Anytime I hear the word sustain, I immediately think of Gary Moore. What a player and used sustain and feedback to musical perfection! Awesome video guys!
When Robert Fripp & Brian Eno recorded the droning guitar part on Heroes, they marked points on the floor which gave the optimum feedback for each note. Brings a whole new meaning to tap dancing!
Ted Nugent regularly did this on stage during rehearsals as well. He would mark different spots on the floor with tape and each spot fed back differently. I read that somewhere probably 20 years ago
@@justinpalmer6098 it sounds like such an obvious thing to do in retrospect but the creativity to have come up with the idea in the first place can only be admired
For the last six weeks , I’ve been out on medical leave from work due to knee replacement surgery ,, the upside is I get to watch TPS on my 75 inch tv an my surround sound system in my living room , instead of my cell phone at work. Major diffearance ,, luv you guys !
I have never thought "I wish this guitar had more sustain" it always baffled me when people said it. However, I have always felt that note "bloom" was a better word for it. I never cared for the length of the decay, but its vocal quality (where that low level feedback that you demonstrate here gives it the mojo). Great episode guys, really cool.
Trey Anastasio is a master of sustain and writes songs based on sustain and feedback. He's using a hollowbody guitar into a compressor and two modified TS-9's, which help him mightily. As always, thanks for the show, gentlemen! I'm glad you're back, together, in the room! :)
You know it's funny how I keep coming back to my modded TS 9 Old faithful tried and true Really that and my favorite fuzz and I'm usually good Rarely run more than four pedals Fuzz - TS - Echo - Tremolo.....
I really enjoy how you guys start at the most basic level and build upon the foundation. A lot of people would either gloss over the basic concept of sustain or fail to get very far past the basic concept. It's great than when you are demoing effects pedals that you get into what the effect actually is and use the pedals to show that instead of just showcasing the pedal.
When I last saw soundgarden they did the same thing of just leaving the guitars and bass sustaining for 10-15 minutes before the encore... it was the loudest sound I’ve ever heard, completely amazing
I saw Bob Mould do that back in the 80’s. He leaned his Gibson in front of the cab and it fed back for probably 20 minutes during intermission or something. Even then I knew it was a trick because there’s no way that thing could’ve sustained the same note like it did. It was basically a static note that never changed the whole time. Brilliant that you saw Soundgarden. Much respect.
Soundgarden rules. Saw them open up for Skid Row for Louder than Love and headline at Red Rocks. They did the feedback thing when they headlined. I didn't stay for Skid Row.
I saw Motorhead in a room that was maybe 500 square feet ... they still brought 10 full double stacks of 4x12 cabs. I couldn't really hear well after that. That was the loudest thing I've ever heard. As for sustain and feedback and harmonics and LOUD! ... Sonic Youth in 1990 and Sunn (O))) in 2015.
@@scaramouche49 - I wasn't fortunate to see them that early but did when they came back around 2008. Absolutely astounding stuff, when I closed my eyes during You Made Me Realise I started seeing colours and shapes, I thought the ceiling was going to collapse!
For a really natural mod to the note envelope, try turning your pick round - play with one of the 'blunt' points and you'll get a really natural compression effect. Works really well with clean tones.
I have a cheap Tele which had an issue with the neck pocket. It was just a hair wider that the neck. I decided to remove the neck, fill the gap with wood glue and screw it back on. The next day I tried it and I was astounded by the results. Essentially I had a bolt-on + glued-on neck. Not only it sustained much longer, but the frequency responce was broader, with more low mids and more punch. I liked it so much that I did it to my Fender guitars as well, with similar results.
Not sure if it has been mentioned, but I feel honor-bound to point out that this video is conspicuously devoid of any Stonehenge monument--either life-size, or in danger of being crushed by a resident of Khazad-dûm... [Edit: SO good to see you guys back in the room.]
@@ThatPedalShow this has absolutely solidified Movie Night. Spinal Tap, and if there's time, A Mighty Wind. "Weh-helllll..." WHERE IS THE DISCUSSION OF SUSTAIN IN "OLD JOE'S PLACE"?!?!?
New challenge idea: get the decades in a jar (50s - 2020s) and sort it out between you two, each one needs to play the guitar sounds of that decade using 3 pedals + an amp and a guitar
32:25 - Had a similar experience in a stringed instrument shop in North London in '97. Playing one of the cheapest cellos in a room containing comfortably £1m+ worth of instruments, I felt like an absolute hero. Remains one of the most transcendent hours of my life even after the birth of the children. Utterly transformative.
My favourite use of feedback is by Steve Vai on the first G3 DVD, he plays a face melting solo between Answers and For The Love Of God then sustains one note, and emphasises different harmonics on the same note by stepping about the stage, really really cool.
