Using a bow on a guitar...a REAL bow.

I was just curious if anybody in here has ever used a bow with their guitar, a`la Jimmy Page/Sigur Ros. I have a cello bow that I use, but my technique, well, my technique sucks! I know the bow is not made for steel strings, so I was just curious if anybody else had any luck. Peace.

Violin strings are often steel, but they're flat wound. I've had very little experience with a bow, so I can't help you much there.

I was not aware that violins use steel strings, you learn something everyday! Maybe there's hope for me after all.

Page only hammered the bow on the strings, since the violin ones are coated with a special stuff that makes them sticky (on the part that they are bowed) You won't be able to have the same vibration that is used on the violin...

You can bow the strings on a guitar, just have have to use alot of rosin on the hair, I tried it a few times just goofing around, at times I've thought a hammer or a gun would be much better than a bow

Violin strings are usually gut except for the E string (the highest in pitch). Most violin players I know HATE the way steel strings sound.

glad some one else has heard some of the Sigor ros stuff... I'm actually gonna get my self a bow hopefully..
The thing is that guys from sigor ros playes differently from Jimmy page... Jimmy kinda hammered/ slapped his strings, and it's didn't really sound too good...
The guy from sigor ros, on the other hand plays his guitar like you would a cello... but he also uses loads of echo...on one of the sigor ros forums it said he used microphonic pickups, but when I watched them live on mtv2, I saw normal pickups on an old gibson... and I think that bridge was normal as well...

personally, I'm getting a Rosin bow (cos nylon ones are crap sound wise, and horsehairs cost too much)... it's meant to be good on thinner (guitar) strings... YOU have to increase the tension in the bow though (that's what I've been told anyway)...

I really like that deep almost guttral guitar sound the guy from sigor ros gets... I've Ageastis byjrian (sp), and it's just a brillaint album.

I've seen the way Page uses it, and I didn't care much for it. But when I was first exposed to Sigur Ros, it definitely changed the way I looked at the technique. Jonsi from Sigur Ros uses a Les Paul custom, and from what I know, it's setup like a normal guitar. He bows a lot on the low E, and yeah, he uses a lot of delay/echo. It's just difficult bow anything other than the low E. I've tried holding down open chords, and it works OK. But other than bowing in long strokes, it's hard to bow faster without the bow skipping. I've tried using lots of rosin, and it helped a little.

Get an E-Bow.

That produces a sound as if u where playing a violin o da guitar!

-=[Azrael]=-

no... it's not the same sound..

but its a cool sound *L*

:P

-=[Azrael]=-

ps: using a bow on the electric is a bit diffiult cuz the strings are all in one line.. that would lead to an interresting idea..

what about building a guitar that has a fretboard that is extremely arched - like the one of a violin or any other string instrument... it would also require an arched tremolo.. but with that you would be able to bow the guit without any problems.. but then again.. wouldnt it sound like an electic violin?

-=[Azrael]=-

belive it or not that was the idea that i had when i was thnink about my guitar biulding project.. but decided against it, for 2 major reasons, I dont thing I'll play guitar with a bow that much , so a gutiar like this would cost me a lot of money for not very much in return... and secondly I would have to make the bridge, and i have no experience in metal work or know anyone who can make it from/ teach me...

try playing through noise suprresors and **** and try using an effect withand see wat that does for u unless u already tries that but i just recently bought a bow and i have been playing with it but it is a rweal pain in the ass ull have to try running it through stuff and see wat it does im pretty sure the guitarist/singer of sigur ros uses a normal guitar (gibson and some obscure offbrand) for his songs but hye never just plays it clean through his amps so try a noise suppresor to help with the noise from deadened string first then try using a efeect to cover up wat is left behind if any thing is if u can leave some sort of results if u try on this thread so i have an idea of the resunts so i can see if my conclusions or theories are right in any way at all it would be greatly appreciated if u do

I usually hate writing on these resurrected threads but a couple days ago I made a strings patch on my Digitech GNX3, and Im kinda excited about it.

yeah as killboy said, with certain effects, you can pretty closely emulate strings. more like a synth strings/ebow sound, though.
get on your bridge pup, roll back your tone knob a bit. use the noise gate and make it do automatic volume swells, and crank some reverb.that alone wouldnt sound like strings, so I put on a detune effect, cranking it to +24 (the highest going up- not down.) that worked a bit, but it still was missing something. so, a nice vibrato effect (sine wave, slow and pretty shallow) did the trick. add a bit of compression to smooth it out and sustain a bit, a very slight, creamy distortion... and some pitch shifting. (used a 5th and octave)

so you need a ton of effects, but it does sound sweet.

thanks rockon that is a real big help

Originally Posted by: imalrdynumI was just curious if anybody in here has ever used a bow with their guitar, a`la Jimmy Page/Sigur Ros. I have a cello bow that I use, but my technique, well, my technique sucks! I know the bow is not made for steel strings, so I was just curious if anybody else had any luck. Peace.

