The Steel Guitar Forum

If you're just looking to satisfy your appetite for more sustain, there's always compression. You'll get sick of it quick though. You can borrow a compression pedal from me if you want... if I get the impression that I'll ever get it back.

I suppose some people will say that you shouldn't feel tempted to use anything more than mild effects. I agree that you shouldn't feel that way, but if that's how you feel then I guess you just have to get it out of your system. I did.

Ulrich Sinn wrote:How do you deal with bar noise when volume so high and pushing the volume pedal into the decay of the note?

Bar noise is minimized in two ways. First, pick the strings with authority! Simply put, the strings can't keep vibrating if you don't excite them enough to start with. Second, learn the left hand! Proper bar tracking, muting, and vibrato will assure you're hearing the notes, and not the noise.

I'm not that great a player, but sustain has never been a problem for me, so I must be doing something right!