EBow EBow Plus Reviews

Fantastic tool

This might take a while to get the hang of it... but its great fun

Gorgeous sounds. Produces an absurd amount of gain. Difficult to operate on a bass. Once you get used to its magnetic field you'll be able to do wonders.

Such a unique sound added to my songs!

Love it. Love the sound. Love everything about ebow. Fills the gap of my songs and adds something special to them.

it's a solid product. it does what you expect of it. but it definitely could be cheaper.

Love it , but

I love this little gizmo. It creates all the sounds I love about some of my favorite acts. But, the plastic casing is of very poor build and it has absolutely no grip, so it's quite easy to slip out of your hand , fall and crack open. I've done that a few times and luckily it's always been fixable. Great little machine though!

Exactly What You'd Expect, and then a Little More

You probably know already what to expect from an EBow, and it's exactly that; a simple tool for creating infinite, violin-like sustain on a guitar. It does that beautifully! I bought one to add drones and string-quartet-esque harmonies to my music, and in the process of doing this, I came to realise the EBow is a touch more versatile than you might expect. There's quite a few secrets to getting some really varied stuff out of it!

For one, the device has two modes; one encourages more natural sustain, simply extending the note you play, but there's another mode that encourages rich upper harmonics to come into play. Now that's where things can get REALLY crazy!

How the EBow reacts with the pickups on your guitar is also very interesting; I'm not sure what exactly sure what about the pickups that causes this variation, but I've noticed on my own SSS guitar that the sustain is very mellow and ambient with my middle pickup sat beneath it, and bring out much more of the rich overtones and feedback-like sounds over the neck PUP. This likely won't be the same for you, but my point is, experiment! It's also worth noting that you don't have to have the pickup you're using with the EBow selected for it to work; yet another piece of the puzzle to solve!

I have two very minor complaints; the first is that the EBow itself is made out of a very flimsy feeling plastic (though I'm quietly grateful for this, as it feels surprisingly weighty once you get a battery into it!). The second is more a cautionary note than a complaint, but I feel you should be aware that the EBow causes the string to vibrate really very aggressively, which will likely mean that you will find it quite a bit louder than you usually are on your current setup. Again, not exactly an issue, but if you're in a very grumpy-neighbour-intensive area, I'd lower the volume a tad!

All in all, however, the EBow has made a fine addition to my ambient arsenal; there aren't many options to get this kind of sound, and the EBow sells for loose change compared to a special pickup system, and is a bit more unique than the effects pedals that try and capture the sound. Recommended!

Alternative sounds

im solo player and using ebow with my guitar loops.

You must have if you want to do something experimental.

pros:

u can play emotional solos easily with that.

long time battery life.

cons:

Hard to give up :)

Interesting new tonal options

Endless sustain in a very handy enclosure. It takes a little practice to get the right distance from the E-bow to the strings, but once you get the hang of it, it provided some interesting new tonal options, especially for soloing purposes.

The new 'harmony' setting is pretty cool too, and the battery life is pretty ok too. I'm not sure if this warrants a price of EUR 90,-, but it's definitely fascinating.

A must have gadget but...

As a musician i can tell you that the e-bow is a gadget that every guitarist should have, as an engineer i can tell you that this price is way to high for it.

Interesting gimmick

There's a learning curve to using this. Don't expect getting one and getting amazing sounds and infinite sustain out of your guitar immediately. It's quite difficult to maintain a consistent and pleasant sound while also going up and down a string on the fretboard, because the string tension changes, and the e-bow is very demanding in this regard.

I've found it quite finicky for my taste, and it only works if your string tension isn't too high (no sound of basses, cellos etc.).

That being said, you can still expect to get some interesting effects using this (e.g. atmospheric pad-like sounds, if you add a bunch of effects on top). I'm keeping mine just for this.

Ambient guitar sound device

This is an interesting device. It creates a sound like a flute or a violin. However, to achieve smooth and good sound some practice is needed. Using compressor with this device also reduces leaps of sound during attack. And if you want to achieve ambient guitar sound this device is what you need.

