Simulate guitar amp feedback?

Actually it is alot easier to do this as you are doing with a mic.  It depends on your pickup on the guitar, if they are a Highoutput type and depending on how you are setting your preamp for the distortion.  Plus, if you are close to your speaker cabinet that would probably do the trick.  It might be all 3 of these ideas or 2 of them.  Try it out.  To do this with a plugin would not sound right in the end.  The only distortion pedal that was made to create feedback was from Boss or Peavy...........I'm guessing?  you could actually press farther down on the pedal and it would feedback easliy.  I don't know if they make this pedal anymore.  I tried that pedal out back in 1988.

Softube makes a VST to simulate guitar feedback called "Acoustic Feedback" - see the details here: http://www.softube.se/aco....php?p=af_introduction

Not sure I would pay $99.00 just to get feedback, but I guess if you really want it and have a need for it :)

Or you could fit one of these to your guitar:

http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=fernandes+sustainer&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=nZIYTKeaE5qJ4ga7xN2nDA&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQrQQwAA

In fact, any old guitar will do - you don't have to hack your boutique Les Paul or Strat to do it.

The best way is to make physical contact or place the guitar close to the speaker..... it also helps if the note is close to a resonant freq... some notes feed back better than others...

The sweet ones start out... increase in volume, and then smoothly transition to a harmonic...all while maintaining control.....


I don't know how this would be accomplished with a guitar sim, since there is not a physical feedback loop normally like you have with an amp & speaker.

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I managed to get some feedback going by holding the guitar so the pickups were about two inches from the speaker cabinet.  Fortunately all I needed was one sustained note, so I didn't have to worry about trying to play in that position.

mike_mccue


did you ever place the headstock on the cabinet?

That sample is pretty cool.  I must have been doing something wrong, because I couldn't get anything good going with the headstock on the cabinet.  I tried different parts of the cabinet and coming at it from different angles.  Maybe I just didn't have the amp cranked loud enough?  It was "bedroom" loud, but not performance loud.

Can you tell me more about how this is done?  Thanks.

Crg,  :-)

Hi Henkejs, if you tried it and it didn't work it indicate sto me that your speaker cabinets must be very solid.

That's a good thing... but seemingly makes my advice something that doesn't apply to your situation.

Most speaker cabs vibrate enough to send it thru to the neck... with my little guitar amp the cabinet vibrates enough to get that weird sound I posted a link too. :-)

I just was hoping that you had tried... I'm glad you did... try again some day with another speaker cabinet.

all the best,
mike

mike_mccue


I just was hoping that you had tried... I'm glad you did... try again some day with another speaker cabinet.

I've got a cheap little solid-state practice amp I don't normally record with, but it might be worth a try when I get a chance.  I'll let you know if it works. . . .

Many ways to achieve feedback, and many kinds of fb.  The sample mike linked is a muddy, clipped type.  Hollow body headstock on amp front is nice.  I have an old sustain stomper that's beautiful.  In the Amplitude VST there's a decent feedback preset uses a sustain pedal.  Other than that, you need access to either a marshall stack or 2nd best, a fender twin.

batsbrew


did you try the ebow?

No, trying to make do with what I have.  Thanks for the suggestion, though.

"The sample mike linked is a muddy, clipped type.  Hollow body headstock on amp front is nice."

Just for the record... it was a solid body with the tone knob rolled off. :-)