Hoadlies

Hi to all members I am very happy to have joined this most interesting site,..

I Am a 78 y,old diy guitarist & like to tinker with effects ,mainly valve amps,tape echo, & just discovered the Great sustainer thread,I will build one for my old 20th  annaversary squier strat .

I would like to thank PETE &all that contributed to the SUSTAINER,PROJECT..

CHEERS FROM BARRY IN OZ..

On 12/05/2009 at 12:52 PM, psw said:

Hi there...

 

Long time readers of the thread will perhaps have wondered what has happened of late...so for people who subscribe to this thread I thought I'd share some personal news.

 

Obviously things have gotten on top of me in recent times...to top it off the house I rent is going to be sold so a while back I was given a 60 day notice...in the middle of a housing crisis and rapidly increasing rents due to the economic crisis.

 

It has been something of a panic of course and having difficulty remaining where I am I have made a far left field life changing decision that I hope will improve my health and attitude.

 

I will be moving in a couple of weeks to an island! Largely rural and small it is a little cold (is famous for it's penguins!) but a beautiful spot...I will be close to a beach and can even see the sea from my bedroom window. Although cold and isolated in winter it is a well known destination for tourists and holiday makers and the little 8,000 population swells to 40,000 when the weather picks up. 3.5 million visit the island each year to see the wildlife, surf and such.

 

As a city boy all my life, this will be a dramatic and sudden change but one I hope for the better. The house I have got is beautiful and hopefully the time away (at least a year) in the back of beyond will do me some good and help me reassess my priorities and get back to a more open mind.

 

I may even resurrect my playing, get a handle on recording...mainly though I will be trying to eat well and exercise, take in the fresh air and let go of some of the major problems that have associated from the loss of my children and in more recent times my work.

 

Anyway...not sure how the internet access will be, most likely my normal email and other connections will require termination due to my ISP not being able to operate in this remote area in a couple of weeks..but I will be looking in with interest when I can for sure.

 

Good luck to all with their projects and thanks to all those who have been supportive or simply put up with my long winded posts over the years. There are links in my signature to a few other related threads and a bit of a presence related to this thread at various sites like aron's stompbox forum and guitar nuts 2.

 

pete

Hi pete I wish you well for your future life &very much THANKYOU For all the ground work you have given us on the sustainer project..it has been invaluable ,advice & you have proved it can be done with patience & the following of the entire thread.

All the best Mate,BARRY IN SA.

On 08/10/2008 at 8:25 AM, psw said:

 

No, no...I've made my mistakes and tried to learn...

 

The sustainer will also do that...I remember the first time I saw the string jumping about...I showed my daughter and she was amazed at it....I caught her sneeking in and trying it just to see the thing move...

 

Part of the attraction of these things is this "magic"...

 

The ebow is particularly good at it because it is only picking up the signal from one string...no cross talk...and the driver only driving that one string..plus you can move it to the most advantageous spot and it can draw on the magnetic energy of the pickup. Get close to the pickup...and it pickups up the sound emanating from the driver too...

 

A sustainer has to put out more energy and the resonance of the string decides from the mono signal how it will vibrate from this mix of signals. The fundamental mode sustains chords better, as the physical properties of the strings are better able to 'filter' what parts of the signal will drive them...

 

The problem is as I say...the cross talk between driver and pickups that are intrinsically magnetically linked at any close proximity and avoiding the pickup hearing the driver and so going into oscillation when powered up enough to move the string.

 

pete

Hi Guys I AM NEW Here,,,to this site because of my interest in this magic sustainer thread that PETE has done the ground work,for us DIY FELLERS,,.

MY Advice to all interested in building this SUSTAINER, is "READ,THE WHOLE,THREAD, Before asking to many questions,

Cheers from an old 78 y,old diy guitarist...BARRY IN SA..

On 04/08/2008 at 7:03 PM, psw said:

Good news...the tele project has made a leap forward today and I have been able to get the sustainer wired in and a few other features to this guitar. The sustainer seems to work really well and after much fiddling around go it all to fit into this guitar. The circuit fitted easily under the bridge HB but the rest and the battery are housed into a standard tele cavity which is pretty amazing given the amount of wiring in the thing.

 

There is still a little switch pop, but better than some I have done. The guitar is totally passive except when the sustainer is in

 

Controls are volume, drive and tone (for some reason I am having trouble with this). I have used a three way gibson style selector and a push pull on the volume as a phase switch. A push pull on the drive control operates the harmonic function. A single toggle turns the sustainer on. A small LED lights up when on (I couldn't resist but is pretty subtle) and I even found a tiny SMD push button for a secret kill switch!

 

The guitar is very quiet but the sustainer puts out a huge sound maxed out...pretty stunning IMHO

 

I hope to post some pics soon once...but it is pretty cool that it worked out and after I re-setup the guitar again I will be giving it a good workout and see if I can do some sound clips so you can hear the thing.

hi Pete i live in australia I am a 78 Y,old amature guitarist i found this site & your GREAT SUSTAINER work MAGIC..

I AM BUILDING ONE for my old 20th  annaver ery squire STRAT.

I WILL LET YOU KNOW my progress.

Many thanks & have a great xmas .barry in oz.

 

pete