Heet Sound PLUSEBOW Plus EBow for Guitar

I got the Ebow in order to play a lap guitar like a synthesizer. I got inspiration from an old CD that used a lap guitar, an Ebow, a delay/reverb unit, and a looper (duplicated the set for myself). There are videos on youtube that are helpful to study to learn how to use the Ebow. The best one was a long animated cartoon that went into detail about it. The device works by magnetically vibrating a guitar string when it is held over it. The main purpose is to create a very long sustain. I found I got a much richer sound from this device than a Theremin, which I was also considering. I found that I could generate a very long sustain and modulate with careful touch on the strings with my left hand. The pressure does need to be very precise, too much dampens the sound to zero, too little can send the sound rapidly to a high volume. The device itself is also a little fussy in that if it is too far from the string there is very little sound or no sound, and if it is too close you risk touching the string and creating a metalic reverb sound that can be a little sharp and high volume. Even when you have the right distance, the string can increase its vibration and sometimes hit it, so you have to move it away a little once the sound gets going. The flip side of the coin with the Ebow, though, is that the precision and fussiness rewards you with a lot of good control over the texture of the sound. You can create highly textured long sustaining notes that change in subtle ways across its time horizon. I found with just a little practice that I could lightly touch the strings and make "notes" in the tone wave. I could also gently hold down the string and rev up the vibration to a good volume and then gently slide my left finger across the string to create gradual changes in the sound that enriched the texture of the sound, especially with a delay/reverb unit set on max. With a little practice, too, you can control the metalic shimmer when the unit touches the string (or do something similar with the left finger) and also make this a rich sound. I also could modulate the sound by dialing the tuning pins very slowly (and create an interesting tuning for the strings that maximizes the effect of the Ebow) and get an effect similar to sliding the finger across the string. I also found that the blue LED light was enough to guide the right placement of the Ebow over the string and it is centered in line with the "sweet spot". It is cool to play it in a dim room with this blue LED shining the way! I give the device five stars because it does what I hoped it would do and a little more. I find I can emulate a stringed drone instrument like an "electronic" Tamboura or Hurdy Gurdy, and even have a richer set of choices. The battery, too, seems to last a very long time.

pretty great tool for guitar, it gives you another branch to perform. Something that could improve for the price is the quality of construction, the plastic is no that cool for all the body of the ebow, also in my experience is not that easy to put the 9V battery on it.

Works great! I love it. Makes getting your sound right on Elevation Worship's song Lion and Rattle!

Very nice

got this little dingus, popped in a 9v battery, took a couple practice swings, and immediately laid down a track on a song I'm recording. There are additional techniques to practice, of course, but right out of the box, it's a blast! I must try and use it sparingly - it might get a little cheesy if I played it on every song I record, but every once in a while, it's sonic dynamite.

Practice with it,it's really a great addition to my music arsenal. My family watched in amazement at the sounds it produced. You can add in your Floyd rose too and get some great sounds. Worth it!!

Works as it should!

I've been seeing the e-bow advertised for decades now and wrongly chalked it up to just another overpriced gimmick. I have to admit I was wrong and should've droppedthe $100 or so bucks on it a long time ago. This unit opens up a whole different aspect of inspiration and experimentation on stringed instruments basedon prettysimple principles. It's reletively easy to use and though I'm certainly not a master with it by any stretch, I was able to coax some pretty interesting sounds in the first 10 minutes with it and pulling me out of the creative but I was in.