Managing the Gibson CE/CEC sustain

[RonBloor]

The recent post about the Gibson CEC Pickup replacement touched on the sustain of these guitars. The earlier ones like mine (89).. have a tremendous amount of sustain. It just goes on and on. I know that for some time achieving sustain seemed to be the holy grail for guitars, but I think Gibson over achieved with the CECs. The later models of CECs and the Studios didn't have the solid block body, so they aren't all that bad..
So the question I have is... How do you handle sustain?? Palm muting is not my forte so I was wondering if there are other methods that you have used. Perhaps putting something under the strings by the bridge or something like that!!!
Thanks in advance. Ron.

[rhudson]

I think it's just a matter of learning to manage the sustain. I'm not very good at explaining how to do it but I love the tone of my CE. When I got mine it had a loud hum, a grounding problem, but that was taken care of and since then it has just been a matter of practice to control the overtones or sustain. I am not making the claim that the CE/CEC is superior by any means, but the sustain can be controlled and they do have a most beautiful tone. If I am reading my serial number correctly, it was built in 2001. It has V, B and T controls. I play mine through the 25L15 that Bud Park built for me and it is a beautiful tone to my ears.

Now, with that being said, I have played Kirk's guitars and I love them. If I could afford it I would have one. I don't recall ever playing a Studio Classic, but I am sure my opinion would be very high of them also. My only point being that in my opinion, the CE/CEC's are not inferior instruments. Like many things, it is a matter of taste and perhaps also a matter of making do with what you have.

Thanks,

[RonBloor]

Thanks Richard.. Mine is also a CE, but earlier than your guitar. It only has the 2 controls.. tone and volume. Yes, I hear you about the quality of the sound they make.. especially when you play your guitar. You have done some really nice gospel music with it and I appreciate that. I think you are right about learning to manage the sustain. I'm just getting to be too old of a dog to learn new tricks!! but if I must, then I will work at it.
You mentioned that your guitar was made in 2001 and that probably means that it's body is not one big block of mahogany... Mine weights about 90 lbs.. and it seems to gaining weight.. .. My friends Gibson Studio has some chambering and therefore it is much lighter than my CE. Perhaps that is what they did to the later CEC/CEs like your guitar.. Anyway, they all have a really mellow sound. The same friend with the Gibson Studio also has an early Kirk Sand guitar. It is pretty obvious that they are similar guitars.. Different but both really nice guitars. I certainly can't afford them, so it is the CE for me!!

[harryh]

Ron,

How would you compare your early CE with your friend's Studio?

[RonBloor]

Harry, I think it has been said before, but the Studio is the better guitar. The CE is very nice and certainly has a sound that is sweet and mellow in the extreme, but for an all around great nylon string guitar, I don't think you could beat the Gibson Studio Classic.. I think it was the pinnacle of Gibson's development of those guitars. I'm strickly referring to Gibson guitars.. If you start including Kirk Sand guitars and other handmade guitars... well that is another story.

[Dean Peterson]

You may want to watch this video, it helped mine.

Dean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyjjhewm_dQ

[Steve Moran]

Ron,
I had a problem playing out one time downtown here with my CEC and it seemed like the reason was my amp and the sound system was just turned up too high in volume. When that's the case you can't pluck the string firmly and won't get a good sound out. Having the volume turned down enough so that you don't have to hold back on how hard you pick the string may help - this may show up as a reduction in sustain and sound better to you. With the electric steel string (such as a Nashville Classic or CG) you can pluck the string lighter and still get a good tone but doesn't seem to work with the solid body classicals very well.

You said your Gibson is a 1989 model? From what I've heard it's likely a good year for the CE/CEC's as they had better years at making the plastic pickups. Some years they were made softer and had a better tone. I believe my CEC is from around that same time frame and does have the softer white plastic pickup.
Thanks.
Steve Moran

[RonBloor]

Hi Dean.. I had watched that video of Jim's quite some time ago, but forgot about it... Yes... I'm doing all the things that Jim mentions WRONG!!! I just put some normal tension strings on it... WRONG... I'm driving the pre-amp almost at the top... WRONG... I'm just putting Extra Hard strings on it now and I'll adjust the trim pots next.. Thank you..
Steve.. I think you are also correct about the amplification and attack.. I'm going to start with the suggestions that Dean/Jim have i.e. strings and pre-amp, then I will look into your suggestions.. Thanks again. Ron

[RonBloor]

Just to report that I did put Extra Hard D'Addario strings on the guitar. It seems that I had put Hard Tension strings on in August, but they sure seemed like rubber bands compared the these Extra Hard ones.. I think I was using Extra Hard Tension strings before my August string change, so that accounts for part of the problem. I also cranked down the 4th, 5th and 6th string pots to their minimum settings. the 1st, 2nd and 3rd string pots have some gain to balance them out. Lastly I turned down the main volume control of the guitar to about 1/4 . Tone control is nutral.. I don't have an external pre-amp, but using the amp at a lower setting and some other tweaks has also improved it.. So overall it seems much better and I don't have nearly as much run-away sustain!! Thanks for the suggestions.

[Norm]

that is an excellent video on how to set the guitar up.