What is "good" sustain technique?

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

In another thread about preamps, several people reiterate the idea that "good" right and left hand technique can increase sustain. I am wondering what "good" bar technique you would specifically recommend? Do you press as hard as possible, or softer? Do you add vibrato, and how specifically does that lengthen the time a string vibrates? Do you slide the bar back and forth like a violin bow to add sustain? (In which case a rough, dirty, un-chromed, unpolished bar would work best.)

What are the "good" right-hand techniques that specifically add sustain? It seems like playing as close to the middle of the string would be a good idea, but other than that do you also just pluck it as hard as possible? Are you trying to make the string vibrate more up-and-down, as opposed to side-to-side?

If you can only answer "I don't exactly know what good technique is, but I just know it when I hear it" that's kind of a circular and unproductive comment. If you don't even know what a technique is, what reason do you have to be calling it a technique in the first place?

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Anybody can sit behind ( or stand behind ) a steel and move the bar, and pick some strings to make audible sounds. I certainly did it when I was learning to play. But, it took a while to make it sound real good. I'll try to explain some techniques I've observed and put into practise.

Bar Control-#1 Keeping the bar on the proper
fret for intonation.
#2 When playing slow tunes,
remember to roll the bar at the
end of a phrase or note.(used
in conjuction with volume pedal
swells)
#3 Sliding the bar back off a
string, you don't want to keep
ringing.
#4 No bar roll, just fast
accurate bar movement, for
fast, multinote phrasing.
#5 "Most important" is practise,
practise, practise.
AND DON'T DROP THE BAR !!!!
Right Hand- There are many variables here..
#1 Palm blocking, with the soft
edge of you right hand
#2 Pick blocking, using your
fingerpicks to block the
string you just picked.
( most effective when using
"banjo" type finger rolls.
#3 Using the Jeff Newman
"curled hand" position or
the flatter style of picking
#4 Pick attack on the strings
for slower or faster, more
aggressive tunes.
Volume Pedal- #1 Starting with a lower volume
then, adding more volume to
add sustain to the notes
picked. Usually used on slow
tunes.
#2 Using more of, or all of
your volume pedal when
playing dominant notes or
chords.
I'm sure I just scratched the surface here, but, all of these tips are a form of learning good technique. There are many, many variables to these, when used in conjunction with each other. Some people won't have the manual dexterity to perform them all. I know I don't !! But, learning the basics is the only way to go. There is so much info today about these "techniques", all one has to do is inquire, and then put it into good use. Also, you have to remember that, there is "no one way", that is perfect for everybody. They're just guidelines to help us play the steel and make music.

Ray Minich · From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra

Very good so far. Are there any guidelines for when one would pick closer to the center of the fretboard (i.e. right hand closer to the 12th fret) as opposed to the "standard" position of nearer the pickup? I believe this relates to what David is asking.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Proper vibrato technique will double or triple the sustain of a note or chord! IMHO, you're not a pro and you'll never have good sustain without a good vibrato technique.

I favor a very relaxed approach (which I honed playing all-day jams), using just enough bar pressure to get a clean note or chord. (Too much pressure causes intonation problems, and...a cramped left hand.) The speed of my slow (rolling) vibrato is pretty constant, a couple of times a second, but will vary sometimes with the desired duration of the note, and with the type of music. I also use a very fast (sliding) vibrato for special effects, sometimes on a slow songs (think: John Hughey), but mostly on the faster songs.

As to how vibrato helps the note sustain, here's my take on it. It has to do with the harmonic overtones. Varying the pitch of the fundamental note also varies (increases) the number of overtones. More overtones equals more sympathetic vibrations to help maintain the fundamental, but the short duration of the overtones at any single frequency (due to the varying pitch) lessens the cancellation (decay) caused by wave interference.

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Picking closer to the end of the fretboard, will give you a mellower tone. Picking closer to the pickup, will give you a sharper tone. I've also found that picking closer to the pickup gives better string separation. BTW- My answer above was to give a moderated explanation of "Techniques" in general. Since the question was directed at those of us, who, espoused using better techniques. There is no "single" magic bullet to overcome the lack of sustain. Sometimes an effects box can overcome the lack, thereof. But, it will not cure an un-aquired skill.

David Doggett · Posted 22 Nov 2005 5:37 pm

Two things not yet mentioned are that a heavier bar gives better sustain. And hard right hand picking sustains better than light picking. But anything can be overdone. A too heavy bar can slow you down, as can picking too hard. There is an optimum zone of consistent moderately hard picking with good volume pedal technique. Buddy Emmons is the master. I always thought that vibrato adding to sustain was an illusion. But if it is, it is certainly a very stong illusion, and maybe Donny has something with his overtone theory.

Mike Cass · Posted 23 Nov 2005 12:39 am

one thing Ive noticed about E; he doesnt dampen the strings behind the bar unless its absolutely necessary. Ive watched him fooling with effects settings,picking a note and letting it subside,then bringing it all the way back with a little shake of the bar.....

Curt Langston · Posted 24 Nov 2005 8:20 am

Vibrato should be used at the same tempo of the song being played. Just as you would set your tremolo on your amp for a particular tempo.

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I'd rather be opinionated, than apathetic!

Roger Rettig · From: Naples, FL

I saw the Maestro, BE, drop his bar at an Everly's concert back in 2000 - after that, I figured it must be OK....

RR

John Bechtel · From: Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.

Years & years ago, ho~ho; Buddy used a stainless bar that wasn’t polished to see if the slightly rougher surface would create more sustain! He also used .025 gauged~picks. You would notice that the slightly rough tone~bar also creates some undesireable noises! But, when playing with a group, it wouldn't really be noticeable! (This is so trivial that Buddy probably doesn’t remember the experimental time! Late ’60's)

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“Big John” Bechtel
Coming Soon: New Burgundy D–10 Derby (w/6 & Cool

,
’65 Re-Issue Fender Twin–Reverb Custom™ 15” Eminence.
Current Equipment

David Wren · From: Placerville, California, USA

I find that using a rolling bar vibrato only as the note dies out much more effective at sustaining a note, and rather than a constant tempo, start slow and increase the tempo as you need more v. pedal (Listen to well trained vocalists as they run low on breath). Lifting the back of your left hand off the strings toward the end of the note will help as well, but too soon will cause a "over ringing" tone.

Good practice is to not use your right hand at all, select a string and see how you can control the string tone and volume level using only the bar.

Off topic (as far as R/L hand technique), but placing your monitor amp or speaker (assumming your miced off) so your body doesn't block all the vibrations from your guitar, will help a great deal.

One last trick is to let the volume level die a bit, then bring it back up back up at the end.

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Dave Wren
'95Carter S12-E9/B6,7X7; Session500; Hilton Pedal
www.ameechapman.com

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