Installing Sustainiac in Strat.. trials, tribulations, pictures

[syo***]

Sorry to hear it wasn't thumbs up.
Sometimes it's best to punt. I think you'll probably get more sleep this way. Let us know how great it is when you have it back.

[333maxwell]

Just got word back from Alan Hoover.

Indeed the included tone pot was bad, yet so was my volume pot. I started with a new 'military' grade pot, and in the middle of trying 'everything' I could think of I slapped on a cheap-o Taiwanese volume pot, and it turns out the pot I replaced the new one with just in case) was shorting out as well.. so between the volume pot and tone stack pot, BOTH shorting out when incremented just correctly, both were shorting out opposite of each other.. so when the volume was DOWN it was shorting and sending signal to the tone pot.. but when the volume was up, the tone pot was shorting signal to the volume pot..

Either way, he asked if he could charge me $25 .. this includes the new volume pot, the tone pot and shipping back.. plus getting it up and running to spec as he says it is now.


--

One thing anyone should think of before trying this kind of multi wired,spaghetti type diagram, is 'ARE YOUR EYES GOING TO BE GOOD ENOUGH TO WORK AND SOLDER SUCH SMALL MINUTE PIECES'.. even with a magnifying glass fixed to a goose neck I wrestled with being able to see the whole way through this thing.. soldering some areas as small as the actual tip of the iron.. sounds like I 'almost' nailed it.. but almost never counted in setups.


--

SOOO.. he'll mail it back on Monday, by Friday I should have a few other parts in for her as well, and then I will throw it all together..

Once everything is perfect and working I will search for a new, solid, LIGHT WEIGHT body to replace the lead weighted body it seems I just can't get rid of... it's a beautiful solid wood sunburst strat body, but weighs more than a Paul ...

Guitar fetish just got in some unfinished strat spec, solid, alder bodies that weigh in at around 4.5, for only 50 bucks (worse that happens is I throw it away) .. but they also have some solid Paulina wood (which I have never heard of before) that weigh in at just over 2 lbs..

Anyone ever screw with Paulina (don't even know if I am spelling it correctly, but I believe it is how it is pronounced) wood?

[Kazz]

I would say if you screw with Paulina.....you had better be wary.....the wood is Paulownia and is very nice for Strat's or Tele's

[333maxwell]

I would say if you screw with Paulina.....you had better be wary.....the wood is Paulownia and is very nice for Strat's or Tele's

Hiya Kazz..

You really think Paulina's father will mind? After all, I am an experienced adult and old enough to be her grandfather.. *

I'm mostly concerned about it having desirable resonant properties .. it sure seems to me if thee is a fighting chance of using it, and I wouldn't lose any respect, that the 2.2 lb bodies would be much better for this ol beat up cripple guy to maneuver for long periods of time.

I have some very light strats but don't want to do any routing to stick this toy into them.. as they are already on the fine line of robbing the kinds of sustain I get from my nearly 10 lb monster.

[333maxwell]

Ha..

1:50 Wednesday the 10th of March

knock knock..

US postal Service (still the best gig around. Try and get anyone else to deliver something across town for less than 50 cents, or take a package of important stuff to you, and truck it across the continent and insure it's monetary value, for just over 10 bucks) .. As of 10:30 am Monday it was still at the shop in Indiana, just two business days later it is here in Billings Montana.. yay..


--

Soo, just wanted to document it's arrival. Almost without question the very next post I put up will be one of complete and utter elation, or complete and utter despondence, there is no two ways about it.

I'm gonna cross my fingers.. everything looks nice.. Hover didn't screw up my work any *L*... I'm gonna go pass out for a bit, grab a bite, and withing the next 2 or 3 hours I should either be a very happy camper, or a homeless refugee..

[Ch0jin]

I'll go make a coffee then, maybe grab a muffin.
I'm really keen to hear what this device sounds like...

(I've had nothing but blistering fast service from USPS too actually. The difference is, I'm getting things sent from the USA to Australia! +1)

[333maxwell]

Ok.. so now I am laughing/crying

So I try it out... everything works great, UNTIL you turn it all the way up (just like last time).

Did it even get tested on full volume on the bench at the shop I have to wonder..

---

Total progress.. something is #$'ed up still..

Alan hoover is going to hate me before this is all over.. well, actually I think he already does.

How uncomfortable.. for both of us.. 'hey, you know how I sent you the strat and when it got turned all the way up everything shut down? Well I just got it back and everything is working great.. thanks.. except I can't turn my guitar up or everything shuts down'.

Wild. I feel like Ali in the last round of the Holmes fight.. I'll stand there and take the punches till I am silly unless someone calls it off.. *L*

[sunvalleylaw]

Frustrating. I hope it gets resolved for you.

[syo***]

I feel your pain. Here's hoping your none too pleasant rollercoaster ride ends soon.

[333maxwell]

OK..

I tooled around and got it working 'enough'... I still have to play with it.. but I am going to call this one a wrap.. it just has times it works better than others.. but at times it is indeed working.. *L*

Here is a gander a the final project.. although I didn't get her to snap any 'back side' photo's so you can see my battery issues in back.. right now it is partially housed in the trem cavity and that works fine for putzing around at hime, but I still need to route a tiny bit to get it right.

This guitar was the best of 3 guitars put together. At first I was going to use a different and much lighter and a scalloped neck with it, but as the body needed routed and I didn't want to do that to the nice body so I used this one as it is heavy and could afford to lose any weight it can.. the thing is a tank. Heavy Les Paul heavy. But it rings notes forever on it's own without the sustainer.. as a result of having to use this body I couldn't use the scalloped neck without shaving it a bit, and lord knows I didn't want to do that, so I was stuck with this body and one of two other necks. Like I say, the upside to being heavy is she does sing.

