Fernandes & Sustainiac compared

[@thisperfectworld]

Thank you for this video! Really valuable exploration of the two systems!

[@pierreblenderbuss9807]

Strat is interesting--picked up a Fernandes Retrorocket Elite (strat style) with the sustainer and two sets of SD Hot Rails, and also have a Vega Trem and Sperzel locking tuners on it. I used it in a show recently and have found it easy to use and worked well. Thanks for the vid.

[@Tallukeah]

Great vid, thanks! Exactly what I was looking for

[@patrickshannon4516]

Schecter are my favorite guitar's now had several of them they were always very fancy they are at the top of their game over there at the schecter factory...

[@AntarcticGuitarEnthusiast]

I have had both and kept the Fernandez Susatainer as it also was on a higher quality guitar (a Fernadez vs Ibanez) My Fernandez is a much higher quality of wood and has a real Floyd Rose. I like the variety of variations and also it gets better battery milage. I agree with "buy a guitar with the Sustainer" installed from the factory or a pro install. My batteries are always great for the 1st hour or so. If I was performing live. I would want new batteries as soon as possible. I also found that the Sustainer was not as useful as I thought for my Roland Synth tones as it does it all itself. Even Violin tones or B-3 Organ tones too. Mine has a blend and an octive 3 knob setup. Lots of options. Good information. Happy Holidays. Peace and Maximum Respect ~ Loo

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

Interesting. For me the Schecter is a better guitar than th Mexican Strat (and I had problems with the Vega Trem and the GK-3). But I'm also trying to get a Fernandes installed in a PRS/SE so that should be interesting. TBH I find the sustainer a perfect companion to the GK system, though I'm using it as a synth rather than to drive samples so maybe that's the difference.

[@scarcam]

Been on a journey with these things, had the Fender EOB, a couple of Fernandes Retrorocket Elites and a Fernandes Revolver Classic. The EOB wasn't the best, the back pickup just hasn't got enough beans to work with the driver, the Fernandes guitars are far superior particularly the Revolver Classic, it has a Duncan Coolrails in the middle and Duncan Distortion full size humbucker in the bridge, they sound superb on their own and the quackiest quack I have ever heard when used together, and don't get fooled by the name Duncan Distortion, it will do the clean stuff if required as well as the heavy crunch

[@MarkCalica]

I just bought myself the schecter, can’t wait to play with it

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

The difference in the sound between those two guitars was a surprise to me when I editted that video. It's a great sounding instrument :-)

[@MarkCalica]

@@ChrissieCaulfield thank you

[@dobroplayer7]

Thanks for the depth of this video. I'm the thinking about incorporating a "sustainer" pickup into a lap steel. And so my question is, in your opinion which vibrates the strings overall more aggressively? I think from watching it's the sustainiac? I'd like to get to doing chord changes and slides without even picking the strings.. (that's my idea/goal)

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

Yes, the Sustainiac is definitely the more aggressive of the two systems so sounds like it would be more useful to you. Do bear in mind that neither of these systems are 'hexaphonic' - it's not 'pluck the A string and it will sustain', it's more 'I've heard an A so I will sustain 440 Hz'. So while a chord will sustain for a little while it will tend to fall back to being a note (usually the fundamental, or a harmonic) after a time. I was slighrly disappointed with this behaviour at first but the alternative is, I suspect, 6 independant sustainers with two hex pickups and six separate circuits - and I don't want to imagine the battery drain for that!

[@dobroplayer7]

@@ChrissieCaulfield thank ya, and yep I'll be looking for a total no battery setup.. whatever that entails. Can I ask how close the sustainiac has to be to the strings?. Obv I can mount it anywhere (maybe under 12th fret? On a lap steel) sorry if that's me over thinking. And I'd not be using harmonics at all, just the original notes

[@colhad9505]

very interesting channel. I plan to buy a Reverend guitar with Sustainiac pickup... ur comparison helped me . thx a lot

[@yakim1]

haha me too? which one? - the REEVES GABRELS SIGNATURE RG-SUS ?

[@colhad9505]

@@yakim1 i hesitate between the Reverend rg-sus and the Schecter Reaper 6 Fr s Elite. This reaper is the best Shecter guitar. The Fernandes and Burny guitars are made in China... for me its real problem. The Reverend RG sus is sold out everywhere, its a problem too ..

