Hi,
There is so much information on sustainers and they seem really complex to make. However, it seems like it should be really, really to do with an arduino. Maybe I am just missing something (in which case please fill me in!), but why can't we just pipe the audio signal into an arduino's analog pins, and then write 5 lines of code that will convert said input into something that powers the driver? Instead of futzing around with all of the hardware, we should (again, unless I am guilty of confusion of concepts) be able to just connect guitar output to arduino to driver.
So far I have experimented with just programming my board to make 2-5 millisecond pulses, which go through an extra gibson pickup I have and essentially what I get is a radio. If I hold that arduino powered pickup over the guitar's pickup, my test tone gets played through the amp. My guess is that the output from the board is a bit underpowered.
So I guess my questions are:
1. Am I wasting my time with an arduino-based sustainer?
*advantages would seem to be super cheap, like ten bucks, super simple (minimal circuitry needed), and infinitely programatically customizable.