E-learning, E-commerce, E-bow???

I am pretty sure you have seen an EBow used by a guitarist or maybe a bassist sometime, or at least I can guarantee you have heard a song where it gets used but maybe you have no clue what it really is.

Just to get you on track of what I am talking about, here is a list of the first 6 tracks that came to my mind where an EBow is used:

The Black Crowes – Gone
David bowie – Heroes
Pink Floyd – Take it back
Frank Zappa – Filthy Habits
Collective soul – Maybe
The Cranberries – Daffodil Lament

So, what is an EBow?

An EBow is basically an electronic bow – you know, a bow that is needed to play a violin or cello. You probably remember Jimmy Page playing his guitar with a real bow?

Or maybe a band called Sigur Ros, they use a bow too… anyway, you now know what I am talking about.

An EBow is the electronic version of a bow, perhaps using a traditional bow is way hip but is not that easy… the EBow makes it easy!

Hand-held, battery-powered electronic device invented by Greg Heet back in 1969.

How does it work?
In a few simple words, the guitar strings are moved by the electromagnetic field created by the device, producing a sound reminiscent of using a bow on the strings.

The EBow is used to produce a variety of sounds not usually playable on an electric guitar. These sounds are created by a string driver, that gets its input signal by an internal pickup, which works like a guitar pickup. Its output signal is amplified and drives the other coil, which amplifies the string vibrations. With this feedback loop the player can create a continuous string vibration.

How much for an EBow?

I just did a quick check on a few online music stores and It sells for around a $100 bucks – It is totally worth it if you are into experimenting with the sounds. If you love atmospheric stuff, such as Sigur Ros or what Gilmour has done in the field, you should buy one and I can tell you won’t regret it.

If you are keen but want some more information, check out the official EBow website, it has a lot of information about who has used it in which recordings from A to Z (pretty cool). It also has some really cool sound clips where you can hear all you can do with it and of course they even teach you how to use it with their Lessons section, check it out.

You should also check out this demo video made by the WoodwindBrasswind family on Youtube:

I hope you get ebow-tized!

Learn more about Luis Tovar on his Google profile.