Using bow on your guitar

[zeppelin101]

Hey guys! I dont know if this is in the right place or not sry.

Okay so I just want to say if youre tempted to use a bow on your guitar let me just say DONT! I am talking of course about typical horse hair bows. The reason is that rosin, which is used to coat the bow (I know this because I also used to play viola) is a insulator, and excessive use of rosin will damage your pickups. Have you ever wondered why Jimmy Page had to replace his Bridge pickup on his number one? Yea thats why. It happened to a friend of mine and out of curiousity I looked it up and I just wanted to warn your guys because you're always so helpful!

If you really have the urge buy an ebow

[River]

Where did you learn that about Page's pickup?

[Shithead]

Damn!! And i was about to buy one!!

[zeppelin101]

On Ultimate-guitar when I used to use their forum instead of MLP. I cant find the same thread but heres one saying rosin is bad for your pickups

UG Community @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com - Violin Bow + Guitar?

[zeppelin101]

Originally Posted by Shithead

Damn!! And i was about to buy one!!

Buy a bow? I have one and tried it on the guitar (after putting a thin sheet of tissue paper over the pickup, and its definately not worth the money. Violin bows arent cheap

[Shithead]

Actually i've wanted one since about 1978,just never got around to it......

[zeppelin101]

Haha maybe saw Jimmy Page live?

[Shithead]

Song Remains the Same at the late show.

[River]

Originally Posted by zeppelin101

On Ultimate-guitar when I used to use their forum instead of MLP. I cant find the same thread but heres one saying rosin is bad for your pickups

UG Community @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com - Violin Bow + Guitar?

Well, I can certainly see why I don't hang out over there. Posts in threads don't constitute facts, especially at Ultimate-Guitar.

Shithead, you might want to check previous threads here (I started one some time ago), and with Splattle101 if you're really interested. He didn't wave me off, so I'm not likely to pay much attention to a bunch of yahoos who say they're for pussies.

[zeppelin101]

Originally Posted by Shithead

Song Remains the Same at the late show.

Haha that'll get anyone wanting to do some funky stuff. Not to mention Itll leave you gassing like crazy!

[zeppelin101]

Originally Posted by River

Well, I can certainly see why I don't hang out over there. Posts in threads don't constitute facts, especially at Ultimate-Guitar.

Shithead, you might want to check previous threads here (I started one some time ago), and with Splattle101 if you're really interested. He didn't wave me off, so I'm not likely to pay much attention to a bunch of yahoos who say they're for pussies.

Sorry man, I was just trying to help. I actually left their forum because every answer is about sex and has nothing to do with guitar. Appology accepted?

[River]

Originally Posted by zeppelin101

Sorry man, I was just trying to help. I actually left their forum because every answer is about sex and has nothing to do with guitar. Appology accepted?

No apology necessary. I'm always hungry for knowledge about things Zeppelin. Just checkin' for it to have a basis in fact.

If you've never heard our man Splattle's recordings, you owe it to yourself. Check out the MLP Players' Rally on SoundClick. You'll hear why I take him at his word.

[zeppelin101]

cool man Ill check that out I cant get enough of Zeppelin! I do know that many many people have said how Jimmy Page's incident of having a pickup dying on a 59 is a odd case and many people have attributed it to the rosin from the bow probably just a case of a fan trying to come up with an explanation

[StrangerNY]

I use an eBow. The only downside is you can only play one string at a time.

- D

[River]

Originally Posted by zeppelin101

cool man Ill check that out I cant get enough of Zeppelin! I do know that many many people have said how Jimmy Page's incident of having a pickup dying on a 59 is a odd case and many people have attributed it to the rosin from the bow probably just a case of a fan trying to come up with an explanation

He's not doing Zeppelin here, but I've heard him do it and you'll get the drift I'm sure. The first is an original arrangement of an old standard, the second a ZZ Top cover.

SoundClick artist: MLP Players' Rally - page with MP3 music downloads

SoundClick artist: MLP Players' Rally - page with MP3 music downloads

Yeah, I think if that were the reason Page would've had to replace it more than a few times!

[zeppelin101]

Wow that is some really good stuff! He must really be a great guitarist! Plus JP wouldve had to replace it even more after his new pickup was uncovered

[River]

These are by StrangerNY. I pay lots of attention to his input as well:

SoundClick artist: MLP Players' Rally - page with MP3 music downloads

SoundClick artist: MLP Players' Rally - page with MP3 music downloads

[huw]

Originally Posted by zeppelin101

...many people have said how Jimmy Page's incident of having a pickup dying on a 59 is a odd case and many people have attributed it to the rosin from the bow probably just a case of a fan trying to come up with an explanation

Bingo!

I've done as much research into the history of Jimmy's #1 Les Paul as anyone I know, and I never found any verified reason for the pickup conking out in 1972.

Similarly, if anyone tells you that the pickup cover fell off after years of being whacked by the violin bow, then they don't understand humour - yes, Jimmy said it in an interview, but ever hear of a joke? Also they are forgeting just how early on JP first removed the pickup cover - barely six months or so after he bought the guitar in the first place.

[zeppelin101]

Originally Posted by huw

Bingo!

I've done as much research into the history of Jimmy's #1 Les Paul as anyone I know, and I never found any verified reason for the pickup conking out in 1972.

Similarly, if anyone tells you that the pickup cover fell off after years of being whacked by the violin bow, then they don't understand humour - yes, Jimmy said it in an interview, but ever hear of a joke? Also they are forgeting just how early on JP first removed the pickup cover - barely six months or so after he bought the guitar in the first place.