G3 is something else lol. The Eric Johnson stuff on there like red house is amazing. Actually speaking of Eric Johnson, he has some of the best “sustaining” tone out there imo
Glad you guys cleared that up. So many videos look at 'sustain' 30 seconds out and determine things like strat necks sustain longer or steel girders sustain longer (Jason Seaborn), or heavy blocks sustain more. But few realize what you want is a loud 'decay' - or the sustain of the first millisecond or second or maybe two. And the more compression, reverb, delay and natural sustain you have, the less overdrive/distortion you need, and the less fizzy your tone.
At long last! This episode has sustained our curiosity for years at this point; from times way back in the pedal shed 1.0! Most definitely deserves some feedback...+1 from me!
Ok, work day is over and I’ve adequately digested the episode. ‘Twas a fantastic jaunt through the realities of sustain. It’s such an integral part of getting the life outta the notes that I just always feel when a setup is giving it. Hope you’re both doing well, all my love ❤️.
Frank Zappa got hospitalized for years for staring at the audiences girlfriend! I recall one bigger gig ( for me) I wasplaying where the audience was just black mass ( the stage lights...), really coudnt differentiate between boyfriends or girlfriends..., and , maan wagging your front tail z dangerose if youre standing up close to the mic...ZZZ, electrick..., luv K ; )
You guys are awesome. That intro was just what I needed today. I literally went and rewatched Spinal Tap and then cam back and finished this video. Thank you, again!
Enthusiasm is contagious! You two having a genuinely fun time really does come across to us out here. Keep it up! Sustain is a blast with electrics, especially with fuzz. But my occasional bane is with acoustics, especially when looping. L.R. Baggs Para Di has a pretty good notch to go hunting around with but when feedback wants to be a gremlin, it will. Probably made worse by vocal mic in same loop. Great to have the dynamic duo back! G
Once again, an episode of TPS sends me to the place I'd been trying to find. I did play at some pretty serious volume and got a feel for how things were behaving. THEN, I wound my clean preamp up until I could just feel/hear a touch of compression (small combo, but very clean headroom amp). This made the harmonics so much more alive. I have a proper contraption of drives (and this is mostly your fault, fellas!). Before it was over, I backed off all 3 of my strat PU's which I would not have expected. This made for some killer clarity and less low end. Perfect. Now, with the power volume back to a more acceptable level for a house with people living in it, my drives all work together marvelously. Love it, Love it, Love it.
Gary Moore always had his amp and guitar turned up to 10, he said you couldn't hear the 'true' properties of the instrument otherwise. He also said part of mastering playing live is the fight to keep everything under control at crazy volume...
I love this - it's all feedback, really. Far too many think that word just refers to the effect of high-pitched screaming notes, rather than to any and all changes in the guitar's response resulting from the sound of the amp.
For me sustain is like you say , connection while you are playing , and instant gratification. Just bought a sg Junior p90 and the sustain went up to roof. Increíble experience
Mick regarding the ebow type device “Don’t get caught in the trap of doubt “ Sounded great and showed your improvisational skill Great show Dan is such a sage
Another informative and enjoyable episode. The content was well organized and presented with wit and wisdom. And, as always, we get to hear Dan and Mick play. Not too shabby!
This show came at just the right time for me. Only this week have I been falling in love again with the guitar tones by Keith Scott on Bryan Adams albums. The sustain Keith Scott gets out of his original 1963 strat and the Gretsch for songs like Everything I do, I do it for You on both solos and held chords is just jaw dropping. Such tasty playing. I would love to hear Mick do a version of Please Forgive me by Bryan Adams as I reckon Mick’s voice and strat sounds are similar. No one writes songs with Guitar tones and solos like Bryan Adams and Keith Scott any more.
Ah man, thanks Tim! I still listen to Reckless all the time. The guitar tones on that record - not to mention the songwriting - still blow me away. Just awesome! Mick here, obvs.
Man, I was holding it together through that entire intro, and then y’all quoted that bit from Spinal Tap and I completely lost it. Thanks for making me laugh like an idiot this morning at one of the best bits of musical comedy I’ve ever heard.
Really useful. It occurs to me that understanding the frequencies at which your different guitars really resonate - like the Les Paul was so lively at D, for example, but the 335 was different - could inform your guitar choice for songs in different keys (assuming you're blessed with such a choice, obviously!) Lots of informative and thought provoking stuff there. Really appreciate it. Thanks both of you.
Wow I didn't know how much I didn't know. You guys are some of the best teachers on RUclips. The breath of information that you offer and the method in which you teach it makes it so any one can understand it. You guys are the best.
Some years back I frequently used a guitar with a hex pickup through a Roland synth unit. It was amazingly freeing to play 'sax' or 'flute' and not have to fight note decay with a clean tone and without compression.
