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. 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. Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion or SUSTAIN is a concept first proposed in 2002 by the United States Marine Corps to deploy Marines via spaceflight to any location on Earth. ... An ADSR envelope is a parameter used in synthesizers, including those that produce sound by subtractive synthesis, to control the sound produced. ...

Explanation

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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. Its counterpart in synthesizers is the S (for sustain) in the ADSR envelope. An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Effects unit. ... For other uses, see Synthesizer (disambiguation). ...

The sustain pedal is the electronic equivalent of a piano's damper pedal. 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. Sustain pedal is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. ...

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 new or existing guitars. ... An EBow The EBow or ebow (brand name for Electronic Bow or Energy Bow) (often spelled E-bow in common usage) [1] is a hand-held, battery-powered electronic device for playing the electric guitar. ...

Though it is not always true, generally higher end instruments have more sustain, or longevity of the sound. For example, a more expensive guitar will have much longer sustain that a cheap one. There are many factors that cause this, but the most obvious ones are the craftmanship and the quality of the wood and other material.

See also

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