| Author |
Topic: Best Clean Sustain Pedal |
Steve Mueller
From:
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
|
Posted 15 Dec 2020 9:16 pm |
|
I'm taking this pandemic break in gigging to revamp my pedal board. Probably keeping the DD3 for delay, an MXR analog chorus, with a clean sustain pedal. I want one that can provide clean sustain without sucking the life out of the sound. Any suggestions?
_________________
2016 Williams D12 8 x 8, 2015 Williams D12 8 x 8, 2023 Williams S12 4 x 5, Milkman Amps, 1974 Gibson Byrdland |
|
|
|
Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
|
Posted 16 Dec 2020 12:34 pm
|
|
Well...four ways to go here...I've been down a bunch of roads on this one. Different sonic signatures available...I now use a volume pedal and a Zendrive...
Overdrive your amp-I also had a Milkman Pedal Steel Mini, after trading down from the more powerful Milkman amps, and loved the way it would go into an "angels singing" overdrive sustain when pushed. Even with the smaller wattage, I still got quite loud at that level....worked for loud band in noisy club....at a certain point it wouldn't get louder, would just sustain instead...
Overdrive pedal- provides sustain by pretending to be a tube amp pushed into saturation (which, of course is the best of all!).
After trying all the others, I use a Zendrive, which is the pedal of choice for Dumble Amp fans, including Dumble Amp owners who are touring without their Dumbles....it gives a beautiful violin-like sustain and lets your tone shine through.
Earth drive may be a bit more like overdriven amp, I like that one also, but settled on the Zendrive after hearing Ben Harper's singing Dumble violin tone in a recent concert, and the Zendrive pretty much nails it, for a lot less money than a Dumble...
Compressor - provides sustain by lifting the trailing end of your signal. But correspondingly squashes the leading edge....I like a Keeley Compressor (2 or 4 knob, depending on how much control you want). I used to leave one one 100% of the time, on minimum compression...just fattened the tone up and added a bit of sustain. I've moved away from compressors, but not because they didn't work...just on a different approach now...
Volume pedal- The standard sustain pedal for steel guitar players.....
...and another option...I play a Clinesmith Frypan, 7+ lbs. of solid aluminum with a horsehoe pickup, which sustains for days all by itself....the pedals are more for use with the road-o-phonic when using the Lollar Silver Foil pickup....
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor |
|
|
|
Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
|
Posted 16 Dec 2020 1:41 pm
|
|
| The only stomp-box size "sustainer" useful for steels that I have found, is the BOSS LMB-3, used as buffer-amp (pre VP). Properly adjusted for moderate action, it enhances the attack and sustains quite well and naturally – keeps the steel's natural sound going. FWIW: I never play without one. |
|
|
|
Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
|
Posted 16 Dec 2020 3:47 pm
|
|
You say "clean sustain pedal" - i.e., without distortion - so I assume you're looking for a good compressor in pedal form.
I use compressors plenty on guitar and especially slide guitar. I've tried dozens, and owned probably a dozen different types. By far, the best I've heard in a stomp box size is the Origin Effects Slide Rig Compact Deluxe. The idea here was to put a pair of cascaded Universal Audio style 1176 FET compressors, as Lowell George used in the studio for his slide guitar sound, in a stomp box sized pedal.
All I can say is that it works. You can use a single compression stage for typical compression effects, and/or cascade them for really long sustains. They're on a Mark II version now; I have a Mark I that I got from a forum member last year. The only difference I can see is that you can additionally control attack/release via a single control on the Mark II. On the original, that is fixed - perhaps there's a trimmer inside, but I haven't felt any desire to mess with it. You can control the input level to the pedal, the blend of dry, singly-compressed, and doubly-compressed signals, as well as the output level. So the shape of the compression knee is quite controllable.
I rarely use compression with steel - the volume control is my compressor. But for slide guitar it is trememdous - I don't usually use a volume pedal for guitar these days, although I used to. It sounds good for steel too, and if I want to play without a volume pedal, it is useful for extending notes if I want more.
https://origineffects.com/product/sliderig-compact-deluxe-mk2/
Not sure what's going on with their website - when I landed on that page, there were 4 videos going at once. I had to switch to the video tab and close them. 
The only disadvantage I can see to these is that they are not cheap. I think the street price new is around $350. But I haven't heard anything in a stomp box that is even close. |
|
|
|
Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
|
Posted 16 Dec 2020 4:10 pm
|
|
Ah yes - I've read about the Slide Rig - it sounds quite interesting. I used to run two Keeleys, one before my overdrive and one after, to get some of that Lowell George vibe, with a dose of Trey Anastasio (Phish) added - he is a dual compressor guy also, one light and one heavy. With great tone and lots of sustain...with Anastasio, the compressor attack squash is quite obvious, but not in a bad way...
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor |
|
|
|
Steve Mueller
From:
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
|
Posted 16 Dec 2020 8:22 pm
|
|
Thanks guys, some good ideas there. I've got an Earth Drive and a 2 knob Keely Compressor, I'm going to trot those back out and see what I come up with. I want to keep the number of pedals to as much of a minimum as I can. The slide rig looks cool for the Derek Trucks slide sound.
_________________
2016 Williams D12 8 x 8, 2015 Williams D12 8 x 8, 2023 Williams S12 4 x 5, Milkman Amps, 1974 Gibson Byrdland |
|
|
|
Steve Lipsey
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
|
Posted 16 Dec 2020 9:54 pm
|
|
Try it with the Earth Drive and the Keeley in different orders....you get a different effect....
_________________
https://www.lostsailorspdx.com
Williams S10s, Milkman Pedal Steel Mini & "The Amp"
Ben Bonham Resos, 1954 Oahu Diana, 1936 Oahu Parlor |
|
|
|
