Pr3Va1L Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Hey everyone. I was looking around the sustainer thread and stuff, and i kinda taught it would be nice to make myself an ebow, not wanting to pay 100 and something dollars for it. So, has anyone built/tryed to build one? (talking to you, PSW ) i understand that i'd need a pickup, an amp and a driver in the same little thingie, right? Anyways, has anyone got a schematic? Or something? Any help is appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dash Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 try here dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 So, has anyone built/tryed to build one? (talking to you, PSW ) i understand that i'd need a pickup, an amp and a driver in the same little thingie, right? Anyways, has anyone got a schematic? Or something? ← It's me...hi Pr3Va1L LoveKraft recently put me on to this at Aron's Stompbox Forum... which I used to shamelesly promote the Sustainer Thread.... What is this?...An ebow, of course... It's the only known working ebow that I've actually seen photographed and it works perfectly for very little cost...but...it's ugly as hell! Yes basically the circuit illustrated in that thread Dash has pointed you to...or some of the ones on the Sustainer Thread (where ebows have been discussed a little from time to time.... ) is what you need. You don't need the preamp that the sustainer needs so it's a little simpler. Tou do have to wind two coils, one as a driver the other as a pickup, and some magnets to suit. That Dutch ebow page suggests using a "telephone pickup" and taking apart a tiny "transformer"...well I thought...OK...I've got suitable amps already built, let's give it a go. Well I don't know what the Northern European idea (apologies Tim) of a "telephone pickup" is so I thought I'd substitute a relay coil...I did find a suitable transformer...#1 I could find no way to take apart the transformer, and...#2 I destroyed the relay trying to modify that to suit the purpose... Lesson there is...make your own, or give up....I gave up...but it wouldn't be at all hard to do (even though this topic comes up repeatedly but you never actually hear of a success, though I'm sure they exist besides the one above) and should work fine. The really hard part would be making a suitable enclosure to ride the strings like an ebow...a little imagination required ther, 'tis all! Anyway...love to see someone do it...add it to the sustainer thread...it is, afterall a sustainer...easier than trying to install one on the guitar too, but quite different in use... Otherwise...the DIY Sustainer has now been installed in a guitar and working but there are a few bugs to the installation being worked out...at least two others are being done by others so hopefully all will be ironed out... Hope that helps...not sure exactly how many turns (and what size wire) around a magnet you'll need, but the amp wants a driving coil of about 8 ohms...perhaps LK or someone might have a clue...or you'll need to experiment... psw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 My opinion is save yourself the frustration and just buy one. A DIY ebow is something that even I, mr DIY, won't attempt. It's just too problematic. But, if you have lots of time to spend on it, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 I'd agree, but at A$300 it's a bit steep and, I might be tempted...if I didn't think I'd get more mileage from my sustainer... The ebow design (the shape, etc) is really a big part of it, but for less than $20 in parts, it doesn't seem so bad if you want to have a go. I think people are really put off by the prospect of having to wind some coils but the circuitry is probably just as hard...The main problem is probably working out how to pretty it up into a player friendly design...I'm sure it could be done... Don't be put off but, as I say this is the only one I've actually seen....many have tried or thought about it bu DIY ebows are rare indeed...so there's probably a reason.... pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 yeah, the only thing that keeps me from doing it is probably winding the pickup (driver aint so bad...) 1k turns for the pickup and 200 for the driver if i remember well? From that DIYstompboxes forums? and anyways, that little ebow the guy made would be probably usable!it could easyly be made smaller too (look at the size of his pole-pieces). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Everybody's making that Dutch Ebow design way too complicated. This is a telephone pickup, and this is the type of transformer they cannibalized to wind the driver, both available at Radio Shack. You will have to literally destroy the transformer to align all the E core elements before rewinding it, but that's really not much more trouble than winding any other coil, and you've got a housing and prefabbed laminations. The biggest hassle won't be anything electronic, it'll be packaging the whole 9 yards in something approximating the original Ebow shell, which is fairly critical for ease of use. For that reason alone, I agree with Paul -just buy one! BTW, this thread (which is covering some fairly well-trampled ground all over again) is a good example of why the long-term members of this forum tend to get testy about not using the search engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transient Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 You don't necessarily need a pickup coil. You can use the guitar output for that purpose. It wouldn't be an exact ebow copy then, but will work. You'll just have to be careful not to hold the driver close to the pickup (bridge preferred) feeding it. . e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 only problem is that this defeats the whole point to making an ebow, if i was gonna have a wire, i'd make someting like PSW's sustainer. Now, i don't think the shape is actually all that important. As long as i have a way to align it and that it can be held in hands, it should be just great. thanks for the radio shack links! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Well, if you have any success with it, let us know. I personally would just buy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Oh...that's a telephone pickup...don't have anything like that around here that I've seen...OK The biggest hassle won't be anything electronic, it'll be packaging the whole 9 yards in something approximating the original Ebow shell, which is fairly critical for ease of use. For that reason alone, I agree with Paul -just buy one! ← Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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