Blueteleful Sustainer Sounds

[4real]

Hi...finally got some audio for my latest sustainer telecaster thing so you can here what the guitar sounds like with it's unique pickup combo and OoP option as well as the sustainer in various modes...



www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=869409

Here is a run down of the audio...

OK...failing to learn anything sophisticated recording wise, I simply plugged in an played so you can here the range of sounds this thing has.

A simple 4 bar beat from the BR600 and a modeled very clean sound. All one take, improvised with no edits and only one guitar with one sound. The bass was added in one take over the top. Whole thing was recorded with headphones (no amp, just a basic clean setting with a little echo) there is no compression or noise reduction to give a feel for how quiet this thing is and the balance of sounds.

Blueteleful1 Audio Edit

So...here is a run down of what you are hearing...

After beat intro...
Bridge pickup...featuring the "kkkerrrraaanng" like sound of the the Fender "wide Range" pickup (much better through an amp of course)...all the sustainer sounds also use the neck pickup by default.
1:00 Neck and bridge solo
1:50 fundamental sustainer melody...kind of synthy
3:00 Funky N&B out of phase sound
4:00 harmonic sustainer melody...compare to previous sustainer sound
4:50 bluesy sound
5:20 switch to light drive harmonic sustainer (notes fade to harmonic)
6:20 harmonic slide (picked up plastic bic lighter) last note slides from driver to nut then trem to slack on b string
7:58 weird theremin like feedback effects
8:00 chords with harmonic feedback bass notes
10:00 jazzy neck pickup...


Opps...exceeded download time so cuts out...probably more than enough telecaster.

Even with all that trem abuse still perfectly in tune!

Obviously a little rusty but not bad for an unaccompanied improvisation and enough to give a fair representation of the sound of the thing without any tinsel or effects. If people are interested, I will try and add some more samples of what it sounds like distorted...the sustainer is a lot more effective and immediate. Also, the battery was starting to run a little flat, so it lacked a bit of clean headroom with the sustainer on but it still worked out ok...

Any tips...besides practice more...or comments encouraged...

I think this guitar has a good range of usable and balanced sounds and as you can hear, the guitar is very quiet...so I must have learned something here

pete

[newey]

4Real-

Very nice sounds, nice playing, and as you say, quiet! Your post is a perfect example of why the "Sound Samples" board was set up . . . and also why I moved it from Electronics and Wiring!

Also nice Vibrato (err . . .Tremo'Leo) work. I've found I like my Teles better than my Strats simply because they don't have a vibrato bridge. But maybe if I actually used it once in a while I'd change my mind.

One more thing to practice . . .

[crazymanandy]

Very cool! Tasty licks too. I was wondering when you would post it over here for all the Nutz.

CMA

[4real]

Well...it's like 4am down here...so you got it as fast as everyone else. That is just one guitar by the way...there are no overdubs. With a new battery it won't sound so fizzy...

I might get the other half of the inprov up that demoed some of the more bizzare Sci-fi kind of effects...there is a limit to the download so it cuts off short, but I guess that is enough.

Thanks for the complement, I am still getting the hang of the tele thing and I have been playing a lot more chordal stuff that is creaping into my...errrr...style!

pete

[crazymanandy]

I meant the guitar itself, not just the sound clip. Or did you already post the guitar here? But it doesn't really matter. Tasty licks, that's all that matters!

CMA

[4real]

Thanks all the same

There is a much smaller sustainer thread here that I update from time to time...
guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=wiring&action=display&thread=799&page=7

Thanks for the move newey...I didn't realize there was a sounds part to the forum.

pete

[ashcatlt]

Took almost a week, but I finally got to check it out.

You've got some really great sounds from the pickups themselves. Of course, I was mostly interested in what the sustainer does. Seems exactly what I'm looking for. Very nicely emulates the interaction of a guitar in the same space as a real (loud) amp.

Thanks a bunch and a half for posting this, in fact +1!

[4real]

Thanks...I am glad if it got a little of what I have tried to do with it across. That was recorded after midnight with a dry clean sound with headphones...it reacts with an amp at any volume and with effects like distortion and compression with even better results.

As a recording tool, or to explore these potentials at low volume and with complete control it really is excellent and in the right hands I am sure some amazing things could be done with it.

My favorite effects with it are more subtle...there is a hint of it where notes fade out to harmonics. This is done with very low drive and is very touch sensitive especially with an amp. Often it is the subtle things.

The main attributes is the predictability and control it affords and the ability to do these things at any level or sound without compromising technique. In practice, it does give the sense and feel of a very loud guitar and that in itself can inspire a different way of playing.

One must be wary of over using it though, and now that I am playing with a sustainer guitar again, it is important to know when to turn it off!

thanks again...I will try and put some shorter examples of some of the other things it can do in the nearer future...

pete

[warmstrat]

Did you say that the sustainer uses the neck pickup by default?

I thought that was impossible... ?

[4real]

Opps...you are right of course...it uses the bridge pickup by default...if the neck were on it would squeal (oscillate) uncontrollably...

After playing the guitar a lot, the neck SCn pickup is my favorite sound...that and the neck and bridge combination which is the most versitile. The bridge pickup has a big brash sound that would be great at volume in a rock context and does do the bright tele twang with a little more refinement.

I also wired the volume pot without any treble bleed and turning it down a notch (it is a fairly high output) it takes the edge off and puts a nice mellow feel to the sound...kind of steve cropper rhythm sound. Normally I don't use the volume control that much but not using a treble bleed can be a good thing on a bright guitar like this.

Typically when wiring something that I think/know there are going to be problems, I wire the volume and output and attach things one at a time and test through an amp picking up and solving the problems as they occur. It helps with the sustainer switching to know that the guitar is doing what it should before you start messing with that...with this guitar I had been playing it for a bit before adding the phase switch...and a little more before I even thought of putting on a sustainer.

Also...voting has started in the GOTM...projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=38357&pid=395622&st=15&#entry395622

It started well running a dead heat with the acoustic and the metal machine...but both have run away with the tele 11, metal 19 and acoustic 26! Coming up fast behind is an explorer 9. What a month to enter...two 335 type guitars and a host of others have fallen behind that in a very strong field.

pete