What Is A Sustainiac Pickup?
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- Опубліковано 8 лип 2024
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Sustainiac literally changed the way I play electric guitar when I first discovered it. One of the best inventions for guitar electronics since idk when.
I am loving it.
@@PhillipMcKnight I spoke to the inventor of sustainiac on the phone once about artist endorsement or something, he wasn't interested but still ended up having like a 30 minute phone fun conversation. In it he told me that he basically tought everything he knew to Sustainer and they stole his designs and some ideas. Ever since learning that I point out to ppl when they "oh its a sustainer" I'm like no - Sustainiac, because they're the og.
Love both of your guys’ videos! Keep it up! Maybe one day I’ll get the chance to see you live Dovydas!
@DOVYDAS has replaced Mary Spender as the “the best musician on UA-cam without a full time recording contract” ... #fact
I had heard there was some crazy stuff like that. It such a great idea. To make music in fun new ways.
Finally, I could be flying in a blue dream.....with or without you.
Just DON'T go too CLOSE to the Edge! ;o)
Uncertain Speculative Presumption- Vs' Accountably Actualized Factuality _ Aren't and Never Can Be Uber Bff's _ Glad This Clears What 'Should' Be The Question _ Just Trying Figure Out The 'Present' Gear?! 😶🖖
Great info.
@@spiritzweispirit1st638 You're selling WHAT now?
NICE!!!!!!
What Phil won't tell you is while it was one of the cheaper options it was the only one with a matching headstock, which is a weakness I can relate to. Great job.
Im a sucker for matching headstock guitars
Are you saying it's cheaper to have a rosewood instead of maple? I don't get it
@@ozoneswiftak he's saying the more expensive "better" guitar doesn't have a painted headstock. So instead of getting the "better spec'd" guitar, he went for the step down because it has a painted headstock that matches the body of the guitar. Basically, he went for "form over function".
Seeing a matching headstock, makes me happy. Bare heads, is cheaper for the maker, but same price often, except Fender. They know they can take us for another 150 USD because it's a matching head Fender "whatever". I have such an addiction to buying matching heads, because they feel like they are properly dressed to wow the crowd. Bare is old school, amd it's OK. When they nail the proper pick guard, and inlay materials that counter the lightness of the wood, along with a well picked color then match the head, it's like a zuit suit edition of your fave axe? My question is, why wouldn't you, if you could? I don't leave my house without a hat on, my guitar will not, either.
@@Mark-OutWest yeah, the El cheapo Gibson Capped headstock sucks. Never liked that generic blacked out head with a banging burst attached to it. Makes no sense. Burst the head, too, amd put a Black Logo over it, so you still see it, inlayed into the flame capped head, that's what would work best to have made Gibson even more legendary. Nope, owned by mizers the entire time, that cut corners wherever possible, but unlike Fender(for the most part, I remember the 70's...good grief.), they always did it where it would hurt them, and thus, the surf masters over at Fender, have already beaten them, it's just taking a longtime for the self poisoning at Gibson, to eventually make a scenario where Gibson will be Fender, given time. They just can't come back correctly anymore, amd simple stuff like this, would make the product fly off the shelf way more.
Everyone making U2 jokes, Synyster Gates and Avenged Sevenfold got me into the sustainiac. He uses it so creatively, it's incredible.
Yeah you are right syn uses it very tastefully and he is the reason I own a schecter avenger with a sustaniac not his custom model but it was a Sweetwater exclusive in Aqua burst with a flame maple top and matching headstock beautiful Guitar that plays like a dream I would put it up against any higher level gibsons and all that it is my go to guitar for everything at this point
U2 sucks, that goober cant play. He is nothing without a zillion pedals, and yet his sound is always the same as if he has 1 or 2 pedals. He cant even get any variety of sound even with a ton of pedals Jimi did 100 times more than any of these guys you are talking about and he had about 4 or 5 pedals.
Finally, a Syn comment
@@michaelcraig9449 u ok m8?
@@michaelcraig9449 He isnt the most technical player but he is a good player. His playing serves the song, is memorable and fills stadiums with sound. I like the Edge.
A point that gets missed often, is that when Sustaniac is engaged you actually listen to your bridge pickup, while the neck one is just driving the strings. You only hear the neck pickup when the sustain function is off, which is an active pickup with a single-coil-like tone (weird). I learned this only after unboxing my guitar.
By driving the strings, do you mean magnetically affecting the strings while the bridge is detecting/interpreting the strings?
@@BoltRM Yes. The sustainer circuit listen the notes you play through the bridge pickup, and electrically feedbacks that signal to the neck driver pickup, which in turn emits an oscilating magnetic field that moves your strings further in the same frequency. Your bridge pickup recaptures that excited signal and becomes the output. Its a feedback loop.
@@gastonpossel wow!
@@9hk38f It turns out I replaced my Sustaniac/M7 set not long after I bought the guitar. I did not use the feedback function too much and really missed a proper humbucker neck tone. I put in a set of Bare Knuckles with series/parallel/coilsplit wiring and I'm happy so far with them.
@@9hk38f I didn't love it
I met one day with the nervous inventor with his prototype Sustaniac guitar headstock resonate sympathizing/amplification tech device. And this was about how he talked. I think fate had it that the head manager came to me. It was my first time doing anything, but sales. It just so happened that my dad was a vibration engineer who taught me basic electronics and working at his 12 employee shop balancing vibration pickups gave me a decent understanding to get the very shy Sustainiac inventor to open up and have a rapport together.
His first model (it was #1 after his proto type actually) attached to any electric guitar, which he felt bad he didn't bring a guitar, he needed his guitar in his workshop. Once hooked up (to a Gibson SG iirc) IT WORKED! Wow, sustain at any volume, and even a clean signal. I was sold on it totally, even if it was a bit of a contraption looking, with a body component, headstock component, and an umbilical cord uniting the two. I could see it being downsized as time progressed.
The system these days is completely invisible. The boss gave me the decision to take it on consignment, which I did, and asked for three more units to sell asap. I'm so glad this very shy nervous man had a success. The Guitar Center job helped me to get over my own painful shyness just a few months before.
Phil looks the happiest I have ever seen him while demoing that sustainiac. Rock on!
One of your most musical videos to date man, love this pickup and your playing!
Congrats on breaking 300k subscribers!
Shows just how awesome you are, and the word just continues to spread!
Really glad you covered this, Phil. I've been dying to know more about the Sustainiac for a long time.
I have the Reaper 6 Sustainiac model and it absolutely screams also. The Sustainiac is super fun to use and open up a lot of options. So much more convenient and versatile than an Ebow, plus the harmonic and mixed settings are essentially feedback on demand!
I picked up a used Jackson from the early 2000s with a sustainiac. Unfortunately it wasn’t working properly. No only did sustainiac have all of the wiring diagrams on their website, but a quick email and they get back within a few hours diagnosing the problem, and offering to repair the board (that is nearly 20 years old!) for $25. Had it out and back within 3 weeks. Some of the most down to earth folks, and customer service that is unheard of today!
Highly recommend their products!
This review is just what I wanted. You are amazing.
First heard of these due to Fripp and Belew, been obsessed ever since. Never been able to find the right guitar to put them in though. Glad to find they still get some love!
I was just buying a schecter with sustainiac when the video showed up lol.
The Fernandes Sustainer 401 board offers jumper attachments for three of the adjustment pots so that you can, if you wish, run those adjustment pots out to an external pot, such as one of the quad found on an LP. The most popular installation is usually an external Sustainer Intensity pot, which is highly useful when working with a Sustainer.
Their guitars deserve a lot more attention than they get .
I hav a 1100 dollar set neck hellraiser, built wrong. Lowest string hight possible 2.5 millimeter...so no they don’t
Top hardware put on firewood
Nah they get way too much attention, never played a shector that "felt" good. Literally pick up any Ibanez in the price range of the Shector you're looking at, and you'll have a significant improvement in playability.
Nothing like having a little edge to a pup demo. Those Schecters and those Sustainiacs are quite the effects machines with solid "regular" electric guitar playing. Great combo and another great demo!
I have a beautiful green Fernandez Revelle (Dave Kushner signature) with sustainiac... Had it for about 6 months now and thanks to you I now know how to operate the thing! I thought the upper switch was a coil tap that I just could not hear working! Now I get it and I love it. Many thanks!!
great video phill i have the fernades version on my eob Strat and I love it whole bunch of cool unique
tones
In most sustainer installations, the Sustainer driver functions as your neck pickup when the Sustainer is off and you select "neck pickup" on your guitar. There are two sizes of sustainer pickup: full-humbucker-size and single coil size, both of which work pretty much the same. A good tech can install the single coil size sustainer pickup next to a single coil size humbucker inside a humbucker pickup ring and can set things up so that you can use the single coil size humbucker *rather than* the sustainer driver when you select neck pickup. When the Sustainer is ON, the sustainer driver in the neck position works normally. You'll find this setup on a lot of custom-done guitars, such as those that Neal Schon plays.
The sustaniac is the entire reason I bought my schecter apocalypse c1 fr s. They are so much fun to play around with. Great video Phil.
Hey do you know how to tune the c7 because it has locked tuners
@@chinossynthesizer705 it would be tuned the same way any other Floyd Rose system is tuned. The initial tuning setup takes a bit of time and then you only have to make small adjustments using the fine tuners on the bridge itself. Ben Eller has a great video that explains the process from start to finish.
@@terryo9838 I have the apocalypse c7 fr-s
@@chinossynthesizer705 same as what I have. Ben Eller's video will explain it all. Super easy.
This has been a curiosity for me for a long time. I’ve never bothered researching it though. This seems a bit different than what I was thinking it was. Thanks for doing this video.
Great review Phillip! Tks for that! I really love the Sustainiac. Im using it on my deluxe chrome strat! Really amazing.
Wow! That's way better than I thought it would be. Very cool.
I think you should do an episode on how to install it aftermarket in a guitar that does not have a battery cavity without rerouting the guitar, if that is possible. Maybe a guitars with plastic pickguard like Strats/Teles ?
@micknormoyle of Unforgettable Fire U2 tribute band did that with his Strat
Great demo, thanks Phil
Considering I never use a neck pup.. I’m now convinced, when I need one this is a good option..
I have the Silver Mountain FR-S 6 with the Sustainiac pickup I love it!!! I literally just got it a couple weeks back I am now a schecter guy!! Awesome Guitars 💯
For the oldies like me.. if you've written off Schecter guitars because you've consider them the new kid on the block (compared to Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, etc.) you should really give them a try.
I was never interested in them until I finally tried one out a few years back.. and I was really impressed.
The last one I tried out (somewhat more recently) was a Sun Valley and I was super impressed with the build quality and overall playability/feel of it. From a playability standpoint, it reminded me just a bit of my old (90's?) cheap import Charvel that just happens to have an amazing neck (especially after I put jumbo stainless frets in it).. but the Sun Valley was overall a much higher quality guitar.
If I didn't have a wife and a dozen or so guitars already (I'm literally having trouble counting them all up in my head right now).. I'd totally want a Sun Valley too.
I have had my Red Reign Apocalypse C-7 FR S for about two years but never really knew what to do with the Sustaniac until I watched Kenny Hickey of Type O Negative using it. I now understand and love having at least one guitar with this amazing device in my collection.
I still have a 1989 promotional pack Sustainiac sent me. This is way before the pickups. You had a big box on the floor and a bulky cable you had to run down the back of the neck to the headstock. Came with an flexi record with a chessy dj announcer. Classic stuff for sure.
Great review! Assuming that guitar uses the same circuit board as the Stealth Pro, on the 10-pin connector there should be a pin for a +6dB boost and a pin for a darken feature that you can ground to make the Sustaniac pickup sound more like a humbucker.
I've had this in Lime Green for awhile now and love the guitar!
Ha! My Sustainiac was delivered to me just yesterday! Was hoping you'd get into the technical, setup aspect of the pickup. I'm actually excited about the install!
Great demo. Awesome product.
I have D.J. Ashba's signature Schecter with this pickup, and I didn't know what to think of it at first. You showed me alot that I didn't know about it so thank you. I play tricks on my buddies with it and let them think something is wrong with their guitar since this pickup will hold a note for as long as I want it to HA! Anyway, thanks for all the knowledge you put out on your channel. I appreciate you!
Nice review, like always ,just to add up some info that i found on the sustainiac website : the second bobin you see in the vid is a dummy one, and is made for people who have a humbuckin slot, as opposed to a strat for example, but they both do exactly the same when the driver is off, they offer a noiseless single coil sound . That is by default, but you can have a humbucker sound (they describe as a "59'" type) by grounding the violet wire, and you can also have a 6 db boost (and this, whether you are in single or humbucking mode) by grounding the white wire. And all this is when the sustainiac is off, and used as a "regular" pickup to be clear : and there are 3 trimpots on the PCB that you can adjust to taste, one is for the volume/gain of the pickup itself and the 2 other are for when the sustainiac is engaged , one is for the overall sensitivity/gain of the the sustainer, the other is for the harmonic mode only, and adjust its level. Hope that helps , and everybody can understand my bastardized english ;)
Good info
What a coincidence! I just bought one of these yesterday on the used market. Same color and everything. Should be here this week!
Steve, huge fan! Have you done a video on anything sustainiac related yet? Would love to here your input on a a few things
I have both a Sustaniac and a Fernamdes Sustainer. They're both great. You probably need the Floyd Rose though. The trem is essential to using the sustainer and the trem in my EOB Strat doesn't cut it. There's one issue with these pickups that I wished you'd have mentioned: the dip. What I mean is that when you hit a note, it starts to decay in volume before the exciter kicks in and it starts feeding back. That loss of energy affects the timing of how you play and you can't adjust it. I've managed to reduce the problem by running the signal through a compressor with very low threshold. I wish there were a different solution. The coolest thing would be to be able to manually roll in the the sustain and the magnetic output of the exciter pickup.
Cool, thanks for the review!
I bought a Shecter Sun Valley SS PT FR S recently (well months ago, but arrived a few days ago) mostly for how it looked, and didn't see that it had Sustainiac installed - which I've never heard of until I unboxed it. At first I was a bit bummed and confused, but after playing around and working with the effect for a while, I am really starting to love it.
I didn't understand intuitively how the switches etc changed in behaviour when sustaniniac was turned on - and the little piece of paper wasn't helping much. You explained it to the point and clearly! Thanks.
Thanks for the review
A sustainiac is a must have....
That is one sweet looking axe Phil!! 🙌🏻🎸
I bought that LTD 1000p not too long after watching your video about it. It's amazing and I managed to get a Korea made one still from Sweetwater. I will definitely make a review video on it.
I loved this video....watching it again.....youre the best
That changed some of my misunderstandings. I'd always assumed that the Sustainiac would also act as a built in E-bow. I was wayyyy off. Great video, Phil!!
I'm gonna get one of those shredders, but the PT non-sustaniac version with the tele style body. Im so excited!
Never considered a sustaniac before. But this was a neat video that got me curious to try one. Thanks Phil!
One of my favorite guitarists, Steve Hackett uses them!
THAT was Badass Phil !! ,😎🎸🎶👍
Great video. Man what a crazy difference awesome...2thumbs up.
I have that exact guitar. It is super fun to play.
Really a great video. Thank you! My son is looking this as an artist he follows uses it with a fretless guitar.
The Sustainiac sounds like it could be a fun pickup to play with and potentially inspire different playing styles.
That bridge pickup is very nice and warm and not too overly hot... Really really good pickup also. I want it in my other guitars.
Didn’t know I needed this in my life wow
That's a beautiful schecter. Huge fan of matching headstocks. I've got a Schecter Snow 🐆 from Sweetwater and it's super cool. Sustaniacs are also neat. Shoot probably something I'll buy in the future. Thanks Phil!👍
@@R1GAMBLER I know right? Dang shame. I saw the 75th anniversary strat and really dig it's look. Sad it's outta stock
Love that sustain...
I’m literally getting a schecter apocalypse in the mail tomorrow with a sustainiac!! AWESOME VIDEO!
I got a Schecter C1 with a Sustainiac earlier this year. I love the sustaining ability; my other guitars are gather dust now :)
That being said, I do have a couple of minor gripes:
• It chews through 9V batteries. I think I replace the Sustainiac battery 4 times for every 1 time I replace the active-pickup battery.
• The middle position (blended harmonic) seems a bit weak to me. There's allegedly trimpots that can be used to adjust the gain; I haven't gotten to trying them yet.
• There is some variability across the fretboard for how well/quickly notes are sustained, especially in the high harmonic and blended mode. For normal rock and roll playing, I don't really care about the variability. For more ambient/thoughtful clean stuff though, I usually try out the melody on different strings to see which location works best.
You gotta get rechargable 9Vs. 9Vs aren't cheap but the rechargable weren't much more. I just plug them in when not playing. It's basically like your cell phone. About 4 hours or so?? That's about the life of the rechargable anyway. Like your phone battery they seem to degrade over time.
Sounds amazing and great playing 👍🤟😎
Middle position is a mix of both settings and is the best one musically in my opinion.
I've 2 guitars with Sustainiacs, and they are a lot of fun. Cool vid Bro!
Thank you
best video about the topic! cheers!
Love the content. Feels familiar but it is original!
I can't live with or without this guitar...
Appreciate the effort
It sounds really cool even when the volume is all the way off, it still does it haha
EVH KYG theme music at the end! Awesome!
Thanks Phil fo yo primo demo, .....bro.
@6:40 I finally figured out how Dime did Cemetery Gates lol. Thx Phil :)
Sounded like U2 “with or without you” LOL
Exactly
I have a Schecter Reaper 6 FR-S with a sustainiac. It's an awesome guitar - the sustainiac is very cool, but a bit tricky to use because it can induce feedback so you have to learn to control it. Also, if you leave your cable in the guitar's input jack it will drain the battery. I've left my cord in several times, but my battery hasn't died completely yet...
Hi Phillip, you have the best pickup reviews. Any plans for EMG retroactives, a comparison of RA-2, RA-5 with passive pickups would be awesome.
Been thinking about a sustainiac for quite some time!
I have 2 of the Synyster Gates guitars. One is a 2010 white and gold with the Seymour Duncan Invaders, and then a 2020 Synyster Gates Custom S black and gold with the sustainiac and the syn USA Custom pickup. I love both guitars, but the sustainiac adds so much more playability.
Happy Sunday to me !
VERY cool, informative video, Phil. As always! Thanks for the always dedicated, informative output of your channel!
Looking over the various Schecters, it would appear that ALL the Sustainiac guitars (well, those with trems) also only have Floyd Roses.
Are there any guitars (other brands as well) that you know of with both the Sustainiac and a _regular_ trem system, maybe like a Wilkerson, etc? TIA.
A couple of years back (late 2019) the Sun Valley Sustainiac Shredder in the Super Strat shape was the Schecter that I was interested in getting. One can get the SVS in a non-sustainiac version just the same and at the time it was about $ 100 less. Today in 2021, $ 650 vs $ 800 is the price differential. The Difference is in the model designations an FR is the Floyd Rose and the $ 650 price. FR S is the Flyd Rose with the Sustainiac for $ 800. They do have some really nice color choices for the Super Strat body (FR Lambo Orange & FR S Birch Green are my favorites for custom paint vs traditional Black, White or Seafoam Green & Blue), less options and the Telecaster Super Shredder is a little bit more. Anyway, pretty good looking guitars for the $ 650-800 price point.
For the sound demo for this video, it's very "the Edge/U2" sounding for the calmer Classic Rock of early 1990's U2, and the SVS can easily do the Metal style, which are what one normally associates & envisions with the Super Strat bodies.
All I can picture is "Phil with Hair" playing the Cemetery Gates solo.
I need one, it'd give me the edge.
You are having way too much fun Phil ;^)
Best review of this guitar and pickup itself 💪🏻😎🎸
You picked some sick looking guitars for the back ground for this one!!!
The perfect guitar for Santana’s Europa. You know which note I’m talking about. That note.
Great video
I might look into one, since the song that inspired that is an all-time favorite that just doesn’t sound right played any way other than with some kind of sustainer.
Good video, Phil. I think a new Fender Wide Range Cunife vs the alnico Wide Range would be an interesting comparison. Maybe include a standard humbucker.
I can get a similar effect with the EHX Superego Plus but of course I can't use the tremolo with the sustained notes. It's similar though.
My Schecter has a Full Shred in the bridge and Sustainiac in the neck. The one thing you must get used to is muting open strings. It will become uncontrollable and a cacophony of noise. And the way the Sweetwater guy explained it to me was position 1 is straight sustain. Pos 2 the note will decay to a natural 5th above slowly and pos 3 will decay much faster. Mine has an intensity knob to control how strong it works. But muting is must
@Phillip McKnight - great video. I’ve been wanting one of these. Would you recommend buying a preinstalled sustaniac guitar or is this a reasonable DIY project? (If the latter, I humbly submit to you a future video idea)
I remember the Kramer sustainor and the Fernandes in the early 90's, they were battery eaters !
They still are. Big time.
I bought a white Sun Valley Super Shredder specifically because it had a Sustainiac. Plus they look so cool and at a very reasonable price! By the way, there is not a Tone control on this guitar; they are both Volume controls.
Ty Phil! Great video. I played a Hellraiser at my local store and they are so much fun. Question for you tho if you can, I play heavy distortion. Would you recommend one with an EMG 81 or a 57? And since I've played Les Paul's, would you recommend the compound radius necks? Ty for your time. Keep the reviews coming and thanks for the link.
Jimmy just rolled over to listen!!!
Ed Obrien's signature Strat has a sustainer and it is one of the coolest guitars I've ever seen.
Agreed. You could pay more for a higher-end Strat, but why? Th EOB has everything you need. I love mine!
100%. The neck takes a minute... but I love the jb jr in the bridge, sustainer is damn fun. My wife is getting sick of it though...
Superb instrument. So versatile.
I’m intrigued now by the sustainiac
I’d love a full review of the guitar and the emg retro active!
loving pickup day