WantzChas wrote:
can someone explain sustain to me?
In synth theory, there's 4 main parameters in the volume over time: Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release (ADSR). Attack means how much the volume peaks right when the note starts. Decay is how fast the attack turns into '100% volume' of a note while you hold it. Sustain is how long it takes for the note to start dying out and Release is how fast it then falls to 0%.
There's a couple of ways guitarists get sustain:
- the natural sustain of the instrument (volumes have been written on what makes the one instrument sustain more than the other);
- by compression (which diminishes the volume of all sound louder than a certain level). If you put the threshold at, say, 50% and amplify 2x more, the note will not seem to start Decay-ing until it is actually at 40% instead of at 80%.
- by vibrating with the fret hand (which adds energy to the string)
- by getting feedback from the speaker back into the guitar.
In listening to sustain of a guitar, what would you define as the lower limit, when has the note really died out? It very much depends on the 3 other factors see.
If you are really interested in the topic, listen to Santana. Known for his sustain fetish, he uses all 4 techniques mentioned above. He plays PRSses and gets about 30 seconds give or take 15 since not every note goes the same way every night.
I have a live recording of Gary Moore playing Parisienne Walkways where he keeps a note going for a full minute at least. Excellent! Party time! We're not worthy!
