Anyone tried a bow on their V-Guitar?

Started by dead_lizard, January 29, 2008, 06:03:57 PM

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dead_lizard

Any Jimmy Page fans here?

Dazed and Confused?

You really need a Les Paul to do it, bowing is impossible on a strat.

Rosin's not really great for the strings either!!

hausmann

If I had a shorter bow I'd probably experiment with it on some patches.  A violin bow seems a bit unwieldy to me when trying to drag across the front of the strings (at least when it's hanging off a human body).   I do use an E-bow pretty regularly though.  Next thing you know I'll be leaving the whammy bar at home, thinking, why would I use that when I can just "beam a whammy?"
-Eric
I wanna join your band
erichausmann.bandcamp.com

Elantric

#2
I use a cello bow,mostly with a Les Paul - and yes rosin is yuck for the strings. VG-99 responds well. I should think a piezo 3/4 length electric cello would work well - just need to adhere to the VG-99 scale length parameter:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_length

Lets fit an RMC pickup on one of these:

http://www.nedsteinberger.com/instruments/cello/cr/cello.htm


The Creation's Eddie Phillips Bowed Guitar predated Jimmy Page's Dazed & Confused  by a couple years




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Phillips_(musician)
QuotePhillips was the first guitarist to use a violin bow with a guitar, a technique he experimented with while in his first band the Mark Four and he perfected the style with The Creation, committing the sound to vinyl on The Creation's only UK chart hits, "Making Time" and "Painter Man", both released in 1966. Although Phillips was the originator, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin later popularised the technique to a wider audience, leading many to erroneously believe that Page, and not Phillips, was the pioneer of the style.






mos6507

Jimmy started off bowing on a Telecaster so you don't necessarily need a Les Paul.  It's easier with one, though.

Michael Dolan Doubleneck
Les Paul Custom

VG-99
FTP

dead_lizard

I don't know if our 99's would like the low c...

The first thing I would try would be Poly SG, but I'm perverse like that!!!

vanceg

Yes, I bow my guitar and bow metal bars that I weave through the strings and clamp to the headstock all the time. Works great!  It doesn't work so well on the "triggered" type COSM models like most of the Synth models (By "triggered" i mean that the guitar signal  is driving an oscillator rather than simply being processed).

You might be interested in this little item - I have a few of them, very cool. You don't get a long bow out of it, but the tone is cool and concept is unique.

http://www.piranhaguitarbow.com/



Quote from: sustainiac on January 29, 2008, 10:34:12 PM
I use a cello bow,mostly with a Les Paul - and yes rosin is yuck for the strings. VG-99 responds well. I should think a piezo 3/4 length electric cello would work well - just need to adhere to the VG-99 scale length parameter:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_length

Lets fit an RMC pickup on one of these:

http://www.nedsteinberger.com/instruments/cello/cr/cello.htm



papabuss

Although this topic started in 2008...
Do you need a patch for LedZeppelins Dazed and Confused or just a violin sounding patch?
Concerning the last : I think I've got a patch somewhere.
If you like I can post it here tomorrow.
FENDER STRATOCASTER (1974); BRIAN MAY RED SPECIAL; VG 99; GR 55; Yamaha DX 7

Music was my first love and it will be my last (JOHN MILES)

Elantric

QuoteDo you need a patch for LedZeppelins Dazed and Confused or just a violin sounding patch?

Yes - Please post in the Patch area!

papabuss

#8
I hope (I'm sure) I will find it, Elantric.
Gonna  post it here tomorrow:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=31.0

EDIT:

Its here:

VG-99 -Violin
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8067.msg57246#msg57246
FENDER STRATOCASTER (1974); BRIAN MAY RED SPECIAL; VG 99; GR 55; Yamaha DX 7

Music was my first love and it will be my last (JOHN MILES)

aliensporebomb

I used to have a flashlight that had a metal grooved body that worked GREAT for bowing guitar.  I wonder whatever happened to it?
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Elantric

#10
Ive used one of these on the slowest setting with a dull cotton polishing wheel and use it for my own single string "Gizmo-tron"

Elantric

#11
And of course Any moving coil speaker will create enough flux energy for your normal guitar pickups to pickup the audio signal.

