Anyone try the violin bow?

I took one from school once but it never seemed to vibrate the strings at all

I tried puting that rosin stuff on the bow also, but that didn't help

the bow would compliment one of my bands songs really well, but I don't know how to get that Page magic goin

What you want is an Ebow, which are fairly expensive for what they do. Ebows create a somewhat-violin type of sound by vibrating the strings. They're kind of cool, but they're more of a novelty than anything.

As for the violin bow, I'd stop using that on your guitar. Violin bows are obviously not meant for guitar and they will get ruined very fast...trust me, I know. Some bows can be quite expensive to replace too.

I was taking violin lessons when I first started on guitar but I didn't learn about Page and his bow until quite sometime later. I think I tried it with the double bass bow too but I can't remember the result.

Yes, I bought a bow because I wanted to try. You can really only play the E-strings by themselves. Otherwise you can slap the strings to sound the chords. It helps to crank up the distortion and/or volume. I play with it like Page did at the supershow. I like it, its cool to play around with, I've come up with a couple of riffs using it.

Opeth use the ebow quite a bit...must do something nice

Whats the difference between an E-bow and regular viloin bow.

E-bow

Actually I have an ebow, it was expensive but it sounds wonderful. I don't use it much but they're great for a smooth warm legato and the tone can be like violin or harmonica. My ebow has two modes, normal and one that makes higher harmonics above the note like some wild feedback effect. David Gilmour and Jon Pettrucci both use them sometimes. They work by creating a magnetic field which causes the string to vibrate. The device then picks up the movement of the string, amplifies it and outputs it as the magnetic field. it takes a while for the device to cause tyhe strings (9particularly the higher ones) to vibrate so it works best with minimal string crossing. When you do cross strings it helps to hammer on the desired notes just to give it a head start. The volume of the e-bow can be changed by moving the device towards or away from the selected pick up.

i did some violin impersonations with a Key

you know - those realy old heavy metal keys:



they have a smooth, but not shiny surface.

its qute simple - i hold the key in my picking hand between thumb and index finger as if i was about to unlock a door. the tailpice of the key (the thing that actually unlocks the door) touches a string. rubb it along the length of the string back and forth in a small, midtempo movement. no need to apply extra pressure - just the weight of the key does it all.

sounds like a violin when you do that with distortion.

i´m sure that it works with other metal items aswell, but the important thing is, that the surface should not be completely shiny - best is something like brushed metal.

From what i saw Jimmy Page used a violin bow (which is genius)but does anybody know how he did that and where i can get an e-bow.

have you heard about things like "google" and "musicstores" ?

Originally posted by iamthe_eggman
E-bow

Ok, that is probably one of the funniest posts I've ever seen.

Originally posted by Azrael
have you heard about things like "google" and "musicstores" ?

Oof... that's pretty harsh....


Can't say I blame ya, though, Az....

I actually just tried it today with my accoustic... Just loosen the bow so that it can hit all six strings and put quite a bit of rosin on it (I'm sure this can't be good for the strings). All I could manage was chords, but that served my purpose. Like it's been said, don't use a quality bow because the ribs cant be good for the horsehair.
Also, the harmonics get a little harsh, so I am looking for different strings to use. Any ideas?

Originally Posted by: iamthe_eggmanE-bow

Still hilarious.

That reminds me... I need to get some more 9V batteries.

I used one of my friends extra Cello bows and i got a jimmy page type sound out of it! I pressed it down hard on the strings and dragged it while playing a chord, it sounded cool! I also palm muted some of the strings and played Kashmir violin style!

lol...sigur ros' lead guitarist uses a violin bow...the sound it produces is amazing... most of their songs include the violin bow...apparently he slides it in between the tremolo and the 3rd pickups...

I think I tried that once when my brother was taking violin lessons. That was before I saw how Jimmy Page does it; I'd like to try it again sometime. I do seem to remember getting rosin all over the strings, though. It was nasty.

Originally Posted by: earthman buckI think I tried that once when my brother was taking violin lessons. That was before I saw how Jimmy Page does it; I'd like to try it again sometime. I do seem to remember getting rosin all over the strings, though. It was nasty.

DUDE THAT IS SO GROSS!!!!!!!! HOW COULD ANYTHING WORSE HAPPEN!?