How does sustain affect your playing?

[N4640W]

A lot of talk about guitar manufacturers, (and rightly so) in this thread about sustain and decay with no mention of strings. I’ll venture to say that strings contribute at least just as much to affect sustain and decay. However, not one mention of strings. To me, string selection is still a black art. So many choices. No set of strings sounds the same on different guitars. The same set of strings sounds different on the same guitar 2 weeks after putting them on. If guitars were more predictable they wouldn’t be as fascinating. Lifelong pursuit……..perfect!

[gmel555]

I'll admit I roll my eyes sometimes when I hear a video or demo where a chord or note is hit and they makes a big deal that you can still hear it 6+ or 7+ seconds later. Sure I guess to some extent, sustain may indicate a guitar is lively (not tight) and responsive, but there are very few instances where I need/want notes to ring on for a long time. In particular, when recording I find excessive sustain is usually a nuisance, except when it's part of a "fade" at the end...IMHO.

[EZYPIKINS]

I have always marveled at the volume and decay time of my (Maple) Gibson J-185

Upon receiving my OM-28, off the bat I wasn't crazy about it. Till I got the action and intonation where I wanted it.

Though nowhere near as loud as the J-185. I am amazed at the length of sustain.

Have timed a final D chord at the end of a song to over 20 seconds, with the OM.

[standup]

Originally Posted by N4640W

A lot of talk about guitar manufacturers, (and rightly so) in this thread about sustain and decay with no mention of strings. I’ll venture to say that strings contribute at least just as much to affect sustain and decay. However, not one mention of strings.

Except in the first post.

[mawmow]

I want to thank all of you guys for your kind participation in this interesting thread.
It confirm my experience playing fingerstyle melodies over the last fifteen years.
I came to understand why my all-Mahogany ladder-braced Lg-0 would never
show good sustain while my great back and sides Rosewood X-braced Larrivee
OM-09 delivers so much sustain and showed me that earlier sustain decay
became my wake-up sign to change "aging" strings.
How my Gibson was a "strummer" while my Larrivee was a melody maker.

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I like sustain, in general, and when I don't need it, I know how to damp the strings to stop unwanted sound.

I have a Gibson Advanced Jumbo Luthier's Choice with excellent sustain, unlike many larger Gibsons.

I am not attracted to guitars without sustain.

- Glenn

Exactly. I will not buy a guitar without sustain as they don't work for my style. I guess I don't play much thumpy music.

[Aimelie]

Imho, I hear sustain, I hear quality. Simple as that.

[RodB]

Getting guitars with good sustain changed what I enjoyed playing and how I played it. I used to play mostly ragtime and a few slow melodies, now it’s the opposite way round.

Whilst a combination of left and right hand muting kills the sustain on faster numbers there is no substitute IMO on ragtime blues to having a guitar with short decay. The sound is different to just muting - horses for courses - is a flat racer better than a show jumper?

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by Jim Comeaux

I play a lot of bluegrass. The nature of the music that I play begs for short quick staccato notes, so sustain isn’t a quality that we look for.

Originally Posted by RodB

... there is no substitute IMO on ragtime blues to having a guitar with short decay. The sound is different to just muting

Interestingly you don't see a lot of archtops in those styles, which should accommodate that shorter non-muted decay. It does fit with the use of resonators in blue[gras]s.

I did read somewhere that Merle Travis played an archtop but haven't yet looked to substantiate that claim.

I loved how my minijumbo opened up when I put TI Plectrums on her (like the OP; AC111 in my case). I still appreciate the soundbath she gives me, and the big dynamic and tonal range, but I've begun to feel hindered by the almost cathedral sustain in polyphonic aka (more) classical repertoire where too much need for muting can become a handicap. Looking forward to getting an archtop and see how that works out!

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by Jim Comeaux

Much will depend on your style of play. I’m a flatpicker and I play a lot of bluegrass. The nature of the music that I play begs for short quick staccato notes, so sustain isn’t a quality that we look for.

.....and yet, the Martin HD-28 has become the standard bluegrass guitar. I bought mine for bluegrass. And it has quite a bit of sustain (unless I control it).

Funny how my Altamira gypsy jazz guitar (Sel-Mac copy) was made for short quick LOUD staccato notes and gets funny looks at a bluegrass jam. Even though it has all the traits us bluegrassers say we want....

[J Patrick]

…like Norman Blake once said…I like a guitar that spits out a big note and gets out of the way….I love the sound of long sustaining modern finger style guitars when someone else is playing them….but they don’t suit my style on most of what I play…..electrics on the other hand….