what can help me get increased sustain

[schmidty123]

i own a epi les paul standars with a burstbucker 2 in the bridge i was wondering any little tricks that can increase the sustain

[barrydjuptight]

theres a product called fatfingers which screws on the end of the headstock (made of brass i think?)...guitar mag reviews say increase in sustain is pretty amazing and unexpected.
I've also heard of folks clipping a shubb capo up there to do pretty much the same thing...not tried it myself..

[Bluesjam]

A nice amp (half stack). A good pedal to drive them pre amp tubes. And play louder.

[dwagar]

a couple things I can think of:

- if you're playing with a really light action, try raising it a bit
- try dropping the TP right down to the body. If your strings hit the back of the bridge, you might have to topwrap
- try a pair of steel tailpiece studs
- try a different brand of strings. Try going up one step (if you're using 9s, try 10s)
- most importantly I think, work on your vibrato.

[Roman Rist]

Originally Posted by dwagar

a couple things I can think of:

- if you're playing with a really light action, try raising it a bit
- try dropping the TP right down to the body. If your strings hit the back of the bridge, you might have to topwrap
- try a pair of steel tailpiece studs
- try a different brand of strings. Try going up one step (if you're using 9s, try 10s)
- most importantly I think, work on your vibrato.

I agree with all points except for one.

Lighter strings sustain longer than heavier strings.
The general rule is a heavier string will give you better tone, and a lighter string will give you better sustain.

The lighter string just vibrates longer.

[eddie_bowers]

Apart from compression (which can muddy things up if over used) try the Faber Tone-Lock locking Tailpiece Studs and Spacers. That helped mine a lot. It's better IMHO than dropping the tailpiece because it sandwiches the tailpiece (off the body) making it immobile and creating better coupling.

-Eddie

[dwagar]

Originally Posted by RFR

Lighter strings sustain longer than heavier strings.
The general rule is a heavier string will give you better tone, and a lighter string will give you better sustain.

The lighter string just vibrates longer.

See? You learn something new everyday here.

Thanks man.

[schmidty123]

yea i use 11's now cus i like the tone i also heard that rasing the pole peices can help?

[Tone Seeker]

Make sure your pickups are not TOO close to the strings. I have my pickups set an 1/8" away from the strings (press the last fret and measure from string bottom to top of pickup screw). For a while I had the neck at 1/16" by mistake. The pickup magnets were impacting string vibration. When I moved it down to 1/8", the increase in sustain and pickup bloom was quite noticeable.

Terry.

[Blues Power]

a good amp and pedal like already mentioned is all youll need IMO

[mrkenny]

Originally Posted by dwagar

a couple things I can think of:

- if you're playing with a really light action, try raising it a bit
- try dropping the TP right down to the body. If your strings hit the back of the bridge, you might have to topwrap
- try a pair of steel tailpiece studs
- try a different brand of strings. Try going up one step (if you're using 9s, try 10s)
- most importantly I think, work on your vibrato.

-"most imortantly I think, work on your vibrato."

I host an open mic and experience a lot of guitar players, most of then use a pedal of some kind to achieve sustain. You can use vibrato to squeeze and knead the string thus creating the "sustain" (at any volume) to the same result. Producing a sustained note manually has a different quality than one coming from a stompbox. A stompbox has the potential to become a crutch, especially early on. Working on your vibrato is really important.

[5F6-A]

fernandes sustainer....

:P

or a bit less drastic try a set of titanium saddles but it alters the tone a bit.

[marshallcrazy]

Originally Posted by eddie_bowers

Apart from compression (which can muddy things up if over used) try the Faber Tone-Lock locking Tailpiece Studs and Spacers. That helped mine a lot. It's better IMHO than dropping the tailpiece because it sandwiches the tailpiece (off the body) making it immobile and creating better coupling.

-Eddie

+1. I use Tone Pro's locking tailpiece/studs/bridges and they make a HUGE difference in sustain. And, RFR is correct too, that the lighter the gauge the more vibration.

[schmidty123]

that and i also heard rasing the pole pieces

[Big John]

Originally Posted by dwagar

...- most importantly I think, work on your vibrato.

Originally Posted by mrkenny

...Working on your vibrato is really important.

+1000

[schmidty123]

lol i get it guys lol vibrato

[dwagar]

not just for sustain, vibrato is extremely important tonally as well. Gotta be in your bag of tricks.

[lp59aholicDon]

Vibrato Vibrato and MORE Vibrato, I love a long sustaining guitar, and I am with Mr Kenny about relying on any pedals ,If your strings are too close to your neck and or pickups, the magnetic field and the proximity of the frets are goin to have a bearing on your string vibtrations . I use 10's minium, strings set a lil higher than many put them, and as much natural tube saturation as I can get from my amp and location. a decent tube amp, there is no second place substitute for good tone, and no better way of getting that natural drive sound that leads to sweet sustain

Originally Posted by mrkenny

-"most imortantly I think, work on your vibrato."

I host an open mic and experience a lot of guitar players, most of then use a pedal of some kind to achieve sustain. You can use vibrato to squeeze and knead the string thus creating the "sustain" (at any volume) to the same result. Producing a sustained note manually has a different quality than one coming from a stompbox. A stompbox has the potential to become a crutch, especially early on. Working on your vibrato is really important.

[Tone Seeker]

Originally Posted by lp59aholicDon

If your strings are too close to your neck and or pickups, the magnetic field and the proximity of the frets are goin to have a bearing on your string vibtrations . I use 10's minium, strings set a lil higher than many put them

What height do you set your strings at?

Terry.

[lp59aholicDon]

Originally Posted by Tone Seeker

What height do you set your strings at?

Terry.

I dont set by a gauge, its sorta an eyeball / feel thing but several guys who have tried em go, "Eh, a lil high on the action?"

[eddie_bowers]

I was just listening to a live version of Parisienne Walkways by Gary Moore and there is point where he holds a note for what sounds like 15 seconds. Geez, I don't know how he does that.

[lp59aholicDon]

You have never had a tube amp cranked out and found those magic spots where the note has been picked off where the speaker, strings , pickup all seem to be all connected to your fingers? Your WHOLE Guitar just resonates ?
have done it many times, but it takes the right kind of set up , Its bascially a controlled feedback

[Big John]

Here's something I found on the net a few years ago by guitarist Paul Shuler.

"When you pluck a string, a group of waves are propagated at the point of contact (pick). This wave group travels down the length of the string until it hits a reflection point (fret). A small bit of energy is transferred across and into the fret, but most of the wave group and it's energy are reflected back to the bridge. The same basic mechanics of reflection occur at the bridge. When the wave group returns to the original starting point (where you picked the string), the cycle is complete and you hear the note. The slower this cycle happens, the lower the note. The faster this cycle happens, the higher the note. To increase the length of the note (sustain), you either need hard and heavy reflection points, or you need to add energy back into the string at one of the reflection points. This is called vibrato."

[FLICKOFLASH]

get these Proto WB Pickups / Les Paul all with a custom 2x12 Peavey Classic 20

[eddie_bowers]

It didn't sound like it was feedback induced (but what do I know). Usually you can hear that surge sound and then it settle in on the tone (which usually doesn’t have the same quality as the original), but this just sounded like he held the note forever.

[shotgunlew]

Originally Posted by FLICKOFLASH

get these Proto WB Pickups / Les Paul all with a custom 2x12 Peavey Classic 20

Damn right, best pickups ive ever heard!

[tarddoggy]