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With his Rorschach blots of tone color and phantasmal phrasing and ambient tones, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien can be a pretty painterly musician. And really, it’s neither an exaggeration nor a surprise to say that his new signature Stratocaster often feels like a cross between paintbrush and guitar (as well as some alien lyre). Its shape-shifting potency comes from a Fernandes Sustainer system that extends the Stratocaster’s basic sound palette dramatically. And at times, it plays and sounds like a different instrument altogether-even while feeling as comfortable, inviting, and expressive in all the ways a Stratocaster should.
But the best thing about the Ed O’Brien is the way it prompts invention and makes you rethink your own playing. Maximizing its potential takes sensitivity, an open mind, and a little practice. And occasionally you might have to bend to the instrument’s will as much as your own. But the musical payoffs for such open-mindedness can be huge. In the right hands, and with the right mindset, the Ed O’Brien Stratocaster is a very powerful musical tool.
The Fernandes Sustainer system is not a new invention. It’s appeared on Fernandes’ own line of sustainer guitars and is available as a kit. Like an EBow, it uses a battery-driven source of magnetic energy-in the neck pickup-to vibrate the strings from beneath.
Continue reading: bit.ly/FenderEOBStratPG