Amp and sustain

[EnGl]

Straigh question :
Does Amp have any influence on sustain ?

 

[Shawn Lutz]

yes on audible duration....this is assuming the guitar being used sustains the note

 

[EnGl]

But why ? How it can be possible ?
Can someone explain me it in scientific way ?

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Yes.

To answer your second question, compression & saturation of the amp.

 

[EnGl]

Can you explain more clearly ?
If it matters -I've got Blackstar HT5h ....

And cranking up the amp can increase susatain ?

 

[Death by Uberschall]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_amp ... amplifiers

Tube instrument amplifiers are often equipped with lower-grade transformers and simpler power regulation circuits than those of hi-fi amplifiers. They are usually not only for cost-saving reasons, but also are considered as a factor in sound creation[citation needed]. For example, a simple power regulation circuit's output tends to sag when there is a heavy load (that is, high output power) and vacuum tubes usually lose gain factors with lower power voltages. This results in a somewhat compressed sound which could be criticized as a "poor dynamic range" in case of hi-fi amplifiers, but could be desirable as "long sustain" of sounds on a guitar amplifier. Some tube guitar amplifiers use a rectifier tube instead of solid-state diodes specifically for this reason.

Unfortunately, most amplifiers offer a fixed amount of sag, and this fixed amount can only be attained at full volumes. A small minority of amplifiers offer sag control via either multiple rectifiers or the Sag Circuit (a non-traditional power supply design patented by Maven Peal® Instruments). Amplifiers with multiple rectifiers can offer up to two sag settings (amounts), while the Sag Circuit provides a Sag control knob, which allows range of sag control at all volumes (by interacting with a wattage control knob).

 

[Badronald]

Sustain is a strange thing. Of course all components affect the final result.

Many people mention adding gain to make an amp sustain, but some blackface amps sustain for days without much gain at all. A vintage singing, clear tone is where it at for me for leads.

Contradictory to common thought, I find that some of the modern high gain amps do not sustain at all for leads. It's the dry type of tone that we all know and struggle with sometimes. Strange.

 

[jerrydyer]

Can you explain more clearly ?
If it matters -I've got Blackstar HT5h ....

And cranking up the amp can increase susatain ?

yes .. this is why people rave about old marshalls. When you get them to s certain level, it interacts with your guitar and a feedback loop is created. Once your familiar with it you can use it to your advantage in a very musical way.

 

[EnGl]

Thank you guys , you are awesome .

As i mentioned before - I've got a HT5h and I'm unsatisfied with sustain , "on dry" my guitar sustains loooonger.
So I'm little confused about that ...
So "high end" amp have more sustain ?
Or in other way - Which amps have long sustain ? Marshall JCM 800 2203 or ENGL Fireball ( both new) will be ok ?

 

[jerrydyer]

fireball has more "gain" so its sustain will be a little better. A stock 800 has sustain when a good guitar and player are in front of it. Although, I received a lot of sustain compliments coming from one of my amps thats more like a clean crunch trainwreck type thing so, massive tube gain is not always needed for sustain.

when you strike a note, there is the attack, the sustain (its peak), then the release and it starts subsiding. Some amps are really geared to grab that note at its "peak" and making it sustain infinitaley. Everything in this world has a resonant frequency to it. A pitch so to speak. Whether you hear it or not. One of Teslas inventions was this device that could detect the resonant frequency of things (a glass, a machine or even a building) match it and the use its own resonant frequency against it and theoretically, destroy it. Have you heard the live version of Europa by carlos Santana? He gets in that sweet spot and holds that note for ever. Thats kind of a good example , one good example of what sustain is and can do. Probably not as scientific as your looking for but its the best I can do.

 

[LP Freak]

I have to admit that this is one thing that's really cool about the CCV. I can get pretty much any note to bloom and sustain with relatively low gain. This definately not something you find in alot of amps. Normally you need gobs of gain and volume to do this. Agreed that it's a little different amp than the HT-5 though.