The Alvarez Dana scoop guitar would be a good guitar to review regarding sustain since the design was to influence sustain. Love the show from Hanoverton Ohio.
Channeling a little Syd there Mick... Interesting episode. Nothing you guys haven't covered before in various ep's, but it's useful to have all the info in one place. Cheers... G (who haz hayfever)
thank fuzz it's friday once again! p.s.: you forgot to mention the right facial expression also helps sustain, every guitarist should have a sustain face
Exactly! Quality of interaction is the goal. Note decay quality is a necessary part of musical interaction. All elements in the chain of sound creation and delivery within the artists listening space contribute to inform them of the quality of their contribution in real time. Music creation requires sharing quality time. Is there no musicality without or beyond time?
We may not play 5 second notes often, but a guitar that has great volume for that long really sings. A singer doesn't have decay in volume when they want that last chorus to go crazy. I don't want my guitar to have audible decay when I go for the same effect. It's one or two times in a solo that we use it, but those moments are what define a solo and grab listeners imo. Even better with a guitar that blooms and gets louder immediately after the initial attack(Extremely rare and lighter touch required). Feedback is so amazing because you can have a crescendo effect which the guitar doesn't naturally do, but is the single most dynamic thing you can do in music with one note. Loud to quiet doesn't evoke emotion like quiet to loud does exactly because quiet to loud on the same note is an unnatural experience for listeners. That is what makes the human voice so capable of drawing emotion.
That Spinal Tap bit... you guys are overgrown kids and we love you for it. :) Still, you consistently get about the best guitar tones in the youtube guitar galaxy. And share great advice... So... Thanks for that.
It's pretty complicated.... feeedback is also enhanced by the open strings resonating - so if the fretted note is an A then the open A string will resonate as well as the harmonics. Also worth bearing in mind is the compression brought in by the ear (self limiting to protect against damage). We notice this as a reduction in transient and enhancement of the sustain and release phase. On the first example it would have been good to match the LP and Strat volumes - then we would have heard mosre sustain in the strat. All interesting stuff. But yea, louder is better :)
The attach of the LP was so much higher than the strat and that is why the LP won. On an amplifier the feedback network can diminish the sustain. Thanks guys great show!
Tell you gentleman something Iv got so much inspiration just to hit a note & mess around with volume is what I am craving todo it’s so strange the power of these things wtg awesome video once again, you guys are seriously legendary!
This was one of the most interesting episodes of TPS I've ever watched. Not too dissimilar to a research paper in video form, all you need is some citations and Bob's your uncle XD. Also, loving the beard Dan!
Just been listening to the McLaughlin/Santana "Love Devotion Surrender" album and some of the sustain, ( and without finger vibrato) from Carlos Santana is incredible.
Great episode, guys! One trick you didn't mention is something you both do (everybody does) quite intuitively is to maintain sustain on a single fretted note by introducing new transients - wobbling the string like a nano bend, not enough to change pitch much. It's especially noticeable when the frets have lost their crowns and the string catches on the ridges. It's a glorious sound. I think SRV was the first player I noticed doing it.
Check out Jack Thammarat Somewhere over the Rainbow for sustain....I want that...very clean, no string noise, bent notes with plenty of sustain at the end of the bend......How did he get it?
thx soooo much - this is the topic I have been pleading for - I was slightly despairing when I saw the pedal board (I can't afford the chase bliss pre-amp let alone 2 great amps and the rest) - I predicted I would eventually see "my" EOB strat (tho mine wasn't given to me by EOB) - slightly disappointed that it didn't have the whammy bar - cos that's way fun - you did inadvertently address my big issue : polyphonic sustain through EQ and compression - tho you have to do a whole episode about the latter (as you both said) - a lot of the ep was also DAW friendly and I thank you for that
also it was funny that Dan (sounds like Kiwi but is Australian) was asked about an english accent for the genuinely lovely "Pedals the Musical" by the JHS crew
Synth and guitar enthusiast here. Just to add that in the synth world (ADSR), Sustain does not refer to the length of the note, but the level (amplitude) to which the signal will drop after the initial Attack is played. Of course this means that with higher sustain you can "hear" the notes ring out longer (i.e. little volume drop, flatter gradient), and with lower sustain you "hear" the notes die out quicker (i.e. large volume drop, steeper gradient), although it is the Decay that controls the rate of the volume drop. Which is why compressors give you more sustain - it boosts the quieter signal further away from the initial attack. Makes more sense if you look at the ADSR graph :)
Great episode, guys. As usual, I learned more than one thing. You guys are a huge help to a hobbyist like me that doesn't really get opportunities to learn from other players very often. Its because of you fellas I enjoy my sound, thank you for all the knowledge.
