Sustain is a parameter of musical sound in time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound is sustained before it becomes inaudible. Furthermore, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope. ADSR envelope is a component of many Synthesizers samplers and other Electronic musical instruments. The sustain portion of the ADSR envelope begins when the attack and decay portions have run their course, and continues until the key is released. The sustain control is used to determine the level at which the envelope will remain. While the attack, decay, and release controls are rate or time controls, the sustain control is a level control.

Explanation

Instruments with the shortest sustain are usually drums; a drum beat begins to fade almost instantly. Instruments with the highest possible sustain often involve the passage of air, such as brass or the pipe organ, which have theoretically unlimited sustain. A brass instrument is a Musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular Resonator. The pipe organ is a Musical instrument that produces sound when pressurized air (wind is driven through a series of pipes, controlled by a keyboard Resonating instruments such as the piano and guitar also have fairly long sustain for string instruments. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs

Factors affecting sustain

Within a family of instruments, sustain is affected by a variety of factors. For example, sustain in guitars is determined by factors including body construction (hollow versus solid), body woods, the placing of strings (through the body or atop the body), and pickup design.

In electric guitars and pianos, dedicated effects pedals are available that prolong the sustain-phase of a tone. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder An effects pedal (or a " Stomp Box " is an electronic Effects unit housed in a small metal or plastic chassis used by musicians usually Electric Its counterpart in synthesizers is the S (for sustain) in the ADSR envelope.

The sustain pedal is the electronic equivalent of a piano's damper pedal. A sustain or sustaining pedal (also damper pedal or loud pedal) is the most commonly used pedal in a modern Piano. In most synthesizers, the sustain pedal latches the envelopes of any currently playing or subsequently played notes at their sustain levels, even if the keys are lifted.

Increasing sustain

There are musical devices used to increase sustain known as Sustainers, such as the patented Fernandes Sustainer guitar system and the EBow, which can be used to produce virtually infinite sustain. The Fernandes Sustainer is a device fitted to the Electric guitar, usually in models produced by Fernandes Guitars, but it is also supplied as a kit for fitting to The EBow or ebow ( Brand name for "Electronic Bow " or Energy Bow (often spelled E-bow in common usage is a hand-held battery-powered

There are many factors that affect the level of sustain in guitars. The most obvious ones are the craftmanship and the quality of the wood and other material.

See also