[axeshredder]

yep...im aboard but really dont have a clue on install or even which guitar ill install it on.

anyone out there could give any pointeres or advice, would be greatly appreciated....thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7317612272&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

 

[axeshredder]

No Help Here?.....anyone Ever Have One Proffessionally Installed? How Much? I Will Be Installing This Pickup On My Wolfgang Special.

 

[wahwah]

er...the battery goes on the bit with two silver connectors! Sorry mate; my Sustainiac was already in. Check Google...there'll be something there.

 

[VHF]

Axe...I did it and posted step by step details and pics on this site somewhere. I think they were lost in the move. It's very easy for the most part.

Take a guitar that already has a slot cut for that blade switch...that would be the easiest. Gut everything out. Use the template they provide for the 3 holes.....on most guitars they will line right up with 2 of them.

Make sure you use a router and put the battery compartment on the back instead of keeping it under the back cover........becasue you will be changing out batteries all the friggin time. I use a couple of rechargables.

Another bonehead mistake I made was to install the driver upisde down....didn't notice it until I was watching a Vai DVD and said WTF????....but with the humbucker driver you should not make that mistake. I only had a single coil driver, so I had to make my own. It makes a big difference if it is not oriented correctly.

It's a great tool for playing and recording at lower volumes. I dumped the bridge humbucker and got an EVO instead....sounds a lot better.

 

[axeshredder]

thanks alot VHfan ...was thinking of an evo too...i appreciate your advices

 

[axeshredder]

im having the sustainer installed by the tech at guitar center.......im praying he does it right!.....he will call with the price after they look it over....im thinking about $150 (ripoff?).....installed on a wolfgang special, the pot compartment needs to be enlarged to fit the chip and a battery compartment need to be routed too. Maybe ill have it in a week but who knows....:werd:

 

[VHF]

im having the sustainer installed by the tech at guitar center.......im praying he does it right!.....

I'll pray for your Axe and it's safe return from GC....you will need it if the GC techs are anything like the ones in Texas....trust me!

I had to make the cavity bigger on my Jackson.....you can actually get a router bit that will leave the cover plate size as is....but route out the bottom half of the cavity a bit bigger...so you will see nothing different on the finished product. The battery cover is even easier to route out.

It's really not that hard....and for that price you can go and get a nice router at Sears and do it yourself....I kept up with your guitars at the "Axefactory"...and you can easily do this also with your skills.

 

[axeshredder]

thanks for your prayers VHFan...yeah its a risk over there at GC but the guys are just a little more educated than your average , but im in the loop over there so i expect them to do it right!

I would have attempted it myself but its one thing drilling into a guitar your building....its another when its a bought one that you treasure....even though its only a foreign special, i dont want to screw with it and if theres a problem when its done, i can bring it back and blame them ...not me...lol

 

[SLoB]

I'm sure you will let us all know what it sounds like when done

150$ is not too steep, bearing in mind that it's gonna take roughly an hour or 2 so its money well spent if your not confident of pulling it off yourself

i've installed a few pups on my guitars but I'm not one for the electric ins 'n' outs but i can do the wooden parts lol

was toying with the idea of one of those sustain pups too but reluctant to bosh it in my LP, would need to buy another guitar lol for one of those cool pups

 

[axeshredder]

definitly will post samples here in this thread when i get it:icon_thum

i studied the pickup when i recieved it and would have installed it myself, but the real issue was the schematic for the three way switch showed like 6 different color wires coming off it and mine has 2 reds and 2 grounds...... which equals having someone else do it......cant wait to look inside to see how the decifer it...lol

i wont be surprised if these guys have a problem with it and it takes weeks....as long as it works , i dont care

 

[VB]

Hey Joe.... nice choice of pickups... The install is a bit of a pain but none too difficult with some patience..... I would expect installation should be in the $150. range.... I usually charge 75 for an active install thats not just a retrofit and that includes the rout for the battery box.
VB

 

[axeshredder]

thanks for the price reference VB....this one seemed to be the best one to install in a wolfgang though eddie uses a single coil sustaniac

 

[VB]

yw Joe. anytime man . shoot me a pm if ya dont get the answers ya need.
VB

 

[VHF]

That kit you got is the right one Axe.....the only reason I used the single coil version is becasue that is all they offered at the time. I just took an old humbucker...ripped half of it off....and epoxied the single coil sustainer element back in place....and dropped it in. Sounds like a mess, but actually looks perfect.

As far as the wires.....I can't really remember, I just followed the directions and it worked perfectly.

After you get it installed the first thing you will notice after hearing it.......a lot of people use these things when recording! Also it has 3 modes of operation.....it will sustain the note exactly, or force the note to a harmonic of it, or a combination of both. It's also kind of nice just to add a slight touch of sustain to sort of just stretch out the notes. Another thing it can do is sustain perfectly clean notes.....you can do some strange things with that effect.

Watch the Soul Sirkus vidoes from their website. Neal Schon has a Les Paul with a sustainer and a Floyd Rose....now that's an unusual guitar that seems to work well for him!

 

[Stiglar]

Watch the Soul Sirkus vidoes from their website. Neal Schon has a Les Paul with a sustainer and a Floyd Rose....now that's an unusual guitar that seems to work well for him!

Has anyone seen that photo of eddie with les paul (the guy) and a lespaul with a floyd on it ? .. that guitar looks awesome .. if i wasn't so poor ass i'd get one made up ! :lol:

on the topic though i'd love to try a guitar with a sustainer i have no idea what it would be like ! .. have to try something out one day :thumb:

 

[axeshredder]

thanks VHfan...again...my instructions werent as simple as yours may have been but since i get very angry when i solder, im better off with proffessional installation........cant wait to play with it but i still havent gotten the call with the estimate.....i hope they just go ahead with it....ill call em tommorrow

 

[wahwah]

For those wanting to hear what a sustainiac or similar type of system does, I put this together in about an hour when I got my Jackson a coupla months ago. You gotta be careful not to put too much gain on as it just kills it dead. It's hard getting used to because we associate gain with sustain and these things will sustain acoustically when they are switched off and in the case! Hope it all works out for you Axe. :thumb:

 

[slimshady842]

I have a quick question about the sustainer since this is the most recent sustainer topic. Now... on The Astoria with Steve Vai, during Whispering a Prayer, he's playing some of it with the pickup switch in the neck position. Is he actually playing THROUGH the pickup or is it just activating the sustainer?

And if anyone has Real Illusions: Reflections, its about the same idea near the end of the song where it's like an ad. lib. That's what's been baffling me. The pickup sounds a bit mellow and almost like the neck one...?

Edit: Nice sound file by the way. It almost sounded like a flute in the beginning. That was really cool.

 

[VHF]

You can have the sustainer on regardless of the PUP selected. You turn it off and on with a small stitch by the knobs. You can also control the intensity with the 3rd knob. Vai uses it A LOT.

 

[axeshredder]

mine will only have 2 switches...no knob:icon_frow...and i will lose my neck pickup sound