One of the most entertaining RUclips shows for guitar. You guys are the best...i truly do not understand the need for the plastic curtain...to each his own but would love to see this go away. I watch these shows to better my guitar playing and I play guitar to escape the madness that is in the world especially lately...not hating...just sharing ...keep up the great work!
Tim pierce talks about this: Turn the amp up and pick very softly. It’ll balance your ADSR envelope so you get huge notes with the added benefit of minimising playing tension too. Mind blown!
Mick and the eBow (originally autocorrected to Ebola) which may be reasonably appropriate.... could be approaching a “jump the shark” moment. I reckon that the reason we love valve amps so much is because of the inimitable lovely way that particularly power amp valves naturally compress and there for (provide the impression of ) sustain... why a five watt single ended amp at home works... why a 50 watt amp cranked at a gig is a godly experience.
Great vid guys. Mick, I've always found the neck pick-up works better with an ebow and turning the guitar volume down a bit makes it better manageable - I don't know if you plan to use it ever again but they're a wide world of fun and inspiration! Have a listen to the begining of Godless by the Dandy Warhols for a Bass VI ebow extravaganza.
Dan: 100% correct on the low volume stuff. im a bedroom player. 90ish dB and i need crystal cleans fors 90s rhythm/open chords stuff and always use a compressor. when i go jam with friends at higher volume (same amp and guitars) i dont use/need it. my travel board doesnt have a compressor on it for that reason.
Cool show. I think volume / sustain often get mistaken for gain. Just received a Ceriatone JM 50 and it’s amazing to just play clean, rings out forever. Haven’t felt the need to put a pedal into it, yet.
Anytime I hear the word sustain, I immediately think of Gary Moore. What a player and used sustain and feedback to musical perfection! Awesome video guys!
100% !!!
When Robert Fripp & Brian Eno recorded the droning guitar part on Heroes, they marked points on the floor which gave the optimum feedback for each note. Brings a whole new meaning to tap dancing!
Ted Nugent regularly did this on stage during rehearsals as well. He would mark different spots on the floor with tape and each spot fed back differently. I read that somewhere probably 20 years ago
Up with this
@@justinpalmer6098 it sounds like such an obvious thing to do in retrospect but the creativity to have come up with the idea in the first place can only be admired
Gary moore too
Zappa had A circuit he put into his guitars to help him control feedback and he could get what he wanted out of any hall he played in.
I was studying but this seemed More Important.
LOL Great honest comment
Ha ha. Brilliant!
You made the right call. Its because it is more important. You could go get a sandwich and that guitar would still be sustaining
Seemed?
This is studying
For the last six weeks , I’ve been out on medical leave from work due to knee replacement surgery ,, the upside is I get to watch TPS on my 75 inch tv an my surround sound system in my living room , instead of my cell phone at work. Major diffearance ,, luv you guys !
I have never thought "I wish this guitar had more sustain" it always baffled me when people said it. However, I have always felt that note "bloom" was a better word for it. I never cared for the length of the decay, but its vocal quality (where that low level feedback that you demonstrate here gives it the mojo). Great episode guys, really cool.
Yes, very nicely put Alex!
Trey Anastasio is a master of sustain and writes songs based on sustain and feedback. He's using a hollowbody guitar into a compressor and two modified TS-9's, which help him mightily. As always, thanks for the show, gentlemen! I'm glad you're back, together, in the room! :)
You know it's funny how I keep coming back to my modded TS 9 Old faithful tried and true Really that and my favorite fuzz and I'm usually good Rarely run more than four pedals Fuzz - TS - Echo - Tremolo.....
Thank you Mr. Sawyer
I'm genuinely saddened that Mick didn't come back with a cup of tea after putting the Les Paul on the chair and leaving shot at the beginning.
Ah man. That would have worked!
Classic!😉
Too much tongue... (said the...)
I was thinking a sandwich, but yeah, exactly...
i was really hoping sandwich
I really enjoy how you guys start at the most basic level and build upon the foundation. A lot of people would either gloss over the basic concept of sustain or fail to get very far past the basic concept.
It's great than when you are demoing effects pedals that you get into what the effect actually is and use the pedals to show that instead of just showcasing the pedal.
When I last saw soundgarden they did the same thing of just leaving the guitars and bass sustaining for 10-15 minutes before the encore... it was the loudest sound I’ve ever heard, completely amazing
I saw Bob Mould do that back in the 80’s. He leaned his Gibson in front of the cab and it fed back for probably 20 minutes during intermission or something. Even then I knew it was a trick because there’s no way that thing could’ve sustained the same note like it did. It was basically a static note that never changed the whole time. Brilliant that you saw Soundgarden. Much respect.
