass, Caevan. Thanks :thu:

what kind of fan do you use though? Would it be one of those small hand-held ones?

I wouldnt think a fan would be powerful enough to imitate a bow, but i guess i'll have to try it

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Lee- You probably just want to be well away and as isolated as possible from any mics!

 

http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/icons/icon3.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/icons/icon4.gif It also would likely be a good time to be sure that all grounds are correct and no shock hazards exist; I never had a problem, but I'd bet a potential "zap" from the fan's cage-like metal enclosure would be a deusey! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/icons/icon4.gif

 

Originally posted by Guitars are like shoes. But louder.:

"Okay... I don't have a fan that's not physically attached to the house but I can take a 6 inch squirrel cage blower and port it to a chunk of 2 inch flex pipe!"

I can just picture these little squirrels with hard-hats and orange vests, setting-up the fan and your rig on-stage... Does their Union know about this? :D

 

JJ- I believe that most any table top "oscilating" fan (fixed in place, facing at an upward angle) set to "medium" or "high"; I don't know if a little hand-held stylee would do it. It's often nice to have a fan going, anyways!

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Bummer man! I tried the fan trick and it doesn't seem to be working for me! I can only hear a very faint sound and it takes a while to develop; if I do any fretting it seems to mute the fan sound. :confused: Wonder if I'm not doing it right, or the pickups aren't powerful enough or the fan isn't?
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I glued up the squirrel cage with a plastic bottle neck and the tubing so tonight I should be able to try this out. (too much free time on my hands obviously)

If it works I'll post a picture and instructions on how to take the blower off your furnace, rip hoses off your swimming pool and carve up some recycled plastic. I'm looking for a mannequin head to jam on a mic stand and shove the hose through but that's proving difficult to find in the shop.... and my wife still thinks I'm crazy.

 

What's new.

I still think guitars are like shoes, but louder.

 

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Originally posted by cosmo115:

Sort of related, but has anyone heard Paul Gilbert's cordless electric drill technique on "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" from Mr. Big's "Lean Into It" CD? :thu:

Yes very cool!Both sheean and gilbert.I remember

a story gilbert told one time how he was doing

that one night and his hair got wrapped up

in the drill.They would put the pick on the end

of the drill unlike Ed who would just run the

side of the drill.Who was first?

The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye.
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Lee- I'm bummed, I was psyched to imagine you tring that out! I had a pretty vigorous fan when I've done it, and I also was playing a guitar with active EMGs at the time.

 

If it's aimed right at the area of the strings where you'd pick 'n' strum- kinda between the pickups- and at an upward angle, blowing across the strings from the treble side, you should be able to hold a chord, and use muting/damping to control whether you want a string or strings to sound, how long, etc.

 

Maybe you need a stronger fan to blow across the strings...

 

'shoes'- Man, that's absolutely bitchin', 'specially the part about the manekin-head! I'd say that you're unique, except your Good-Twin might object to that. (We all know that you're the Evil-Twin!) ;)

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Okay... I read the instructions but I'm not dumping active EMGs into anything soon so we'll try everything in the house and see what reacts best.

 

Here's what happened in the shop. Hose wouldn't hold. made adjustments and used excess band junk. Uncle Don's clothing store is closing so the head is on the shelf but without the hose I'm not sure how I'll stretch her knoggin over the squirrel!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/pek63/IM0001.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/pek63/IM0002.jpg

 

Hey Caevan.... good god man there's more than two of us in here! :D

 

I'm so happy 'cause today

I found my friends

They're in my head

I still think guitars are like shoes, but louder.

 

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Well without killing myself of anyone else in the room I managed to fire this up and test it out of everything I got to twang on.

 

Results were very faint it noticeable at all and it was the hi hz humb's that registered this. I would wager that the added umph of the active electronics played a part in making this work and without that "antenna" I simply couldn't pick it up. I could certainly feel the driving pressure and harmonics would sustain noticeable longer but I have a box for that.

Being able to play with this "zone" as an effect would be great... I need the active electronics though :(

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/pek63/IM0003.jpg

 

Evil me in on the left... that sympathetic bastard is on the right & no... I didn't shower or change for the occasion. Excuse me please...

I still think guitars are like shoes, but louder.

 

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Caeven,

Well, I'm a terrible repeat-offender procrastinator, sorry! I'll get on it, it'll be up in the next few days one way or another...
I don't procrastinate, I just put things off until another day :D

 

Okay, okay, I admit it. I'm a procrastinator. There, I've said it and I'm glad. I was just waitin' to get 'round to it :D

 

Seriously, I am lookin' forward to hearin' it, AND findin' out what it is.

Gotta' geetar... got the amp. There must be SOMEthing else I... "need".
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