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Description

The EBow is a hand-held electronic bow for guitar. This small battery-powered unit replaces the pick in the right hand letting the guitarist mimic strings, horns, and woodwinds with unbelievable sensitivity. The EBow produces a powerful infinite sustain, rich in harmonics for incredible guitar sounds. Unlike plug-in effects, the Energy Bow does its work on the string itself... Direct String Synthesis™. Infinite Sustain is just the beginning.

Owner's manual

Heet Sound EBow User Manual
PhilKeaggy

PhilKeaggy

Phil Keaggy "Amazing Grace" E-Bow Demonstration

Video thumbnail for Phil Keaggy "Amazing Grace" E-Bow Demonstration by PhilKeaggy

Phil Keaggy "Amazing Grace" E-Bow Demonstration

PhilKeaggy

PhilKeaggy

Video thumbnail for EBOW - Demo, Review & Tips - Phil Keaggy Inspired Ebow Plus by Nail Guitar Skills

EBOW - Demo, Review & Tips - Phil Keaggy Inspired Ebow Plus

Nail Guitar Skills

Nail Guitar Skills

Video thumbnail for How To Use An EBow The Right Way by JHS Pedals

How To Use An EBow The Right Way

JHS Pedals

JHS Pedals

Video thumbnail for My EBow Guitar Is Gently Weeping by Chords Of Orion

My EBow Guitar Is Gently Weeping

Chords Of Orion

Chords Of Orion

Video thumbnail for EBow : I Share ALL of My Secrets! by Chords Of Orion

EBow : I Share ALL of My Secrets!

Chords Of Orion

Chords Of Orion

Video thumbnail for The Amazing Ebow! - Ebow Plus Guitar Effect demo/review by Landon Bailey

The Amazing Ebow! - Ebow Plus Guitar Effect demo/review

Landon Bailey

Landon Bailey

Video thumbnail for EBow for Ambient Guitar - String Switching Tutorial (Heet Sound E-Bow / EBow Plus) by Chords Of Orion

EBow for Ambient Guitar - String Switching Tutorial (Heet Sound E-Bow / EBow Plus)

Chords Of Orion

Chords Of Orion

Video thumbnail for Ebow Plus Demo/Review - Top 20 Music Documentary Films - Guitar Giveaway Update by Picking and Flipping

Ebow Plus Demo/Review - Top 20 Music Documentary Films - Guitar Giveaway Update

Picking and Flipping

Picking and Flipping

Video thumbnail for eBow Player's Guide Cassette by Audioborg

eBow Player's Guide Cassette

Audioborg

Audioborg

Reviews

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Heet Sound EBow.

Use cases and applications

  • The E-Bow is often used to create long atmospheric soundscapes with delay effects, drawing inspiration from techniques like Frippertronics.

    Source
  • Combining the Ebow with an octave pedal and heavy fuzz creates unique drone and ambient soundscapes, enhancing musical textures.

    Source
  • Employing the Ebow with a slide and delay pedal can mimic whale-like sounds, adding to its experimental potential.

    Source
  • Incorporating an Ebow with clean reverb, delay, and volume swells enriches the sound, ideal for atmospheric and ambient compositions.

    Source
  • Mixing the Ebow with a fuzz effect and using the neck pickup with tone at 10 can produce a distinct tonal quality.

    Source

Features and functionality

  • The Ebow excels when paired with flangers, phasers, and wah pedals, offering diverse sonic possibilities.

    Source
  • The E-Bow is effective on electric bass and acoustic guitars, unlike the TC AEON and YoJo, which struggle with weak signals on these instruments.

    Source

Comparisons

  • The TC AEON offers a sturdier metal chassis and is more economical on battery life compared to the original E-Bow.

    Source

Other

  • For novelty effects, the E-Bow can mimic a buzzing insect by using a dying battery and slack-tuned low E-string, adding experimental sound possibilities.

    Source

Setup and maintenance

  • The original E-Bow is known to consume batteries rapidly and is prone to breakage if dropped, even on carpeted floors.

    Source
Add

4.5 out of 5

Based on 19 Reviews and 158 Ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
dannfeltrin

An incredible tool

An incredible tool, but I found it very limited. Transitioning between strings was not easy. I recorded one song with it. However, playing it live was awkward and for that reason I started to play with more distortion + compressor to get my notes sustained longer, which did the job. After that, I sold the Ebow. I know people who love using it, maybe it was not right for me.

davepepper

It's an ebow and does what ebows do

Yes - ebows are limited. You need one or you don't. I did so I got one and I love it. It does one thing pretty well. And that's about it really. Sustainiac is an option of course but it doesn't sound quite the same. If you want bagpipe sounds, an ebow is where it's at.

alf_andrew_pedersen

Bad build quality.

Had mine for ten years now, treated well and never dropped it in the ground or anything. All of the sudden it stopped working, and these things are not built to open up or fix. A fun gadget, but not worth its price at all.

jimmarchi1

agreed

ernie_balcueva

Great effect.