Soundgarden rules. Saw them open up for Skid Row for Louder than Love and headline at Red Rocks. They did the feedback thing when they headlined. I didn't stay for Skid Row.
Ouh I remember Kevin Shields doing the same with his bloody valentine at a gig in France when Loveless hit the planet
I saw Motorhead in a room that was maybe 500 square feet ... they still brought 10 full double stacks of 4x12 cabs. I couldn't really hear well after that. That was the loudest thing I've ever heard. As for sustain and feedback and harmonics and LOUD! ... Sonic Youth in 1990 and Sunn (O))) in 2015.
@@scaramouche49 - I wasn't fortunate to see them that early but did when they came back around 2008. Absolutely astounding stuff, when I closed my eyes during You Made Me Realise I started seeing colours and shapes, I thought the ceiling was going to collapse!
For a really natural mod to the note envelope, try turning your pick round - play with one of the 'blunt' points and you'll get a really natural compression effect. Works really well with clean tones.
Ive played like that for years !!
@@Bunn4Funn. Me too, but almost nobody ever mentions it.
Nice way to fatten up the tone / take a bit of brightness out.
I have a cheap Tele which had an issue with the neck pocket. It was just a hair wider that the neck. I decided to remove the neck, fill the gap with wood glue and screw it back on. The next day I tried it and I was astounded by the results. Essentially I had a bolt-on + glued-on neck. Not only it sustained much longer, but the frequency responce was broader, with more low mids and more punch. I liked it so much that I did it to my Fender guitars as well, with similar results.
That sounds like a great idea! Might try it on my chepo Strat!
Not sure if it has been mentioned, but I feel honor-bound to point out that this video is conspicuously devoid of any Stonehenge monument--either life-size, or in danger of being crushed by a resident of Khazad-dûm... [Edit: SO good to see you guys back in the room.]
Aaahhhhhhh!!! He was confused!
@@ThatPedalShow this has absolutely solidified Movie Night. Spinal Tap, and if there's time, A Mighty Wind. "Weh-helllll..." WHERE IS THE DISCUSSION OF SUSTAIN IN "OLD JOE'S PLACE"?!?!?
They are not that far from Stonehenge
New challenge idea: get the decades in a jar (50s - 2020s) and sort it out between you two, each one needs to play the guitar sounds of that decade using 3 pedals + an amp and a guitar
i vote "Aye" to this.
A difficult one this for me, as which would you pick for, let's say the 70s? Stadium rock, prog rock, punk?
Good idea nonetheless 🙂
I'd like this too!
Great idea
how tf would you define guitar tone from 2010-2020? all digital pedals?
32:25 - Had a similar experience in a stringed instrument shop in North London in '97. Playing one of the cheapest cellos in a room containing comfortably £1m+ worth of instruments, I felt like an absolute hero. Remains one of the most transcendent hours of my life even after the birth of the children. Utterly transformative.
My favourite use of feedback is by Steve Vai on the first G3 DVD, he plays a face melting solo between Answers and For The Love Of God then sustains one note, and emphasises different harmonics on the same note by stepping about the stage, really really cool.
Agreed. Immediately thought of this also. Goosebumps every time.
G3 is something else lol. The Eric Johnson stuff on there like red house is amazing. Actually speaking of Eric Johnson, he has some of the best “sustaining” tone out there imo
Glad you guys cleared that up. So many videos look at 'sustain' 30 seconds out and determine things like strat necks sustain longer or steel girders sustain longer (Jason Seaborn), or heavy blocks sustain more.
But few realize what you want is a loud 'decay' - or the sustain of the first millisecond or second or maybe two. And the more compression, reverb, delay and natural sustain you have, the less overdrive/distortion you need, and the less fizzy your tone.
Why do I love this show so much? It's so great to see the two of you back in the room
Thanks!
At long last! This episode has sustained our curiosity for years at this point; from times way back in the pedal shed 1.0! Most definitely deserves some feedback...+1 from me!
Ok, work day is over and I’ve adequately digested the episode. ‘Twas a fantastic jaunt through the realities of sustain. It’s such an integral part of getting the life outta the notes that I just always feel when a setup is giving it. Hope you’re both doing well, all my love ❤️.
My 2 year just asked for the intro to be played again. She loved it 🤣🤣🤣 it's the feedback and the hair!
Nothing more comfortable than staring into another mans eyes and wagging your tongue.
You guys are the best.
Frank Zappa got hospitalized for years for staring at the audiences girlfriend! I recall one bigger gig ( for me) I wasplaying where the audience was just black mass ( the stage lights...), really coudnt differentiate between boyfriends or girlfriends..., and , maan wagging your front tail z dangerose if youre standing up close to the mic...ZZZ, electrick..., luv K ; )
It was a lovely moment.