 

[splawner]

I have to admit that this is one thing that's really cool about the CCV. I can get pretty much any note to bloom and sustain with relatively low gain. This definately not something you find in alot of amps. Normally you need gobs of gain and volume to do this. Agreed that it's a little different amp than the HT-5 though.

This^^^^

 

[EnGl]

mmm , i ste my gain max to 7/10 , and it sounds ok.

So , when I'm gonna crank my volume upe i can recieve a bit more sustain ?

And what is CCV ?

 

[jerrydyer]

The CCV is one of only a handfull that use a totally different way of creating useable sustain without gain. In fact it dumps some of the voltage to ground. You can hear a good example of it on that vid I just put up the other day. Diegos amp.

If you look at a sin wave of a 2 gain stage amp and a 3 gain stage amp and a 4 gain satge amp, you will see that the purest wave form, with the highs and lows in tact will be the 2 gain stage amp. Thats why a cranked old marshall (2 gain stages) is considered the holy grail for good ole rock n roll. Its kind of described as clean distortion. Hold the line by Toto. Steve has people always asking him to break that amp out. its got the mojo so he keeps it locked away.

PLus,, here comes the arguments. You can take two guys of the same skill level, one of them will have better sustain due to the density of the bones in his hands.. Pretty weird but true. The density of the bones in my hands are different than yours and so on and so on.

 

[EnGl]

Do 2 channel amp is the best choice ?

And denisity of bones also makes a difference ? Weird ...

 

[LP Freak]

The CCV is one of only a handfull that use a totally different way of creating useable sustain without gain. In fact it dumps some of the voltage to ground. You can hear a good example of it on that vid I just put up the other day. Diegos amp.

If you look at a sin wave of a 2 gain stage amp and a 3 gain stage amp and a 4 gain satge amp, you will see that the purest wave form, with the highs and lows in tact will be the 2 gain stage amp. Thats why a cranked old marshall (2 gain stages) is considered the holy grail for good ole rock n roll. Its kind of described as clean distortion. Hold the line by Toto. Steve has people always asking him to break that amp out. its got the mojo so he keeps it locked away.

PLus,, here comes the arguments. You can take two guys of the same skill level, one of them will have better sustain due to the density of the bones in his hands.. Pretty weird but true. The density of the bones in my hands are different than yours and so on and so on.

I know my head is pretty dense and I get tones of sustain.

 

[jerrydyer]

The CCV is one of only a handfull that use a totally different way of creating useable sustain without gain. In fact it dumps some of the voltage to ground. You can hear a good example of it on that vid I just put up the other day. Diegos amp.

If you look at a sin wave of a 2 gain stage amp and a 3 gain stage amp and a 4 gain satge amp, you will see that the purest wave form, with the highs and lows in tact will be the 2 gain stage amp. Thats why a cranked old marshall (2 gain stages) is considered the holy grail for good ole rock n roll. Its kind of described as clean distortion. Hold the line by Toto. Steve has people always asking him to break that amp out. its got the mojo so he keeps it locked away.

PLus,, here comes the arguments. You can take two guys of the same skill level, one of them will have better sustain due to the density of the bones in his hands.. Pretty weird but true. The density of the bones in my hands are different than yours and so on and so on.

I know my head is pretty dense and I get tones of sustain.

yep..................i get tons of sustain as well.

 

[jerrydyer]

Do 2 channel amp is the best choice ?

And denisity of bones also makes a difference ? Weird ...

you wanted science right? next time you play, walk over to the wall, and gently place the butt of the guitar up against it and then report back what you noticed. Thats your science project for tonight.

 

[EnGl]

I'm guessing that sustain will be longer ... right ?

And what is "tons of sustain" ? I mean - how long sustain , how many secs and what kind of notes ? Single notes or chords ?

I noticed that barre chords have less sustain than single notes.

 

[LP Freak]

I'm guessing that sustain will be longer ... right ?

And what is "tons of sustain" ? I mean - how long sustain , how many secs and what kind of notes ? Single notes or chords ?

I noticed that barre chords have less sustain than single notes.

I could hold single notes for hours....days...weeks.....months (well maybe)