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SUSTAINER PROJECT: has anyone on this forum built a sustainer that works..esp top 3 strings i've built one using the lm386 ( driver amp ) i've rewound a pickup to 8ohms using 32aws wire i've tested it at 12v using 2A psu all i get is the 6th string sustaining ( sometimes the 5th ) the driver is as close to the strings as possible the o/p of the amp is a waveform ( >10v ) going to the driver ( with the driver connected ) i am using 9 guage strings ..the bridge pickup is off a strat is this project a hoax...cause it seems like it

Hello Everyone, If you've been following the in this forum, it's very much alive and kicking. I avoided posting marketing related ads as proper etiquette dictates so recent activities may seem sparse in that thread. On the contrary, the project has matured and we've begun limited production last April. Anyway, as mentioned in the hex-thread, "the goal is to have hexaphonic sustain drivers as well. That, and with extensive processing for each string, will give us musicians full control over the dynamics of the guitar. I know hexaphonic sustain has been done in the past with the Moog guitar, but that was a very expensive gear. I want something more affordable. And I want a system that can be adapted to just about any guitar. This IMO is the holy grail and I know this is very difficult to do right, but every journey starts with the first step." So... we have a New Project! We have a very early prototype of the Infinity Polyphonic Sustain System. Here's the link to the short demo: http://www.cycfi.com/2014/05/to-infinity-and-beyond/ Again, I would very much love to hear your thoughts and gather ideas while the project evolves! Like before, this will be an Open Source Hardware project, all the designs (schematics, PCB layout, software, bill of materials, CAD drawings and source code) will be freely shared, 100% free.

Hello, My name is Úlfur, and I am a musician living in Iceland. I spent last year building a prototype of an "electromagnetic harp" that is computer controlled. What it basically does is drive 16 different strings with hand woven drivers and pickups, controlled via a capacitive touch interface (polished pennies seen on the front). The strings are on the inside of the instrument, and it can generate its own music when you dont feel like playing yourself. It sounds like this :: https://soundcloud.com/ulfurh/segulharpa Right now I am working on version 2 - adding a **** ton of features - but first and foremost i am trying to optimize the driver system for better performance. This morning I was doing some google research - and I came across psw's "Sustainer Ideas" thread - I am literally shaking from excitement !!! First of all - I read the first 90 pages of the thread and i applaud you guys for all your amazing discoveries!!! - I am incredibly happy to find that other people that have been tackling the same problems as I have, with such incredible results! i wish i could have been part of the discussion sooner. The reason why i am starting this thread is to make contact with people like psw, lovekraft and ansil - hoping they would be interested in a dialogue concerning this type of instrument. psw's idea of an acoustic synthesizer sound incredibly intriguing - and I have had a similar idea for the next version of my instrument. i have had some great results driving audio through the 16 different strings for a kind of "Acoustic String-Reverb". it sounds a little something like this :: https://soundcloud.com/ulfurh/vocals-through-kassagitar/s-XNTkY the early prototype I got working a year ago was made only using LM386's and crude hand woven coils. here it can be seen playing generative music on a grand piano :: I implemented this system into the prototype harp casing seen above, but right now i am working on a design which utilizes the LM386 as a preamplifier for piezo pickups, sending the signal into a more powerful LM1876, that drives some super expensive electromagnets i bought online. this allows for high fidelity signal processing of audio through the strings of the new harp. also, there is a rubber membrane on the inside with a small magnet mounted in the middle that is being driven with the master signal from all piezos combined, producing a rich and beautiful acoustic "rubbery" reverb. the instrument can therefore be played as an instrument by itself, or used as an audio effect for signal processing (early tests indicate AMAZING results on vocals and guitar) if anyone who has dived into this business extensively is interested in working out some ideas together - i would love to chat! more pictures and info on my harp can be found here, as well as my contact info :: ulfurhansson.com all the best! úlfur

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.

Hello, to all of you, electronic gurus ! I'm currently working on a "swiss army knife" custom guitar, but I want everything planned out, before actually buying anything critical. (features: tremolo, on-board FFactory clone, coil split, MAYBE a sustainer...) So. I've been hearing that market-available sustainers don't work with a neck pickup, because of interferences. But, I want a sustainer (thanks to the amazing "sustainer ideas", i could do the sustainer system myself, possibly modifying it to fit my demands), and I want my two sh2 and sh4 seymour duncan pickups BUT, I've come across this, during my journey on the internet (it fits !!) Fernandes Sustainer Website's FAQ says the sustainer needs to be at least 2cm away from any selected pickup. So, as I'm ordering a custom body at Warmoth, do you think the "24-frets humbucker relocation" option could solve the interferences problem ? (Would it make possible for me to use the sustainer with the neck pickup selected ?) If not, I could still chose to "relocate it", in order to have room for a real neck pickup, and a sustainer (at least) But, would it alter the sound of my neck pickup, "in a dramatical way" ? ( i'm sure it does change the sound, but, how much does it change ?) Thanks in advance, ladies and gentlemen ! And please let me apologize for my approximate english !