Okay. First off you’ll need three things: One- An electric guitar (they sound better bowed compared to acoustic.) Two- A bow (I recommend a cello bow. Note: You will need rosin.) Three: an amp with more than one distortion setting (I recommend reverb/delay more than any other.)

Once you have all that (And it will be costly. Bows are expensive.) You need to adjust your shoulder strap so that the guitar comes down below your stomach. (Adjust the strap all the way lose.) You want to hold the bow the same way you hold it as if you were playing violin. One exception- you may want to extend your finger across the bow. It makes it easier when you’re playing. Don’t let morons tell you you’re holding the bow wrong- you’re not. This is completely different from playing a violin.

Set your amp to regular (no freaky metal stuff yet (acoustic setting.) and set the distortion to reverb/delay.) Slide the bow across the strings (You’re sliding where you’d normally pick.) It may take several times for you to get a vibration. Okay around with the amount of pressure you place on the bow. It may also take you a while to find a comfortable position. You want to avoid hurting your wrist at all costs (though playing with a flat neck will hurt your wrist anyway.) There are some special guitars that have a curved neck. This allows you to play the strings more accurately. It’s expensive, but it’s worth the buy, I think.

It’s hard to play chords with a bow- but you can still try. You could make an entire 4-minute song based off of G and A with a bow. It’s also hard to hit higher notes (above fret 12.) without it sounding scratchy. I recommend watching this for technique inspiration: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pBOPzqmxZEM you can notice the player’s body position. (Note how the back is slightly arched and one knee is up.) It may take you a while to figure out how you want to play. I’m just making suggestions based on what works with my playing.

Vibrato: Yes, you can do it. It’s difficult, but it can be done. You can even bend the strings; as well as hammer-on’s pull-off’s. (Play around with other guitar techniques as well. You may end up with a cool new sound!) (Refer to the link above for vibrato and string bending inspiration!)

Usually, it’s easier to do power chords. Or same chords (I don’t know the proper term, so I’ll make up my own name!) What I mean by same chords is, for example, the 6th and 5th string would both be played at the 5th fret. If you want to make the sound higher, you’d raise the 6th and 5th string to the 9th and so on. You can play around with these chords. I have no listing of what works with a bow and what does not. You’re gonna have to figure that out by yourself. Also refer to: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CbudP0j_3yo for inspiration!

Cleaning: A rag! Get a cloth rag (preferably cotton.) and wipe your strings. You need to do this after every time you play with the bow. Guitar strings weren’t made to have rosin on them- and I’m sure if you want to play Metallica later on, you don’t want sticky strings. So wipe them down with a dry cotton rag.

Rosin: All you need to do is apply is to the bow. You don’t need to place it in water or chip pieces of it off. Just slide it across the hair of the bow. (About 14 slides will do for guitar.) You’ll need a lot of rosin to make the strings vibrate. (Amount of rosin may need to increase depending on the type of your strings.)

Bow: I’d tighten it to the highest it can go without ripping the hair. You don’t want it too lose, and you don’t want it too tight- so somewhere in the middle there- have it firm, not Arnold Schwarzenegger’d.

Playing: Yes- you may want to play like Jimmy Page. That’s cool. In my opinion, I disliked the way Jimmy used the bow; but if that’s how you like it, then you play like Jimmy! (Youtube it if you need inspiration.) Also- look at a lot of Sigir Ros’ stuff. They’re awesome. (:

Good luck!

-Synith

I once played my violin's bow on my Fernandez, and it completely tore it up. So, I suggest if any you wanna play w/ a bow, DO A LITTLE RESEARCH, 'cause I ruined a 50 dollar bow that way. :p

Originally Posted by: pizzicatopickerI once played my violin's bow on my Fernandez, and it completely tore it up. So, I suggest if any you wanna play w/ a bow, DO A LITTLE RESEARCH, 'cause I ruined a 50 dollar bow that way. :p

Words of Wisdom; I've ruined a bow on my Explorer Custom after hearing "Dazed and Confused" the first time. I would rather just play the guitar the way it was meant to be played.

Hey guys!

Ok so I play in a three piece and have come to the realization that from time to time I'm going to need a little more from my guitar. I started bowing recently to get the effect of a synth and am really pleased with it...i use a violin bow with cello rosin and I strum only the low E. I find that you get a horrbly thin sound if you bow all the strings in an attempt to play a chord. there is more chance of the hairs falling between the coils and cause a "dead spot." i always use some sort of doubler. I'm playing out of a lexicon for my delay and have a barely noticeable doubler effect applied to one channel and have that running through a midi board. I absolutely LOVE the way it sounds and will continue to do it in sparse places that call foe a haunting string effect.

hope that helps....

ps cello or bass rosin is key...it is far stickier, but you may need to wipe you strings afterwards because it leaves a residue and you will have a tough time fretting...i play it at the base of the neck, not the pickups.

_Priscilla

hey they didnt use violin bows jimmy page used a cello bow