This was recommended by a friend and it does not disappoint. Great for ambient sustains and adding some real cool textures in the background.

alteredstate

Kinda Dated

Yes this thing is cool for infinite 1 string bowing. But it's dated. Fernandez and Sustainiac have made improvements on the "Infinite Guitar" Sound. Neat, but you can get better features elswhere.

bubbajones

completely agree... the Sustainiac I have installed on my Roland G202 far surpasses the ebow.

alf_andrew_pedersen

Agreed. Mine stopped workign all of the sudden, and they are impossible to repair.

courtland_adams

Sweet, sweet sustain

I use an EBow on Medicine Club's song 'Hear No, Speak No'. The ability to sustain notes, especially when combined with some delay, allows you to create incredible soundscapes which can really fill a venue/recording.

walter_t

The Ebow

I use it a lot to create guitar lines and atmospheric pads. Two different options available for different sounds.

coreyjdavidson

Something for your music toolkit

A versitile and relatively inexpensive piece of equipment to add to your music toolkit. Great for creating drones, loops, soundscapes and mimicking other instruments e.g. violin.

sorchahol

Love the Ebow!

Bit of getting used to but then is awesome. Long life on the battery and hardy. Have dropped it a million times!

ebowglow

EBOW plus

I love the original Ebow but this model has a switch that "grabs" the harmonics in the notes you play...very cool effects with this Ebow!

Artist usage

Add artist
See how Eddie Vedder uses Heet Sound EBow

Eddie Vedder

Singer, Guitarist

Pearl Jam

...
Verified via YouTube

In this live version of "Wishlist" from a 2010 Pearl Jam performance, we see Vedder play the song's guitar solo using an eBow.

See how James Iha uses Heet Sound EBow

James Iha

Guitarist, Bassist

The Smashing Pumpkins

...
Verified via Spfc

An "electronic-bow" for guitar. James uses this small hand-held device on many of the Pumpkins songs, usually combined with a digital delay. The way the effect works is that it is placed over the string on the pickup of the guitar and it vibrates the string and keeps the note sounding. The EBow is most easily noticable on "Sinfony", which is entirely EBowed, and on "Stand Inside Your Love".

See how Paul Banks uses Heet Sound EBow

Paul Banks

Guitarist, DJ

Interpol

...
Verified via YouTube

Paul Banks can be seen using an EBow at 0:27 into this video of Take You on a Cruise.

See how Moby uses Heet Sound EBow

Moby

Music Producer

Vatican Commandos

...
Verified via Facebook

featured in this reel by Moby.

See how Daniel Kessler uses Heet Sound EBow

Daniel Kessler

Guitarist

Interpol

...
Verified via YouTube

EBow can be seen 4:16 on Daniel's hands...

See how Paul Stanley uses Heet Sound EBow

Paul Stanley

Guitarist, Singer

Kiss

...
Verified

In this Guitar Player interview from 1979, Paul mentions using the Ebow on his 1978 solo album titled Paul Stanley. Paul was asked, “Did you use special effects on the solo record?”

“I used the E Bow [Heet Sound Products, 611 Ducommun St., Los Angeles, CA 90012] on quite a few. I really found it incredibly useful. I don’t know how practical it is for live performing, because you can only utilize it on one string at a time, which really makes it a little difficult. Most of the time on Paul Stanley; when there was an E Bow there was really between three and six of them over-dubbed. They were on “Tonight You Belong To Me”; on the melodic line from the front of the heavy section, it’s not a keyboard, it’s the E Bows. On “Move On,” the next song, they come in around halfway through the solo; there’s about six of them there. And then on “Ain’t Quite Right,” they tend to give a certain kind of mood, like a haunting kind of sound. To me it’s something like an oboe, or a synthesizer crossed with an oboe, and I’ve been fascinated with sounds like that ever since I can remember.”

See how Ryuichi Sakamoto uses Heet Sound EBow

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Keyboardist, Composer

Yellow Magic Orchestra

...
Verified via Photo

Heet Sound EBow is in this photo.

See how Wata uses Heet Sound EBow

Wata

Singer, Guitarist

Boris

...
Verified via Photo

In a user-uploaded photo on Twimg, Wata can be seen with a Heet Sound EBow placed atop a Space Echo unit.

See how Peter Buck uses Heet Sound EBow

Peter Buck

Guitarist

R.E.M.

...
Verified via YouTube

Peter Buck used an Ebow throughout his 31-year tenure with R.E.M., both live and in the studio. Peter can be seen using an Ebow at 2:57 of this 2004/05 live version of "Electron Blue" from the band's "Around the Sun" world tour.

See how Jónsi uses Heet Sound EBow

Jónsi

Singer, Guitarist

Sigur Rós

...
Verified via Premierguitar

"The reverbs are on most of the time. He also uses an EBow for one song."

See how Robin Finck uses Heet Sound EBow

Robin Finck

Guitarist

Nine Inch Nails

...
Verified via Photo

seen in this image using the ebow

See how James "Munky" Shaffer uses Heet Sound EBow

James "Munky" Shaffer

Guitarist

Korn

...
Verified via YouTube

at 1:13, munky is seen using the ebow on the song "insane"

Genre Usage

Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.

Used With

Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Heet Sound EBow, it is most commonly used with the following gear.

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Community setups

Show yours
saint_fire

saint_fire

Gear IQ 220

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