[@yakim1]

@@colhad9505 The reason I want the Reverend is because I don't want a Floyd Rose system, I prefer locking tuners with floating bridge

[@colhad9505]

@@yakim1 why not Floyd rose ?, just curiosity. u have the Fender Eob, no floyd rose there...

[@yakim1]

@@colhad9505 Because I do want floating system and I'm not sure that the EOB has floating one.. and I'm not a fan the Floyd Rose+Allen-screws on the nut. The reverend has locking tuners and a floating bridge. I had in mind to buy a "cheap" guitar like the Musicman Sterling JP60 and the Sustniac kit, but I think it'll be too complicated for me (mostly with the shipping)

[@Taco_Raider]

I never knew Tony Soprano's mom played guitar

[@millennial_bug]

Your viseos are so good

[@Doomchild2XL]

I just read up on those usb 9v batteries, and due to the electronics in them those might be a big contributor to your noise situation. Have you tried a regular 9v battery for comparison?

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

That's a a really good point and one that I haven't checked. I am using a Fishman battery pack on my Fernandes sustainer guitars and that seems pretty quiet - but, of course, it's designed for guitar use!

[@emulgatorx]

​@@ChrissieCaulfield I'm planning on a guitar build using the Fishman battery pack and a Fernandes Sustainer Kit. I was a little concerned that the battery voltage was insufficient because people have measured only about 4.5V on these despite Fishman claiming it was "like a 9V battery" which seems to be very carefully worded. So you didn't have any issues with it? How long does the battery last?

[@dimitrisargyropoulos6912]

With the level of technology of today, I still wonder why they haven't found a way to power these sustainers from an XLR cable providing 48volts DC from any console. It doesn't have to carry any sound, just the voltage is enough.

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

I have no idea tbh. But some conjectures. a) Guitarists like jack cables, b) lots of guitars use 9v batteries for other electronics so it's not a big deal to many people (all my violins have active pickups) and c) maybe the 48v doesn't carry enough current to power a sustainer - microphones don'e use a lot, but sustainers do use a lot of battery. Just ideas :)

[@grahambird3257]

I’ve powered a Fernandez sustainer through a tip ring sleeve jack connected to a 9volt external power supply. It worked well.

[@guitarkickstarter]

thanks for the demo. I just got a Fernandes and they're great aside from the fact that when the Sustainer is off there is that much EM interference that the middle and neck pickup are unusable due to 20x the normal amount of hum with any sort of gain. So it seems it's bridge pickup only unless a very clean sound. Looking around the net it seems it's pretty common with these?

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

I haven't had this problem. And I have sustainers on several guitars now (that strat, a PRS SE, and a Fernandes Dragonfly)

[@dimitrisargyropoulos6912]

There has to be a trimpot on the circuit board that could probably fix this. I have seen some fernandez circuit boards with 2 and /or 4 trimpots.

[@swancrunch]

muting the strings you don't want to ring out is a common practise on an electric guitar. otherwise any sufficiently loud amp would turn your performance into mush.

[@kimhwang3610]

Great vid, i already have the fernandes one, which one that you think have a better neck pickup tone? Mine seems dull and lifeless as a neck pickup

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

I think the Sustainiac is a marginally better neck pickup (if you can stomach the extra noise from it), but there isn't much in it, and it's hard to draw firm conclusions with the guitars being so different in sound anyway. I now also have a Fernandes in a PRS/SE Custom 24 (with another pickup in the 'spare' slot as promised!) and can confirm that the neck is the least-good pickup of the three - especially compared with the PRS bridge, which I really like. I don't think I would describe either as "dull and lifeless" tbh, but they are not the best. I suppose it's a compromise with it having to do sustaining duties too. I find it usable - though I don't use it a lot. If I want a single-coil neck for recording I tend to reach for an unmodified Strat :)

[@davidgalloway6403]

You played chords but they fed back so much and so quickly, were you using the harmonic mode?

[@davidgalloway6403]

Because the ed o brien strat has a Fernandez in it and plays chords great.

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

I rarely use the harmonic mode :)

[@davidgalloway6403]

Do you know why that occurred? This video is the only video I’ve seen of a Fernandes responding in that way. I’m in the market to buy one which is why I’m wondering…

[@HotRailCo]

Where do you buy these Fernandez sustainers?

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

I'm in the UK, so I got that one from hotroxuk.com. They do seem hard to get hold of though. My second one (on a PRS SE) i found on ebay.