Tim Pierce on new strat with a sustainer

Actually, his is unique because of the rosewood fretboard, but otherwise it's an Ed O'Brien strat.
Was gonna say it looks like my EOB but with a rosewood neck.

I swapped the factory neck on mine for a roasted maple in a carve that I like better. It’s a fun guitar. I should take it out of the house more often…
 
Sustainers are a massive tone suck when turned off. Good fun for a track or two but then pick up another guitar.
 
Hasn't the Jackson PC1 has come with a sustainor since it's release in the mid-90's?
 
Sustainers are a massive tone suck when turned off. Good fun for a track or two but then pick up another guitar.
I don't know what you're talking about. I don't find that to be true at all on my EOB Strat. Turn it off and it's like it's not there. The circuit is out of the electrical path and the pickup essentially becomes passive.
 
I think what Tim said in the video here is that getting a Strat is getting a guitar that sounding TOO MUCH like all the famous people (like Tim wouldnt be famous). Anyway... he loves the strat because of the different pickups, neck, sustainer and it make it sound more Tim, rather than anyone else...
 
I had sustainiac - no tone suck, but it's normal pickup mode was not great. I got somewhat board of it, preferring naturally generated sustain, and growing to dislike control cavity complexity and need for batteries for anything - sold it.
 
Sustainers are a massive tone suck when turned off. Good fun for a track or two but then pick up another guitar.
I don't know which one Satch uses but I recall him saying that the passive neck pickup was quite nice when not using the sustainer.
 
I don't know what you're talking about. I don't find that to be true at all on my EOB Strat. Turn it off and it's like it's not there. The circuit is out of the electrical path and the pickup essentially becomes passive.
Unless it has been redesigned implementing a full mechanical true bypass the tone suck will be bad. It is quite hard to set up a circumstance that lets you hear quite how bad without major surgery to the guitar .This is the reason people don't think it is actually there.
I discovered the issue working on a PRS private stock built for Neil Schon that had an incredibly good acoustic tone and a totally bland clean plugged in tone. First thing was check everything which I did in contact with Fernandes and Paul. Nothing was wrong but I had a $25K plank in front of me that rang like a bell until you plugged it in. Fernandes eventually admitted that the sustainer could not operate with a hard wired true bypass and actually altered the tone of the remaining pickup. Next test was to remove it physically from the signal path and test the non related pickup . The guitar came to life. The other systems work in the exact same way and alter the sound of the remaining passives to quite a degree when compared to the exact same parts wired in without the sustainer present . I call that a big tone suck. You may like the tone when it is off but I can tell your for sure it is not the one you would have if the guitar was not fitted with it.
 
the tone suck will be bad
I don't find the tones on the EOB Strat to be anything but great. I have no doubt your experience with the sustainer was valid, but it's a big leap from "this instance was terrible" to "all instances where this is used are terrible".

Clearly, Tim is pulling some great tones out of it. You can just watch the video to confirm that. My experience with my own EOB Strat mirrors his: it's unique and sounds great. Is it a Strat not? Not really. It's got more in common with a Super Strat.

Whether the circuit has improved since you last saw: no clue. But it sure doesn't bother me to have it in the EOB Strat.

but I can tell your for sure it is not the one you would have if the guitar was not fitted with it.
Well...uh...yea. But that doesn't imply better. Just different.
 
I don't find the tones on the EOB Strat to be anything but great. I have no doubt your experience with the sustainer was valid, but it's a big leap from "this instance was terrible" to "all instances where this is used are terrible".

Clearly, Tim is pulling some great tones out of it. You can just watch the video to confirm that. My experience with my own EOB Strat mirrors his: it's unique and sounds great. Is it a Strat not? Not really. It's got more in common with a Super Strat.

Whether the circuit has improved since you last saw: no clue. But it sure doesn't bother me to have it in the EOB Strat.


Well...uh...yea. But that doesn't imply better. Just different.
The difference is the definition of tone suck and I did say you may still like that tone . The problem arrises when you add the system to an existing guitar and it changes drastically .
 
And on a related note discussed here. I wouldnt say tone suck, but not exactly as "normal" pickup. But having a few same guitars with different pickup configurations I am happy as a pig in shite...
 
The difference is the definition of tone suck and I did say you may still like that tone . The problem arrises when you add the system to an existing guitar and it changes drastically .
"Adding the system" means changing out the neck pickup, so it will necessarily change the tone of the neck pickup :). It sounds like you just didn't like the sound of the neck pickup on that one guitar. I'm with Ian, I quite like the tone of my sustainiac when the sustainer is turned off.
 
And on a related note discussed here. I wouldnt say tone suck, but not exactly as "normal" pickup. But having a few same guitars with different pickup configurations I am happy as a pig in shite...
Fair, but tone suck is the normal term for a dry signal change . I agree it doesn't matter if you like the tone.
 
"Adding the system" means changing out the neck pickup, so it will necessarily change the tone of the neck pickup :). It sounds like you just didn't like the sound of the neck pickup on that one guitar. I'm with Ian, I quite like the tone of my sustainiac when the sustainer is turned off.
It was what it did to the other pickup I didn't like.
 
Fair, but tone suck is the normal term for a dry signal change . I agree it doesn't matter if you like the tone.
And fair to you again Sir, signal and tone will be changed. That is possible why I want to play my identical guitar without sustainer from time to time just to enjoy the blast of a passive neck pickup...
 
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