In a pinch when teaching new songs to the band, i will simply play MP3's on my Cellphone, and hold the Cellphone speaker near my Neck PU on my guitar, with its tone on "3" - audio sounds decent enough with my guitar amp.

If you really want to go wild - buy a used broken 1960's Farfisa Organ. Its discreet oscillators generate lots of EMI / EMF = for sonic madness



* Turn on Farfisa Organ (no need to actually play it)

* Crank up your guitar with normal pickups, mute the strings, and move your guitar around the back side of the Farfisa organ - its a true poly- tone pitch generator - add tape echo, or analog delays with feedback loop repeat  and look out!
Makes great visuals for the crowd at the live gig.

Elantric

and if you are at an electronic auction and find a palette of old walkman cassette players  - its tempting to build this
http://mysterycircuits.com/melloman/melloman.html





G

whoa, elantric, do you have any audio examples of your using that mini mite tool?

mbenigni

Quote from: Elantric on March 01, 2013, 12:54:14 PM
Ive used one of these on the slowest setting with a dull cotton polishing wheel and use it for my own single string "Gizmo-tron"

That is just brilliant. Why didn't I think of this? I actually tried using a short bow for a while but... rosin makes a complete mess of a guitar.

Do your pickups pick up any motor noise, or is this a reasonably "clean" sustain?

Elantric

#15
QuoteDo your pickups pick up any motor noise, or is this a reasonably "clean" sustain?

Yes   - Motor Noise can be a real issue - its important to use the right technique. ( which can be daunting, until you find the combo that works for you)

I found using Cello Bow Rosin on the cotton wheel, and the Neck PU on a Les Paul (with hum buckers) and Tone on "2"  worked best, while I held the mini moto at a 30 degree angle  some what close to the bridge.

Quoterosin makes a complete mess of a guitar.

Indeed it does - I also have a Cello Bow, which works rather well on the low E string - Ive used that a lot on old demos I did in the '70's ( I'll have to dig them out of an old hard drive one day and post them.

Ive seen new "cheap" battery grinders which might be preferred - the slower the motor, the better the results for our needs

But use the fabric Buffing Wheel -( not the garnet stone wheel !)




https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=27943
There exists a material known as "Mu Metal" Which is effective at shielding small motors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu-metal

Ive thought of wrapping the mini moto in Mu metal, which should attenuate a lot of the Motor noise EMF which easily gets picked up by normal mag pickups.

--
Ive used one of these on the slowest setting with a dull cotton polishing wheel and use it for my own single string "Gizmo-tron"

Brak(E)man

#16
I use this sometimes
www.piranhaguitarbow.com/



and this plectrum can give you a bowlike sound
www.jellifish.com/
and of course fernandes sustainer
swimming with a hole in my body

I play Country music too, I'm just not sure which country it's from...

"The only thing worse than a guitar is a guitarist!"
- Lydia Lunch

gandolf

Quote from: Brak(E)man on March 04, 2013, 06:55:38 AM
I use this sometimes
www.piranhaguitarbow.com/
and this plectrum can give you a bowlike sound
www.jellifish.com/
and of course fernandes sustainer

These look very intersting!

i've never tried using my dble-bass bow on my electric bass...because of course it would not work (ok, ok... i did try this silly thing...but don't tell anyone)....the strings on a dble-bass are obviously set-up with a significant curve at the bridge...normal guitar's are almost straight flat, and too close to the body, so you can;t get a normal bow "around" for individual strings (unless you guitar body was shaped like stienberg or a maybe a flying V?) ...and let's not talk about sticky resin.

FreeTime

#18
Check out the action on the guitar on the right, its already nice and high; I'm thinking about shimming and aggressively decreasing the radius of the nut so I can use the bow for more than just chords. I'm just not sure how that will affect the center pickups of the GK3.

Elantric

#19
The key for violin / cello Bow use on guitars is a small radius fretboard. vintage Fenders have 7.5" fretboards.

here is more food for thought