DIY eBow String Driver - Infinite Sustain

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All Music Composed by Mark Gutierrez

[@BBGuitars]

Would be awesome to see a single coil pickup acting as a driver. I bought a sustainer pickup from a manufacturer in Indonesia, they never worked properly and smelt of weed/cigarettes. I had enough of them and pulled apart the sealed pickup to find a basic single coil with very little winds and cigarette butts as packing.... winner... $200 lesson learnt... Since then ive been wanting to make my own some how, this might be the ticket...

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

I read a forum thread ages ago where a dude created his own sustainer coils, then experimented with a hexaphonix sustainer to try and recreate the moog guitar. Making individual coils for each string is basically just a case of wrapping some coil wire around an Alnico rod magnet.

[@gothridercreations]

Very cool, getting serious Sci fi sounds effects vibe 😊

[@nto-steve]

I would imagine that the coil on the output from the amp - driving the string - does not need, and may work better, whithout the magnet on it, that is the way it works when used as a relay. Also for others trying this, make sure the relay has no flyback diode connected across the coil as this may also be detrimental to the signal. Steve.

[@MarkGutierrez]

Thanks for the insight Steve! Much appreciated.

[@wilhelmvonn9619]

The coil definitely needs a magnet if you want to put an audio waveform through it.

[@DetroitMicroSound]

Put a Bigsby tremolo with a roller bridge with that, and add a bunch of strings. Play melodies by muting and unmuting the various strings with one hand, while using the tremolo with the other. Could make various special felt covered mutes, you hold, that mute strings in patterns: String 1, 3, 5, 7, or 1,2,4,5,7,8, etc, and maybe make the mutes curved. Use a rocking motion, to create arpeggios. 😁

[@metalheadmaker]

Well, i go from one video to another and see that you've already done it. I literally have every single component including the lm386. I might have to noodle with this. Man i need to catch up on the rest of your vids. Cool as hell!

[@BillThompsonSoundArtist]

I wonder if you tried to make a guitar version of this, would the relays interfere with each other if they were close (since you’d need 6 * 6) ? Also, anyway to deal with them bouncing off the relays so they resonate but don’t ‘click’?

[@virtuosomaximoso1]

Could run a monophonic synth signal into the driver. Then You'd have a need controllable drone effect. Do this and make a kontact library for me.

[@danniaction]

I'm very curious what would happen if you put The oscillators right next to each other. Or the pickup in between them. This would be super cool to put under a pickguard and just turn on when you need it.

[@andyinwales]

I wonder if you used a lighter guage string, you might solve the rattling issue. also try putting the coils on a simple track, to get the harmonic sweet spots.

[@RuthlessMojo]

I have an EBow schematic I’ve had for years. It uses the LM386 and uses two piezo speakers (like the ones found on pcs that sound when there’s a warning) as the coils. You need to cut the top plastic piece of the speaker and remove a metallic tab that’s on top of the coil. One is an 8 ohm coil and the other is a 75 ohm coil if I remember correctly. While searching for parts I found a manufacturer that actually made the coils without the covering on them making them ideal for this project. I still need to build one but I did get an infinite sustainer from Joyo recently which is basically an EBow copy at a third of the price. Works great.

[@MarkGutierrez]

Wow, I would have never thought of using piezos. Can't wait to try them. Thanks so much!

[@wilhelmvonn9619]

If they contain coils then they can't be piezo speakers.

[@RuthlessMojo]

@@wilhelmvonn9619 The electronic suppliers list them as Piezo buzzers. The type that sounds when you have an error with your pc.

[@CavershamGuitars-zo9fi]

I wonder if you remove the LED and hooked it into a synth if it could be used as CV. I assume that the string moving across the path of the magnet is creating a small electrical current in the coil like a regular pickup does and that's why the LED flashes.

[@MarkGutierrez]

You're right. I didn't realize until much later that is what is happening. So now I wonder if all pickups create a small voltage, can we connect LEDs to them?

[@Mafelisk]

Офигенно, мужик! Спасибо

[@sirblingjax]

Just to give you an idea I used an infrared LED and an infrared receiver and put it in between the string and I was able to get the string to vibrate on its own without a magnetic pickup I fed it back in to the magnetic pickup and was able to get the string to vibrate continuously.

[@MarkGutierrez]

Really?

[@littlebritain64]

Bridge, frets, nut, tuning stuff.... Are You seasoning them?? How would them feel and act after shuch an activity? No seriously, I like the idea and the sounds, but I am afraid that this could stress the parta too much....

[@realitystudioscustomshop]

Love it... can't wait to see where this goes

[@pablo.l]

I need to hear this with guitar effects !

[@hellf.o]

Wow this is awesome! Just imagine a d.i.y Ebow drone machine!😮

[@skak245]

I want to make something like that but I'm a bit confused about the schematic because in the video the cables are very messy. This is what I thought so = connect the battery to the LM386 then connect the LM386 to the single coil pickup with a cable. as simple as that, am I right??? because i see u using a 1/4 jacks but it seem useless.. plsss answer

[@MarkGutierrez]

Ignore the 1/4 jack. I had that already soldered on the LM386 from another project. You can just wire up the pickups straight to the LM386.

[@skak245]

@@MarkGutierrez thankyou very much , ill try it when my lm386 arrived, thanksss

[@666pinkster]

Sick!

[@MajoPedal]

interesting drone

[@michaeldorman]

I wonder if Fernandez’ has a patent for its Sustainer; I assume you’ve more or less re-derived the same basic idea…

[@MarkGutierrez]

They do. Just found it. Filed in 1992: patents.google.com/patent/US5233123A/en

[@jujoboha]

@@MarkGutierrez Expired in 2010?

[@MattnUska]

Would be cool to make something like a harp with this and then tune it to chords. Maybe have individual single coil pickups for each string and then run it into a vca mixer.

[@return2sender791]

One word: Segulharpa. 🤓

[@cheapskate8656]

Nice Mark, thanks.

[@wjewell63]

👍