She doesn't really sound like a Strat.. more like a Paul at times, partially due to the humbuckers, and partially due to the weight. But with the Strat scale length and the action set as I do, it is 100 Percent Strat.

I will put up some sound clips in the next few days, now I have rigged it all together I want to lock myself away for a bit and get the hang of things.

[Ch0jin]

Cool, glad to hear you've found some measure of peace with this project. I know how these kind of things can keep me up at night when they don't go as expected.

So is it fair to say that the end result is a guitar that has WAY more sustain that stock and gives you controllable feedback at low volume?

[333maxwell]

Cool, glad to hear you've found some measure of peace with this project. I know how these kind of things can keep me up at night when they don't go as expected.

So is it fair to say that the end result is a guitar that has WAY more sustain that stock and gives you controllable feedback at low volume?

Hiya..

I don't call it 'sustain' myself, even though 'they' do. I rather think of it as strings in motion with the potential to endlessly resonate' *L*.

What happens is that the neck pup doubles up as a an electro magnetic driver.

The signal from the bridge pickup is sent to the driver (neck pickup) and it sends it to an on-board amplifier that amplifies the string frequencies and sends it into the neck driver and the neck driver works much on the same principal as a speaker, well.. kind of.. the string signal gets amped and instead of moving a magnetic speaker coil it moves strings (the strings are the initial sound source AND it's own speaker (if you will) making for an interesting bit of fun..

When everything is optimum this causes the string to resonate off it's own signal for as long as you want, and you have the option of the string resonating in differing harmonics.

By string resonating, I mean the strings actually move. Just plugging in a blank cable (to turn it on) and pulling the knob sets it in motion.. you can feel the strings take off.. it's a wonderful thing.

---

Again, that is when it is at it's optimum. *L*

I'm going to get it completely figured out.. for now it still works fun enough.

Thanks for asking.

[M29]

I didn't know anything about the Sustaniac but it sounds very interesting. I feel your pain, I dread doing anything with pickup cavities and the teeny tiny wires that are within.
All the best on it. I think a little time away from it will help. You will get it dialed in.
I don't know if you use a capo on the strings when you remove the neck but I found that it helps keep things in order until you get the neck back on.

My wife is the same way. If I am reading a magazine and get up to answer the phone or go the the rest room, when I come back my magazine is put away. Urgh...I love her dearly though!!

Keep on keepin on 333maxwell

[333maxwell]

I didn't know anything about the Sustaniac but it sounds very interesting. I feel your pain, I dread doing anything with pickup cavities and the teeny tiny wires that are within.
All the best on it. I think a little time away from it will help. You will get it dialed in.
I don't know if you use a capo on the strings when you remove the neck but I found that it helps keep things in order until you get the neck back on.

My wife is the same way. If I am reading a magazine and get up to answer the phone or go the the rest room, when I come back my magazine is put away. Urgh...I love her dearly though!!

Keep on keepin on 333maxwell

Thanks, got her running now.. changed a few things at once so I can't say exactly, but it looks like after all is said and done, it was a guitar cord that was not exactly shorted, but there was slight capacitance between the positive and shield.. seemingly it was what was shutting it down.. about the time I got it up and running, Hoover emailed me and said 'hey, I just remembered ... took me awhile but.. many years ago I had the same issue and I screwed with it forever and finally I discovered it was just the guitar cord.. causing just the right amount of capacitance that it would shut down when turned all the way up'...

Well, when he wrote I had just changed cords and re-wired in a mono jack where the thing is on all the time (until I remove the battery) and put here all together and she works..

I'll get some sound clips soon enough.. the moment I got it to work I lost interest.. I don't have the desire to play.. *L*... So I am giving it some space right now.

---

Other than that I christen her DONE.. I just have to route a notch in the back for correct battery placement. Die hard trem users should note I use the trem as aggressively as anyone, and I have been off centering springs since my first set of actives over 20 some odd years ago. They work fine.. I'd put this standard trem against any in stability and retaining tune.

[marnold***]

Glad that everything ended well. I think if I'd want a Sustainiac, I'd look at a Jackson Dinky DK2S

[333maxwell]

Ok.. need to setup the action and neck a bit still and route the battery.

Here is the basic sound idea of what the Modded frankenstrat with the
sustainiac device on can start to do.

There are no displays of any musicianship here, just making some sounds,
trying to get a feel for the thing myself. Today is the first day I actually sat down to play the thing and I am just not into it (funny how that works out).

But as promised here is a clip. Those who understand sustainers will find
nothing of interest in the clip. The curious might though. And again,
sorry for the lack of 'music' on this one.. I just wanted to display
some of what one could expect to hear from this kind of device. And while
the sounds are fun, the real joy is in the feel of strings coming alive
under your fingers, even late at night with headphones.

--

The beginning I hit an E chord a few times so you can hear what she sounds like clean. I am running it through a 60 dollar Behringer Modeler with
it set to a dirtied bassman setting with some reverb. Other than that it
is just the guitar doing what it does.

I'd like to get some clips of it through a live amp, because it really
does come alive. As soon as I get it set up and playable (A bit stiff right
now) I'll drop some more clips of some fingerpicking and clean sounds.

IN the mean time I hope this suffices, and again, sorry for the shoddy
playing.. it was just a one time through, is what it is thang. I haven't
a creative bone in my body at the moment, nor do I feel like playing much.
(But I do feel like setting it up).

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8884138