Good for expanding horizons

A must have on your guitar accessories. Works well on any acoustic or electric guitar. It comes with a brochure and a CD that shows some interesting tutorials. You can create nice ambience music and the infinite feature is really useful.

Definitely different...

A few band I low have used Ebows to good effect on albums I love, so I bought this on a little bit of a whim.

So far I don't know what I make of it. While I am have no means mastered it, it seems far more "aggressive" than I expected. Also instructions recommend turning down your tone knob during use so be prepared to have to do that mid song if you only plan to use it for an intro etc...

I will hang on to this for now and watch some youtube tutorials but I would say if you can try this in person first do so!

I just love it

I bought the e-bow just to try it. To tell the truth I saw a few bands performing with it, and I got interested.

Since I'm using ambiances in my music, specially in my next job, it seemed to be an interesting piece of equipment to have. At the moment I'm using Ableton, which is absolutely OK, but I wanted something more "human-made" if you catch my drift...

The thing is that I was absolutely impressed by the playability of the e-bow. It's really fun to play, and it has opened an unexpected new soundscape for me and my project. It works with guitars and basses. I'm already incorporating it in my music as a 'whole instrument'!!!

Another good thing is that there's a lot of tutorial, info, techniques available on youtube, etc, so it's quite easy to learn and one can start enjoying it very quickly.

Very happy with it, indeed. 100% recommend it.

An Absolute Classic

It really is an absolute classic and a 'must have' in any guitarists tool kit. On the surface, the E Bow Plus seems to be a reliable one trick pony. But scratch a little deeper and you begin to realise the versatility of the product.

I've had mine for over a year now and have found it useful in all sorts of applications in the studio. From creating artificial feedback ringing and elongated and adding sustain overdubs to guitar tracks through to rolling down my guitar tone knob and creating a weird sounding "cello" effect and laying up multiple takes and creating weird, swelling drone sounds.

It's lasted well with lots of use, still on the original battery and it looks almost brand new. A fantastic toy and a serious sonic tool. Get one.

Very interesting

Although the unit I received had a bad switch, I was able to get a feel for this really cool device. Would probably be great for Ambient guitar techniques and additional track for background mood effects. Meditation or other graceful, slow tempo work, too. Takes some getting used to, but if you are interested enough and take the time, it is well worth the investment in time and money.

Interesting addition to the tool box, but more of a curiosity than an every day user.

PROS : It's kind of essential if you are into creating soundscapes and there are some different ways that you can use it.

CONS : Most of the time it's not enough by itself. You'll most probably need a delay , reverb , volume pedal to get that big washy sound that you might have in your mind.

Classic effect, could use an update?

A well-known effect in the post-rock scene, this hand-held electromagnet allows you to agitate the strings of your electric guitar to produce a drone. When I got back into guitar playing recently I was eager to try one, and I was a bit surprised when I opened the box. The build quality is kind of crappy, with the molded plastic sides not quite fitting together right, and the switch feels like something from a Chinese-made toy. There's a knack to getting a sound from it which can take a moment, and it boosts the volume of your guitar a massive amount so best used with a volume pedal. Can produce some nice tones, I use it mostly to make source tones for sound design in my studio.

It's a nifty thing

It's a cool thing to record some cool effects, does sound pretty good for some epic intros and stuff.

The major drawback for me is how it's comprised - the all sealed plastic casing, that seems pretty fragile. Plus the insides are not fixable, as they're encapsulated in epoxy goop. So if a wire does come off or anything, you really have to break it to try fixing it, and even then - there's no guarantee you will be able to without messing things up.

So there you have it.

Fantastic device

I`w only started to use e-bow yesterday but i can immediately say that opportunity which this thing provides are near endless.

I`t seams that i will need to have some time to properly learn playing techniques but it most definitely will pay back with gorgeous sounds.

Most definitely recommend it to all ambient music fans.