You guys are awesome. That intro was just what I needed today. I literally went and rewatched Spinal Tap and then cam back and finished this video. Thank you, again!
Haha! You’re welcome matey 🤓👍
Enthusiasm is contagious! You two having a genuinely fun time really does come across to us out here. Keep it up!
Sustain is a blast with electrics, especially with fuzz. But my occasional bane is with acoustics, especially when looping. L.R. Baggs Para Di has a pretty good notch to go hunting around with but when feedback wants to be a gremlin, it will. Probably made worse by vocal mic in same loop.
Great to have the dynamic duo back!
G
Yes, you guys definitely should do a “help me find the right compressor” episode. Please, pleasepleaseplease
Once again, an episode of TPS sends me to the place I'd been trying to find. I did play at some pretty serious volume and got a feel for how things were behaving. THEN, I wound my clean preamp up until I could just feel/hear a touch of compression (small combo, but very clean headroom amp). This made the harmonics so much more alive. I have a proper contraption of drives (and this is mostly your fault, fellas!). Before it was over, I backed off all 3 of my strat PU's which I would not have expected. This made for some killer clarity and less low end. Perfect. Now, with the power volume back to a more acceptable level for a house with people living in it, my drives all work together marvelously. Love it, Love it, Love it.
Opening on a Spinal Tap reference? Yep, this is gonna be epic. All my love, will touch base again after I’ve seen it in its entirety.
The animations with the waveforms were really cool
Lol, Mick The Intro Was So Awesome. You Had Me Laughing So Hard! The Gene Simmons Tongue Gesture & Wig Was Halarious. Love The Show Fella's 🎸🤘
Gary Moore always had his amp and guitar turned up to 10, he said you couldn't hear the 'true' properties of the instrument otherwise. He also said part of mastering playing live is the fight to keep everything under control at crazy volume...
Frank Zappa used a parametric eq to adjust his boost to the venue he was playing in. The Son of Kong pedal allows this with 'normal' guitars.
I love this - it's all feedback, really. Far too many think that word just refers to the effect of high-pitched screaming notes, rather than to any and all changes in the guitar's response resulting from the sound of the amp.
Habits kept puts a strain on creativity , and that is where real art is found.
For me sustain is like you say , connection while you are playing , and instant gratification. Just bought a sg Junior p90 and the sustain went up to roof. Increíble experience
Mick regarding the ebow type device
“Don’t get caught in the trap of doubt “
Sounded great and showed your improvisational skill
Great show Dan is such a sage
Dave here, hello! Thanks for dropping in on my birthday. The party starts now!
Happy birthday Dave!
Another informative and enjoyable episode. The content was well organized and presented with wit and wisdom. And, as always, we get to hear Dan and Mick play. Not too shabby!
OMG i have been wanting to ask for THIS exact show for 3 years! You guys are the best! Thank you! 🤘🙏🙏🙏🙏
This show came at just the right time for me. Only this week have I been falling in love again with the guitar tones by Keith Scott on Bryan Adams albums. The sustain Keith Scott gets out of his original 1963 strat and the Gretsch for songs like Everything I do, I do it for You on both solos and held chords is just jaw dropping. Such tasty playing. I would love to hear Mick do a version of Please Forgive me by Bryan Adams as I reckon Mick’s voice and strat sounds are similar. No one writes songs with Guitar tones and solos like Bryan Adams and Keith Scott any more.
Ah man, thanks Tim! I still listen to Reckless all the time. The guitar tones on that record - not to mention the songwriting - still blow me away. Just awesome! Mick here, obvs.
Man, I was holding it together through that entire intro, and then y’all quoted that bit from Spinal Tap and I completely lost it. Thanks for making me laugh like an idiot this morning at one of the best bits of musical comedy I’ve ever heard.
Really useful. It occurs to me that understanding the frequencies at which your different guitars really resonate - like the Les Paul was so lively at D, for example, but the 335 was different - could inform your guitar choice for songs in different keys (assuming you're blessed with such a choice, obviously!) Lots of informative and thought provoking stuff there. Really appreciate it. Thanks both of you.
my years of dreams flashes in front of my eyes when I watch this
At least the boys didn't show up with matching cold sores on their mouth. This made me snort with laughter:)
"what's wrong with being sexy ?"
Wow I didn't know how much I didn't know. You guys are some of the best teachers on RUclips. The breath of information that you offer and the method in which you teach it makes it so any one can understand it. You guys are the best.
Thank you Mark!
Instantly knew it would be a Tap gag. All-time top 5 comedy.
And Trey Anastasio of Phish is a master of sustain.
Sustain!! What a great subject to check out. Great idea guys.
