Sustain

[mithra6]

I'm a relatively new guitar player (about 3 or 4 solid years). I've always been fascinated by the sustain Robert Fripp gets on his guitars. I know that he uses a Fernandez sustainer pickups now, but in the old days (until the 90s) he mostly used a Les Paul. He says he never used an E-Bow and that his sustain was mostly due to technique.

I understand that Les Pauls are famous for their sustain, I suppose since they are heavy, but what technique makes a longer sustain? I would also assume his amp is helping him.

 

[metalhead28]

A good firm grip and a strong vibrato will contribute much to your sustain.

 

[ggunn]

A good firm grip and a strong vibrato will contribute much to your sustain.

So will a compressor pedal.

 

[mithra6]

Thanks

I have the feeling vibrato is the key. When I get my guitar back I'll do some experimenting.

 

[ChadAustin]

Vibrito and compression do go a long way:

The vibrito can help keep the string vibtrating, thus making the string still produce tone.

The compression will smooth out the entire sound of the string if used effectively, as the compressor can increase the gain of a long note.

Tone controls can also help, more lower mids have worked for me... but if it's for recording, your backing material will help dictate your tone sometimes.

A company called sustainiac has a device you might be interested in... and while looking up information about their device I found this page on sustain...

http://www.sustainiac.com/aboutsus.htm

I personally have never used one- but I remember hearing about them for years.

Hope this helps!
C