Another Noob Question: Guitar Metal effects?

Question

I was inquiring how certain guitar players, get great sustain when they play certain songs(ex November Rain solo:Slash)....
I received responses that I need a pretty good amp IE Marshall Tube, Laney, Mesa Boogie etc

or

effects petals(ex digitech) with compressor

So I searched around,,, and two seem pretty popular

GNX3000 and the RP500
(both run about 300 bucks)

My question, if you were going to buy one,,,, and they cost the same price which one would you choose?

DigiTech RP500
http://www.guitarcenter.com/DigiTech-RP500-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Pedal-104852033-i1394554.gc

DigiTech 3000
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=99174

Or if you have another effects rack please list.


Thanks in advance.
-B

Answer 1

Okay, I answered your original question and informed you about the proximity effect of standing close to your amp and playing at a higher volume, which is exactly how slash got the long sustain in endless rain. I also went into great detail about how a compressor works and how it can help your sustain problems. (for that alone I deserve best answer!)

Here is the problem. You have a basic line 6 amp correct? This amp already has a multitude of built in effects and amp models so spending a bunch of money on a new multi-effects pedal is somewhat redundant.

Another factor is that most multi-effects units are digital based and the compressor algorithm is very basic and does not allow you to control the amount of threshold or sustain to add to the signal (most units just allow you to turn it off or on).

Compression itself works best in the analog domain. Digital compression is something you do to software, not a guitar signal. The best compressors, with the best sound, are stand alone analog units.

I am not saying that you should not get a new effects unit, I have a very cool zoom unit that cost about $80 and has a bunch of cool effects (including a basic digital compressor which I don't use) But your original question was about getting more sustain from your existing set up and what kind of pedal will do it.

As I pointed out a decent compressor is still your best bet for that and will only cost you about $70 for the MXR dyna comp. About $80 for the guyatone ST2 and both of these units are full blown analog, and allow full control over the amount of sustain.

This would be the simplest way to go. But if you are totally set on getting a new effects unit with all the bells and whistles, then check out Zoom and Delta lab, as well as Digitech and Boss.

This may be overkill for what you are seeking though. Just keep that in mind. Don't let hype or peer pressure affect your decision process. You don't need to spend that much money to get the sustain your after.

Maybe you should take that money and save it up until you can afford a better amp.

Answer 2

One of the factors of that long musical sustain is volume. Another factor is proximity of the guitar to the amp. By standing close to the amp and playing at a louder volume it is possible to develop a "feedback loop" where specific musical notes will sustain much longer. You have seen this trick before, I am sure. When a guitar player turns and faces the guitar towards the amp. This is the old fashioned way of doing this and it still works the best. The other way of doing this at less than ear splitting volumes is to use a device known as a compressor. A compressor is a type of utilitarian effect that allows the user to add sustain to the instruments signal. It is used like a standard effects pedal; guitar into pedal, pedal into the amp. It works by taking the original signal from the instrument and "squeezing" or "compressing" the initial spike of the signal, then amplifying the signal as it decays. If you were to look at the signal of the guitar on an oscilloscope, you would see that when a note is struck there is an initial "peak" in the signal that rapidly falls off as the volume fades. The compressor "flattens out" that peak so that it does not spike so high and lasts longer. Then as the signal fades, an amplifier circuit kicks in to boost the volume of the fading signal. This causes the note(s) to sustain much longer. A compressor is a useful tool for many applications. It can help "even out" a signal so that it does not overload an input into a recorder. It can also give extra punch to a distortion device by boosting the signal into it. It is generally used as the first effect in a chain of effects to help get a better signal strength through the entire chain of effects. Using a compressor combined with a good distortion can help you get a better sounding distortion with better sustain characteristics.

Answer 3

I answered your last thread. You're best bet is to just try both of these out or look for demo's on youtube.com to see if they achieve the type of sustain you're looking for.



Again, a lot of it just has to do with the type of distortion/gain, which generally comes from having a good amp.. the other part comes from playing loud enough to create that sustain through the amp, and part of that plays off your vibrato technique, to be able to extend the note. The rest of this equipment, like compressors and effects pedals is only to aid you in it.