YES YES YES, been looking forward to this one lads
Some years back I frequently used a guitar with a hex pickup through a Roland synth unit. It was amazingly freeing to play 'sax' or 'flute' and not have to fight note decay with a clean tone and without compression.
The Alvarez Dana scoop guitar would be a good guitar to review regarding sustain since the design was to influence sustain. Love the show from Hanoverton Ohio.
From a distance that Les Paul body looks ok, however the closer shots show the most fantastic pattern. Soooo sweet.
Channeling a little Syd there Mick... Interesting episode. Nothing you guys haven't covered before in various ep's, but it's useful to have all the info in one place.
Cheers... G (who haz hayfever)
Masterpiece! Such a great episode with a special atmosphere too.
Thank you very much!
My first episode for a fair while, I thought the lack of barbers in lockdown had sent Mick’s barnet wild!
"The way you shape that... thing" is a great t-shirt waiting to be made.
thank fuzz it's friday once again!
p.s.: you forgot to mention the right facial expression also helps sustain, every guitarist should have a sustain face
We need TPS “thank fuzz it’s Friday” t-shirts!
This might seem like a weird idea, but have yall done a video on tuning stability?
Great idea
Mic, thank you for your feedback. It's greatly welcome!
Very droll : )
At 58:12 Oh my god. Every hair just stood up and I fell into a stupor of bliss. WOW
SUSTAIN!!!.....Its what keeps you going 🤣
Exactly! Quality of interaction is the goal. Note decay quality is a necessary part of musical interaction. All elements in the chain of sound creation and delivery within the artists listening space contribute to inform them of the quality of their contribution in real time. Music creation requires sharing quality time. Is there no musicality without or beyond time?
We may not play 5 second notes often, but a guitar that has great volume for that long really sings. A singer doesn't have decay in volume when they want that last chorus to go crazy. I don't want my guitar to have audible decay when I go for the same effect. It's one or two times in a solo that we use it, but those moments are what define a solo and grab listeners imo. Even better with a guitar that blooms and gets louder immediately after the initial attack(Extremely rare and lighter touch required). Feedback is so amazing because you can have a crescendo effect which the guitar doesn't naturally do, but is the single most dynamic thing you can do in music with one note. Loud to quiet doesn't evoke emotion like quiet to loud does exactly because quiet to loud on the same note is an unnatural experience for listeners. That is what makes the human voice so capable of drawing emotion.
1:04:45 -- OMG! Sid's BACK! There's only one thing to do ... Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun!
Now that's what I call an awesome Spinal Tap moment !! :D Great episode btw guys
I think that was the best solo I've ever heard dan play at 23:50. Mick will struggle to beat that one.
What is sustain = Dan’s explanation of anything 😂 love you bruz
I’m about 20 minutes in and I’m expecting this to eventually find its way to Gilmour’s “Sorrow” intro. We shall see
Awww.. the live intros and outros are amazing. Lucky to have heard him do it twice in Chicago some years back.
Favourite intro ever
The intro made me smile so much
That Spinal Tap bit... you guys are overgrown kids and we love you for it. :) Still, you consistently get about the best guitar tones in the youtube guitar galaxy. And share great advice... So... Thanks for that.
Thank you!
Bit of volume, bit of gain, bit of sustain into in-pitch feedback. My Diezel Einstein (Marshall-y) is very good at that!
It's pretty complicated.... feeedback is also enhanced by the open strings resonating - so if the fretted note is an A then the open A string will resonate as well as the harmonics. Also worth bearing in mind is the compression brought in by the ear (self limiting to protect against damage). We notice this as a reduction in transient and enhancement of the sustain and release phase. On the first example it would have been good to match the LP and Strat volumes - then we would have heard mosre sustain in the strat. All interesting stuff. But yea, louder is better :)
If we have to describe the guitar envelope in terms of ADSR, I think that what we all call sustain is actually release.. Very interesting episode guys
You can still hear Peter Green's sustain on "The Supernatural" right now if you crack a window open, I'm pretty sure.
great. alotof stuff i had suspicions about now i have the nuances of. thanks lads!
One of the greatest intros ever! :D
The attach of the LP was so much higher than the strat and that is why the LP won.
On an amplifier the feedback network can diminish the sustain.
Thanks guys great show!
Tell you gentleman something Iv got so much inspiration just to hit a note & mess around with volume is what I am craving todo it’s so strange the power of these things wtg awesome video once again, you guys are seriously legendary!
This was one of the most interesting episodes of TPS I've ever watched. Not too dissimilar to a research paper in video form, all you need is some citations and Bob's your uncle XD. Also, loving the beard Dan!
Thanks to you I am the proud owner of a Victory amp ;) thanks guys
Love the Spinal Tap references boys, incredible :)
I've been chasing after the perfect dull "thud" but you've opened my eyes! I've had it wrong all these years ...
