Introducing the EM Drive Sustain System

Scott Swartz · Post by **Scott Swartz** » 21 Jan 2023 12:14 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xyVaa1RDB0

The EM Drive Sustain System allows you to create infinite sustain from notes that are picked normally. Notes are played exactly as you are used to, there is no change in technique or hand position required.

The EM Drive amplifies the signal coming from the steel bridge pickup and routes this energy back to the strings via a drive coil mounted under the strings. When the EM Drive is set up properly the volume pedal control controls the initial note volume exactly as before, but when you depress the pedal to sustain a note in the manner that steel players normally do, the energy from the EM Drive is faded in and keeps the strings vibrating. For a steel player used to volume pedal use, the effect is seamless and its quite easy to find the point where the note will sustain. Typically you will find that as the drive coil signal is starting to control the string vibration, the volume pedal even can be backed off slightly.

The system consists of a Drive Coil, a Power Unit, a 1/8 inch 3.5 mm connector cable, and a power supply.

The unit is available for purchase here:

https://www.steeltronics.com/product/em ... ain-system

Here are the EM Drive Instructions

https://www.dropbox.com/s/26g7bprhfz57c ... 3.pdf?dl=0

Here are some audio demos of the EM Drive in use:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ugixnca5uhsmf ... o.wav?dl=0

https://on.soundcloud.com/5U3z6

https://on.soundcloud.com/8XpcZ

https://on.soundcloud.com/naeCY

Jack Stanton · Post by **Jack Stanton** » 21 Jan 2023 2:32 pm

Very cool, Scott!

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 22 Jan 2023 10:22 am

Verrrry interesting!

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 26 Jan 2023 5:54 pm

Great system Scott.

Dan Kelly · Post by **Dan Kelly** » 27 Jan 2023 4:33 am

Hey Scott!

Very well done examples... you have presented this a usable effect, for sure.

It seems that your demonstrations focus on single note examples. What happens to two note runs or chords?

Scott Swartz · Post by **Scott Swartz** » 27 Jan 2023 6:13 am

With 2 or 3 note chords depending on where you are on the neck and how even the chord is originally struck and how much energy you feed back one voice can start to overpower the others, but it takes a long time. So I would say in general its controllable and workable with chords once you get the feel of it, but its not perfectly even like pressing and holding 3 keys on an organ.

The middle section of the video demo (I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You) is a two string melody, and in a couple places on the non video samples you can hear me using it with 2 or 3 note chords. In the live 1 Angel From Montgomery chorus I am playing full chords and then using it to sustain them and give them a moaning quality. In particular on the live 2 audio sample I switch between a single note line and then play some very long third intervals with a lot of vibrato and then back to single notes. These are a couple possibilities of how to use it, its there if you drop the volume pedal otherwise you can play completely normally.