Sustain A Note

My question is what effect will sustain a note with slow decay on any multi effect pedal?

I have played with the compressor but I cant tell a big difference. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Blackhearts

This was a question I had a while ago. And there are a few answers:

-Distortion. (distortion adds a lot of sustain and actually compresses the tone on its own)

- Compressor (But even better, look at the Compressor/Sustainer pedal from Boss)

- Gain. (The more gain you have turned up on your amp, the longer your notes will sustain).

- Guitar. (some guitars have crazy sustain while others have very little. For example, Gibson Les Pauls sustain much longer than most Jackson guitars. My Ibanez has really good sustain too)

So are you playing with a clean or distorted tone? What kind of music are you usually playing?

bbzswa777

Thanks for your input

I saw the post on compression and distortion. It was helpful.

I am using a multi effect RP90 pedal set on Boss DS-1 Distortion with humbucker settings. My guitar is a Players Delux Strat. Using a Raven20 amp.

30 Days in the Hole rhythm is what I am trying to duplicate. I got the sound but not the sustaining of notes. I want the note to ring out a little more longer with out bending the string(s).

I am playing a distorted sound hence Boss DS-1. It sounds to clean when I use the strats single coil pick-ups so I have the multi effect pedal on Humbuckers.

Solved my problem.

I turned off the compressor and increased the distortion. Works good with out all the fuzzy sound.

I hope this helps others.

In that case, it sounds like your compressor setting might have been turned up too high. And it makes things worse if you don't have a noise gate (I'm not sure if there is one in your multi-effect?)

If you don't have a noise gate, you can't stop those unwanted noises from sounding out when you're not playing. Because the compressor raises the volume of ALL sounds, even buzzing.

But adding distortion is probably the quickest way to increase sustain. And like I said turning up the gain dial helps too.

Glad you figured it out.

bbzswa777

Thanks for the info on compression. I do have a noise gate.

Not only do you have to learn songs but you have to be darn sound engineer.

Thanks again bbzswa777

Haha yeah you're right.

That's something I realized a little while ago; learning how to use your gear to achieve a good tone is an art all on its own. Recording takes even more practice!

Originally Posted by: Blackheartsbbzswa777

Thanks for the info on compression. I do have a noise gate.

Not only do you have to learn songs but you have to be darn sound engineer.

Thanks again bbzswa777

I have learned the 'less is better' lesson. I've avoided compression pedals and noise gates and all that. Tone is mostly from the hands and the rest enhances that. We've all been told that a litany of pedals will get you that tone. Well.....

I've told the story here a few times but the best tone I had was a 70's era (tube-ish) Peavey Classic 2x12 run in to a generic 4x12 cab. I had a Boss Turbo Overdrive run through a Dunlop Wah (always on and flat down) and straight in to the front on of the Peavey. That's it. I had more than a few people tell me how much they liked my tone.

So, I had a pile dookie but made it work really well.

So my point is, don't let salespeople, ads, people here at GT or even your neighbor tell you what makes it sound good. Tone is less about the toys and more about your hands and how patient you are to make what you have work. I am a twiddler and will work on my tone for a long time. Like most guitar players, I was never happy but who is? Still, with a pile of mostly junk, I made it works.

There's a lot of truth to what you're saying. Although you do need quite a few effects/tools to obtain certain tones. I know it's true that a lot of tone comes from our hands, but I can't stand when I see people on forums (not you) who respond: "their tone comes from their hands," when people ask about what setup certain artists use lol. Let's be realistic: more tone comes from the gear than the person's hands. You're not going to get a metal tone without some kind of overdrive distortion

Originally Posted by: BlackheartsMy question is what effect will sustain a note with slow decay on any multi effect pedal?

Fun thread!

It's been implied but not stated outright: the one very important way to provide sustain is volume. Lots of raw power & volume.

And in this case the less distortion, fuzz, compression, or overdrive the better. Plug into any decent tube amp, turn the guitar volume down & the amp all the way up. Play an open string & start to turn up the volume knob.

What you're looking for is the spot at which the note sustains, but doesn't squeal out or degrade into feedback. If you add a little bit of overdrive or gain or reverb, delay into this mix, you'll have sustain for days.

I've seen beginners make the mistake of thinking that a pedal or effect is going to replace the result of what is actually only possible with sheer volume.

It doesn't really even take a huge amp! You can get a 10 or 20 watt amp to ring with beautiful feedback sustain, but you've got to open it up. :)

Originally Posted by: JeffS65
I've told the story here a few times but the best tone I had was a 70's era (tube-ish) Peavey Classic 2x12 run in to a generic 4x12 cab. I had a Boss Turbo Overdrive run through a Dunlop Wah (always on and flat down) and straight in to the front on of the Peavey. That's it. I had more than a few people tell me how much they liked my tone.

So, I had a pile dookie but made it work really well.

I've read your story a few times now & I still like it. :D It's a great lesson in taking the time to really work on your sound. And it's obviously true that you can get a wide variety of tones out of any number of pieces of gear.