... seriously though, sustain and feedback have been things I haven't really gotten a handle on but this helps a lot. Thanks!
I really like that dry clean, low volume mixed with a hint of compression.
Just been listening to the McLaughlin/Santana "Love Devotion Surrender" album and some of the sustain, ( and without finger vibrato) from Carlos Santana is incredible.
This is the one about feedback I've been waiting for. Nice one!
Great episode, guys!
One trick you didn't mention is something you both do (everybody does) quite intuitively is to maintain sustain on a single fretted note by introducing new transients - wobbling the string like a nano bend, not enough to change pitch much. It's especially noticeable when the frets have lost their crowns and the string catches on the ridges. It's a glorious sound. I think SRV was the first player I noticed doing it.
Check out Jack Thammarat Somewhere over the Rainbow for sustain....I want that...very clean, no string noise, bent notes with plenty of sustain at the end of the bend......How did he get it?
Great effort sustaining a straight face at the beginning. :p
thx soooo much - this is the topic I have been pleading for - I was slightly despairing when I saw the pedal board (I can't afford the chase bliss pre-amp let alone 2 great amps and the rest) - I predicted I would eventually see "my" EOB strat (tho mine wasn't given to me by EOB) - slightly disappointed that it didn't have the whammy bar - cos that's way fun - you did inadvertently address my big issue : polyphonic sustain through EQ and compression - tho you have to do a whole episode about the latter (as you both said) - a lot of the ep was also DAW friendly and I thank you for that
also it was funny that Dan (sounds like Kiwi but is Australian) was asked about an english accent for the genuinely lovely "Pedals the Musical" by the JHS crew
Very interesting video, looking forward to watching all of it tonight.
Synth and guitar enthusiast here. Just to add that in the synth world (ADSR), Sustain does not refer to the length of the note, but the level (amplitude) to which the signal will drop after the initial Attack is played. Of course this means that with higher sustain you can "hear" the notes ring out longer (i.e. little volume drop, flatter gradient), and with lower sustain you "hear" the notes die out quicker (i.e. large volume drop, steeper gradient), although it is the Decay that controls the rate of the volume drop. Which is why compressors give you more sustain - it boosts the quieter signal further away from the initial attack. Makes more sense if you look at the ADSR graph :)
Great episode, guys. As usual, I learned more than one thing. You guys are a huge help to a hobbyist like me that doesn't really get opportunities to learn from other players very often. Its because of you fellas I enjoy my sound, thank you for all the knowledge.
One of the most entertaining RUclips shows for guitar. You guys are the best...i truly do not understand the need for the plastic curtain...to each his own but would love to see this go away. I watch these shows to better my guitar playing and I play guitar to escape the madness that is in the world especially lately...not hating...just sharing ...keep up the great work!
There are things you can't unsee. The intro had it's share of those.
Great video as always. Thanks for posting.
With his white beard, Dan has now the wisdom of Gandalf...the lord of the gear!
One overdrive to rule them all!
"Dan-dalf" ....
Lord of the string...
I was thinking Uncle Albert from Only Fools and Horses
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Danbledore
Tim pierce talks about this:
Turn the amp up and pick very softly.
It’ll balance your ADSR envelope so you get huge notes with the added benefit of minimising playing tension too.
Mind blown!
Thank you for another great show!
My baby daughter’s TPS onesie is starting to fit now :) Will take a pic once she sits still for half a second 😆
Mick and the eBow (originally autocorrected to Ebola) which may be reasonably appropriate.... could be approaching a “jump the shark” moment. I reckon that the reason we love valve amps so much is because of the inimitable lovely way that particularly power amp valves naturally compress and there for (provide the impression of ) sustain... why a five watt single ended amp at home works... why a 50 watt amp cranked at a gig is a godly experience.
Great vid guys. Mick, I've always found the neck pick-up works better with an ebow and turning the guitar volume down a bit makes it better manageable - I don't know if you plan to use it ever again but they're a wide world of fun and inspiration! Have a listen to the begining of Godless by the Dandy Warhols for a Bass VI ebow extravaganza.
I don’t, but thank you Paul!
Thanks so much guys! Been starting the investigation into this rabbit hole and didn’t know where to go. Yeah!
Dan: 100% correct on the low volume stuff. im a bedroom player. 90ish dB and i need crystal cleans fors 90s rhythm/open chords stuff and always use a compressor. when i go jam with friends at higher volume (same amp and guitars) i dont use/need it. my travel board doesnt have a compressor on it for that reason.
Cool show. I think volume / sustain often get mistaken for gain. Just received a Ceriatone JM 50 and it’s amazing to just play clean, rings out forever. Haven’t felt the need to put a pedal into it, yet.
Could you please make a video about how to set the volume of your pedals right