Really? I though he kept the cover on from early zep (when he went to a Les Paul live) through after Zeppelin 4 was released but maybe Im wrong. Also I didnt say it fell off cuz of the violin bow Jimmy was a jokester in a ton of ways like letting people on to believe he actually practiced devil worship its just that he hated the press so much either way hes still a god

[matthornet]

shit, i used a bow on mine... ah... whatever, one time never hurts.

[huw]

Originally Posted by zeppelin101

Really? I though he kept the cover on from early zep (when he went to a Les Paul live) through after Zeppelin 4 was released but maybe Im wrong...

Nope - in brief: April 69 buys guitar with both covers on, November 69 (ish) removes bridge pup cover revealing double white PAF, 1972 bridge pickup fails after Australian tour, replaced with nickle covered T-top. Stays like that until mid 80s, cover removed revealing double black t-top, sometime after that swapped out (suposedly) for SD custom wound pup, also uncovered, also double black.

[Ermghoti]

Originally Posted by zeppelin101

The reason is that rosin, which is used to coat the bow (I know this because I also used to play viola) is a insulator, and excessive use of rosin will damage your pickups.

This is entirely illogical. A non-magnetic insulator would be invisible to a pickup. Wax is a non-magnetic insulator, and as we know, pickups are literally drowned in wax, and emerge fully functional (I maintain the difference in sound is due to the elimination of vibravtion within the coils, btw). Unless the rosin acted as a solvent on the lacquer on the winding wire, there is absolutely no way it could hurt a pickup.

As for why not to use a bow on a guitar, how about "because Jimmy Page used that trick completely up."

[weirdotis]

I know I saw a Guitar Player where they had this guitar with an ultra curved radius so you could play one string at a time, but it was approaching 4 grand.

Here's a link to a video of Page talking about #1... Since youtube is down now here's the page.

Jimmy Page Talks About His Les Paul | Fretbase: Guitars, Tabs, Chords and More

[myspace.com/jessenoah]

when I play guitar with a violin bow, I just click on the wah, no rosin needed!

[Bluesyzep]

Originally Posted by zeppelin101

Hey guys! I dont know if this is in the right place or not sry.

Okay so I just want to say if youre tempted to use a bow on your guitar let me just say DONT! I am talking of course about typical horse hair bows. The reason is that rosin, which is used to coat the bow (I know this because I also used to play viola) is a insulator, and excessive use of rosin will damage your pickups. Have you ever wondered why Jimmy Page had to replace his Bridge pickup on his number one? Yea thats why. It happened to a friend of mine and out of curiousity I looked it up and I just wanted to warn your guys because you're always so helpful!

If you really have the urge buy an ebow

I was more concerned with the sticky mess it makes. Didn't know about the pickup thing.

[Mr. 335]

I used a bow for years on a Gibson ES-335. I had left the covers on the pickups. Up to now, no problems.

[Splattle101]

I didn't have any problems with using a bow. The rosin certainly got into the wound strings, though. It's just another powdery, sticky substance that collects grime and shit and causes your string life to diminish. Particularly when combined with sweat.

The rosin would sometimes collect between the pickups on the wood. Again, sweat running down the body of the guitar would track through this and turn it to mud....eww.

But that was a working guitar, in a touring band, and we'd do Dazed and Confused, so it was kinda mandatory. But that guitar got a flogging every night, and got sweated on profusely. We were playing the north west and wheatbelt of Western Australia, where it gets alternately hot and humid or bloody freezing sub zero, and travelling thousands of km on shit roads to get there. So conditions were less than ideal for electronic devices. If something failed, rosin on the bow was the last thing I'd turn to as culprit.

Regarding the sound it made, it didn't have to sound like cats in a blender. Here is an example of the bow, with the melody being played on teh 6th string with the bow:

Saving Grace Intro.mp3

[SJS Rocks]

Here is a sight that I found in Splattle101 info. He put this Page sight together with great love for Page. I was impressed with all the info.
Hope this helps.
Jimmy Page: The Gear - Guitars

[zontar]

Violin bow?

Amateurs...

If you haven't seen this already-check at about 45 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBiJ-K0IpDA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBiJ-K0IpDA

[The Laserist]

Originally Posted by zeppelin101

Hey guys! I dont know if this is in the right place or not sry.

Okay so I just want to say if youre tempted to use a bow on your guitar let me just say DONT! I am talking of course about typical horse hair bows. The reason is that rosin, which is used to coat the bow (I know this because I also used to play viola) is a insulator, and excessive use of rosin will damage your pickups. Have you ever wondered why Jimmy Page had to replace his Bridge pickup on his number one? Yea thats why. It happened to a friend of mine and out of curiousity I looked it up and I just wanted to warn your guys because you're always so helpful!

If you really have the urge buy an ebow

Well, let me just say that it is too late! I've been using a bow on my '94 Gibson LP Studio since... '94. Never had any problem with the pick ups. Only down side to using the bow is the rosin does gum up the wound strings resulting in a slight loss of tone, like they are almost dead. That's why I tend to play Dazed and Confused when I'm about ready to change the strings anyway. Even if I don't it doesn't affect the sound that much. It's more a question of the added friction on those strings with the rosin on them, just feels weird. As for the e-bow, I think it's a waste of time. Nothing like a real bow touching the string, saw a Page show where he used the e-bow and frankly it sucked, the e-bow part, the rest of the show rocked. Much more creativity and natural sound from a real bow in my case a cello bow. When I want to make strange sounds without touching something, I turn on my theramin!!