But there are certain things that will help & achieve tones that aren't possible otherwise.

My story! I also had a Peavey 2x12 Classic that I used with my Strat copy through an MXR distortion + into the amp & then into a 4x12 cab.

That amp was rock solid & dependable. The basic tone wasn't amazing, but since it had 50 watts of tube power by the time I cranked it through that cab it was awesome! That cab was a big part of the sound. I never realized how much I was missing until I plugged it into one. The mid & bass response of a 4x12 cab being pushed by a lot of tube amp volume is one of those things that is hard to get without those objects.

So this is a case of the tone not being about the brand name, but about the type of object.

And the higher I pushed the output level on the MXR pedal the better it sounded! But not the distortion level. At a certain point past 50%, the distortion made the sound worse. It degraded into flabby fuzz. But at the right spot about 50% or less it sang beautifully.

One gig my band opened for a another band whose guitarist played through a 50 Marshall half-stack. We played a 2 hour set. Then right at the beginning of their first song his Marshall died! He looked it over for a few minutes but couldn't find anything obviously broken that he could fix right away.

I told him to just use my amp. He was a Marshall Guy & wasn't happy about it. But he didn't have any other options at that point. He plugged in, dimed the amp & played his full 2 hour set. He never complained about Peavey again. :p

The arguments about where your tone comes from (hands, gear) are even older than internet forums. ;)

Both are necessary. Obviously there will be a noticeable difference when the same player is playing the same licks through both of these rigs:

1. Electric guitar with weak pickups into a Gorilla solid-state practice amp.
2. Electric guitar with powerful pickups into a Marshall stack with a Boss SD1.

Or how about this A/B rig:

1. Gibson ES-335 into a Fender Super Reverb.
2. Fender Strat into a Fender Super Reverb.

Gear does make a difference in the end result tone (sound or timbre). But there is no substitute for good technique (hands!). And just as important is the seldom mentioned very beginning of your signal chain: your ideas, your music knowledge of what to do with your gear.

Again, fun thread, guys! :)

Originally Posted by: CSchlegelThe arguments about where your tone comes from (hands, gear) are even older than internet forums. ;)

No way! I don't believe it. :)

Originally Posted by: bbzswa777No way! I don't believe it. :)

:) These kids today think they invented everything! (Said old man yelling at cloud. :p )

Originally Posted by: CSchlegelMy story! I also had a Peavey 2x12 Classic that I used with my Strat copy through an MXR distortion + into the amp & then into a 4x12 cab.

That amp was rock solid & dependable. The basic tone wasn't amazing, but since it had 50 watts of tube power by the time I cranked it through that cab it was awesome! That cab was a big part of the sound. I never realized how much I was missing until I plugged it into one. The mid & bass response of a 4x12 cab being pushed by a lot of tube amp volume is one of those things that is hard to get without those objects.

I don't recall seeing that (if you posted it in the past). Was your Classic this Classic?

That was mine. I always plugged in to 'Bright 1'...I think solely because it was the furthest left. I recall that the four input deal was supposed to be some magic combination to the great tone. Never understood it though....

I do remember the spring reverb being like Armageddon if you bumped it the wrong way.

It was a great standalone practice amp at practice volume. I could get a great chunky tone from the set up but as soon as you start pushing the volume, the bottom end just dropped away. With the 4x12, it had that mid/bottom like you mentioned.

Funny side note...I brought the am in for a little maintenance once (some of the connections were getting kinda janky. The store (I hung out at wayyyy too much) had another of the same Classic 2x12....so we thought it would be cool to do stereo Classic 2x12's with the matching 4x12 cabs just to see what it would sound like.....yes, it was pretty awesome.

Originally Posted by: JeffS65I don't recall seeing that (if you posted it in the past). Was your Classic this Classic?
[/quote]
Close! A friend of mine had that silver knob version. Mine was the black plastic knob version.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/amp-central-station/55909d1281630110t-bought-used-peavey-classic-50-212-several-questions-peavey-3-jpg

I think I also plugged into Bright 1. Whichever one was loudest. Obviously. :D

Originally Posted by: JeffS65
I do remember the spring reverb being like Armageddon if you bumped it the wrong way.
[/quote]
Exactly!
[QUOTE=JeffS65]
It was a great standalone practice amp at practice volume. I could get a great chunky tone from the set up but as soon as you start pushing the volume, the bottom end just dropped away. With the 4x12, it had that mid/bottom like you mentioned.

Again, exactly!
[QUOTE=JeffS65]
Funny side note...I brought the am in for a little maintenance once (some of the connections were getting kinda janky. The store (I hung out at wayyyy too much) had another of the same Classic 2x12....so we thought it would be cool to do stereo Classic 2x12's with the matching 4x12 cabs just to see what it would sound like.....yes, it was pretty awesome.

Awesome! :) I never did that. My MXR series 2000 had two outputs so I should have tried it with my friend's Classic!