Does anyone know what effect it is that creates a violin like sound on the guitar. Steve Hackett uses it alot, and Alex Lifeson uses it in the first few notes of the first solo in La Villa Strangiato.
Don't know what you mean but to get close to a violin try a clean electric or accoustic (western) guitar with a slide and an e-bow.
I think Kev's onto it ... maybe a volume pedal.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
You mean the rolling your pinky off the volume type sound?
Ya sort of like that. Heres some examples:
(0:48-1:12),
(4:43-),
(0:47-1:42)
before volume pedals wee so popular the violin effect was done with the volume knob.
with volume off pluck the string then immediately roll up the volume.
once you get the coordination one can get prettyy fast.
+1 on volume know and pedal
There are also effects for this that go by various names such as Slow Attack and Swell. You can find these on many multi-FX units such and the Pandora PX4 and Line6 Tonecore pedals.
-=tension & release=-
E-bow is the answer to your question
"And above all, respond to all questions regarding a given song's tonal orientation in the following manner: Hell, it don't matter just kick it off!"
-Chris Thile
After further research, for Lifeson's Strangiato, it seems it was either a Roland GR-500 guitar synthesizer, or Moog Taurus pedals of some sort. On stage he used a custom-built pedal board. Not an e-bow for him, but that is certainly something you can use for that effect.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."