calvin

A 'sustain device' (e.g., the Hilton or Goodrich units) are a bit of a misnomer. They are actually buffer amps -- also known as a 'match box'. If you use a volume pedal that has a potentiometer and NO BATTERY or AC POWER, you should try a match box -- the SuperSustain is fine. There are several models out there. It will solve an electronic problem that is related to using a potentiometer that causes your high end signal to drop off when your pedal is back (partially closed / less volume). Wide open it sounds fine but when you back off you will lose some of the highs. Some people just set their amp with a bit more treble and live with it, but a match box will solve that problem.

Will it give you a bunch more sustain? No

The pedal steel has an ENORMOUS reserve of sustain without any added devices if you learn how to let your hands and feet coax it out of the guitar and amp.

A little more reverb and/or delay on a slow ballad can also help some, as others have suggested, but your guitar should have plenty of sustain to play ballads.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

I know it's somewhat off-topic, but might be a help for some.

I haven't done it in my rig though, since this issue isn't a problem for me.

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Klaus Caprani

MCI RangeXpander S-10 3x4
www.klauscaprani.com

If you buy a profesional level compresser/sustainer there are a lot of options. There are 2 particular parameters on a compresser that will eliminate that annoying pop and pinched sound of compressers. If you set the threshold pretty high the compresser will not kick in and sustain the note until it falls below a certain level ie until the note starts to die out then it will kick in and give you longer sustain.

The other parameter is how many ms before it kicks in ie if you set it to start compressing after 2 ms it will not work on the attack of the note but rather on the middle of the note where you don't hear that pinched or popping sound it's called the attack parameter.

So if you learn how to work the compresser you can get a lot of sustain from a compresser without all the annoying downsides of normal compression.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

As mentioned, the "digital sustainers" are more of buffer boxes that improve high end definiton with passive volume pedals.

As for me, I'd recommend trying an active pedal (Hilton or Goodrich), using a large reserve on the volume pedal to ease in as your phrase decays. You really need some room to goose the softer notes, harmonics, etc.

I just was trying to give him a way to get sustain artifically :-)

And you and Mark are correct: a high quality compressor can add sustain if dialed in correctly, as you pointed out.

I also agree with Mark's conclusion that a good active volume pedal with lots of headroom is really all most steel players need to get all the sustain that's needed. A matchbox with a passive pot pedal is the next best thing to solve the problem of unequal tonal response at the low vs high end of the pedal travel.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps