[DJ Snoo]

I am trying to increase the sustain of my guitars as much as I can, but I'm not sure I know as many setup tricks as I might need. The main guitar I am concerned about is a string through guitar with a tune 'o matic bridge. I don't know what kinda of frets it has...What is the difference between scalloped and "normal", or are there any other kinds? I'll try any trick you guys can think of to get some more sustain outta this guitar, thanks a bunch. ~DJ Snoo~

 

[MattM]

an easy way is to use a compressor. that will give a little more sustain and warm your sound.
lots of things affect your sound. anyhting that touches the string will...it depends. if your guitar has a cheap nut or bridge, you could upgrade them. that would be the best thing.

 

[jimihendrix]

hey there...try viewing this thread...there is advice about tune-0-matic bridges and sustain....

http://www.guitars101.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14456&highlight=sustain

 

[DJ Snoo]

I have read that article before, but I have string through not a stop tail piece, so that idea is null and void. Also, I have everything else setup accordingly to his plan, but am still not getting as much sustain as I would like. Got anything else?

 

[mab8485]

Lots of distortion and compression. Reverb and delay also add sustain. As does a higher action.

 

[jimihendrix]

I have read that article before, but I have string through not a stop tail piece, so that idea is null and void. Also, I have everything else setup accordingly to his plan, but am still not getting as much sustain as I would like. Got anything else?

i find that the guitar sustains better when it's plugged into an amplifier... :notme: ...hee hee

...but on a serious note...i once owned a 1970 gibson black beauty that i bought with an oversized tune-o-matic bridge installed on it...the original owner told me it increased sustain...he said something about the increased mass of the unit...he was some kind of physics professor/amp guru...i couldn't tell you if it really worked because i got an offer to double my money on the les paul and sold it within a week of owning it...it was kinda heavy so i don't really miss it...i heard the new owner snapped the headstock off at one of his gigs and trashed the guitar...rock and roll... :icon_peac

 

[DJ Snoo]

So is there anyway/anywhere that I could buy one of these "oversized" bridges to replace my "normal" sized one with? If so, how much do you think it'll cost me? If somebody could post a link, that'd be fantastic.

I like distorted sustain, but I need better clean sustain as well. I play with a ton of different tone altering effects that get really f-ed up if you can't sustain a note long enough. I'll try the higher action thing...maybe that'll help.

 

[jimihendrix]

So is there anyway/anywhere that I could buy one of these "oversized" bridges to replace my "normal" sized one with? If so, how much do you think it'll cost me? If somebody could post a link, that'd be fantastic.

I like distorted sustain, but I need better clean sustain as well. I play with a ton of different tone altering effects that get really f-ed up if you can't sustain a note long enough. I'll try the higher action thing...maybe that'll help.

hey there...here's a link...
http://www.rexc.com/parts/photos.htm

and a pic...see the bottom middle bridge?...ya need an oversize one like that... :scif890:

any good guitar shop should sell them...

here's another place to get one...

http://www.universaljems.com/cart/bridgetunematic.htm

a very good alternative is to use a leo quan badass bridge...it fits directly into the tune-o-matic post holes any doesn't require any modification to your guitar...

http://www.leoquan.com/html/guitardetails.html

 

[El_jalepeno]

DJ, what is your actual setup right now, and what is it like when you are fretting a note. does it just die out slowly, or does it almost stop. Also, is their any type of buzzing or deadening of the notes, and when is the last time you changed strings as well as which kind oif strings are using? Give us some details and we will hook you up :thumb:

 

[VHF]

I have a Jackson that will sustain clean or distorted forever.....or as long as the batteries in the Fernandez sustainer hold out.:toothless:toothless:toothless

 

[DJ Snoo]

I took the advice of a previous post and I increased my action by about a half turn on either peg. That seemed to help some. But I would still like a bit more. I tried to add some compression to my effects roster, but I found it robbing me of most of my precious tonal characteristics that I have fought to acheive as of thus far. That and (I'm not sure if I was adding the correct types of compression) but I found it to add a lot of unwanted noise to my sound. Is this normal for compression? I have a full list of my guitar setups on this thread

My guitar setups
I usually change my strings sometime between two weeks and a month. I play a lot and I play hard with very heavy picks (usually the Tortex .88 or heavier) but I don't think the strings are the problem. I think I am just not setting up correctly.

My strings aren't dying at all when I hit them, they just seem to be trailing off a bit quicker than I would like. Could this have to do with that type of frets I have? (On a bit of a side note, could somebody post a link to some kinda of illustration as to what all the different kinds of frets are, cause I'm still not sure I get exactly what they all are.) Thanks all for your help! ~DJ Snoo~

 

[El_jalepeno]

Frets:

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks.cfm?fuseaction=fret_size

 

[DJ Snoo]

Excellent fret info! Thanks a bunch. Do each of those types have primary uses for certain styles? or are they just personal preference? Also, how do I find out what type of frets I have? do I just measure them?

 

[DJ Snoo]

New Guitar!!!

hey all, my new guitar arrived today and I tried the stringing method a la Zakk Wylde & Jimmy Page and I gotta say I agree. I was sceptical because of the soft "arch" of the stop tail piece, I thought that would interfere, but it wasn't much of an issue at all. I have great sustain on this guitar and am very happy with it. Also, I did a bit further research into this method and I found out that this will actually work against sustain and just general playability of most coated strings because of the softness of the coating. It will actually dampen the string vibration and cut your sustain drastically in most cases. So, just a warning to all coated string players who are thinking about this method! Rock on! :rock: ~DJ Snoo~

 

[toneseeker]

Hey there

If sustain is a problem ...you need 3 key ingredients...{this is assuming you have no neck / fret/ or nut problems)

1. lots of gain
2. back up your pickups from strings...too close chokes sustain.
3. develop good finger vibrato.

I have an ibanez JS1000BTB that rivals any Les Paul in sustain when I play it through my 5150....even at bedroom volumes


Good Luck
Scott

 

[nroberts]

2. back up your pickups from strings...too close chokes sustain.

Really? I never heard that before. Makes sense though because the magnets will pull on the strings. I knew you needed to back them off before trying to intonate...guess I should have figured.