[fnovotny]

Hi I am interested in getting a nice long sustain, but with little distortion. Any ideas. I have an RP80 and a compressor but still looking. Thanks for any input.

[bugly]

your guitar is?
Not an expert but sustain to me appears to be to a large extent an aspect of the guitar, I recently bought a cheap eastewood sidejack with p90's on it an that thing has incredible sustain, much more so then my other guitars and that is without any effects.

[fnovotny]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm using different guitars, all have a variety of pickups. But none get the long sustain I'm lookiing for. I'm not familar with the product you mentioned. Would you give more info, sound interesting. Again thanks.

[allthumbs]

Sustain can be prolonged with good vibrato technique. Denser tone woods also allow for more sustain. The firmer the contact and quality of the bridge can also have a profound effect on sustain. For instance, a custom Callahan tele bridge plate is slightly larger, denser metal and has more screws to ensure firmer contact with the guitar body than a standard tele bridge.
You can also install sustainer electronics in your axe if need be.

[Lcjones]

I don't know what the RP80 has to offer or if you can modify or create templates. Compressors have limited effect for sustain. They are built to equalized the db of tones coming from your equipment. They can also add a bit of jangle to your axe if you get the right one.

If your RP80 can select amp models, I'd look for a Marshall amp 2x12, add some reverb and a touch of wah and see what you come up with.

And yes, what guitar Model are you working with?

**

[Dewy]

Sustain begins with the instrument. Mass has a great deal to do with it.. and the ability to exchange the resonation of the strings with the mass of the guitar are crucial. Thus through the body Strings generally increase the "natural" sustain of the guitar, just as generally a heavier guitar will increase sustain.

Those are the rules, and several exceptions exist. There are some devices which you can purchase to "add mass" to your guitar, but they are marginally effective.

Also playing style or outboard devices can increase your sustain, but not compressors. They do seem to add a "singing" quality, but invariably cut off the signal once it passes below a certain threshold. Delay or Reverb would seemingly "add" sustain, as does distortion, which increases the "gain" of the signal allowing for feedback loops and such.

Consider as well playing with a Bow, an "E-bow" or what I call "String wiggling", which is simply bending the string slightly to induce it to create additional sound AFTER picking it. I can make a single note last for 45-60 seconds (ala Foxy Lady intro note by J. Hendrix) with wiggling and distortion on a cheap heavy guitar.

[JessThrasher]

Is there a such thing is effect pedals that increase sustain? I thought there was.

[EFinFLA]

How about installing one of those Fernandes sustainer dealies? I don't have any experience with them, just heard about them. I imagine this would do the trick.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--FERFSK101

[Mike8307]

Originally Posted by fnovotny

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm using different guitars, all have a variety of pickups. But none get the long sustain I'm lookiing for. I'm not familar with the product you mentioned. Would you give more info, sound interesting. Again thanks.

Do any of the guitars you are using have a set neck as opposed to a bolt on neck. Les Pauls are known for their sustain because of their heavy mass and set neck. I have a Epi LP Standard Edition and it has great sustain, much more than my Yamaha with a bolt on and light weight body. String size also has a bit to do with it. Don't expect much sustain playing with 9's. Technique also has a lot to do with it as Allthumbs said. You can watch a vid clip of BB King sustain a note forever with vibrato and he plugs right into an amp.

Michael