SUSTAINIAC | Controlled Feedback and Infinite Sustain

I updated the Sustainiac system in my 1990 Hamer USA Chaparral Elite guitar from the old late 80's version to the current system. Come join me for the journey.
Backing track courtesy of Elevated Jam Tracks on KZbin.
#Guitar #Hamer #Sustain

[@nolyspe]

One often undersold feature of the harmonic mode of the sustainer is that when you enable it, it also triggers the guitar player's "Steve Vai face mode (TM)"

[@mrdevil848]

lmao

[@donaldmcmillan5529]

It's almost like having an E-Bow built into your guitar... much more convient and more than one string at a time. Awesome!!

[@8sigreg]

I think it's more flexible and less clumsy than the eBow. Having had an eBow since they were first released it's good for what it does but it definitely forces us to use a different technique for playing, and switching between the eBow and regular picking instantly is not possible. If I was in the market for something that does infinite sustain I'd definitely be looking for the Sustainiac. If I wanted it to sound like I was bowing the guitar then the eBow would be my choice.

[@nenadcovic4552]

Looks like a blast of fun is to play with those pickups. So many options,like the infinite universe of sound.

[@RickHollis]

Yep, love it.

[@winstonwolff]

Great tones, and that guitar is awesome

[@TSFAHTPS]

One of those has been on my ‘want’ list for ages...one day!! Great video mate!!

[@RickHollis]

Thanks Gabor!

[@RavnerRavner]

you got the touch!!!!! you got the power!!!

[@zbaby82]

Beautiful. It reminds me of Steve Vai and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. I would love to have one of these.

[@brianwhalon9621]

Awesome playing . Very emotional sound.

[@user-kd5ox5iv7o]

You're making that guitar sing bro, it sounds soooo good!

[@marks9197]

First time here. Beautiful song! Subscribed.

[@jeremie2639]

wonderful tones! great vid

[@VicHightaian]

Sick guitar man! love that fretboard!!!

[@vicesquadpunk]

Brilliant…. In the late 80's I used a Hamer Scarab with an ADA MP-1. ALESIS Quadraverb and Kitty Hawk valve power amp, all controlled by an ADA MIDI foot switch the sound was truly amazing. Cheers 😊🇬🇧

[@RickHollis]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment. I’m thinking of incorporating the ADA into a live rig again.

[@samborac46]

My dream guitar! Awesome video and playing man, cheers

[@jessicajensen5670]

Gorgeous

[@dave1812]

wish they had a better website, it looks like it's been created in the early 2000s and never updated, been thinking about getting a single coil sutainiac for my LUKE, but i'm not sure if it's gonna work with the EMGs.

[@eliasmsv3156]

The sun valley schecters have emgs in the bridge and sustaioniac in to neck. I would assume it works

[@reeseimmanuel526]

i know I am kind of randomly asking but do anybody know of a good place to watch newly released movies online?

[@hassanmaxton7942]

@Reese Immanuel try Flixzone. You can find it by googling =)

[@armandolandry4544]

@Hassan Maxton Definitely, I've been using FlixZone for since april myself :)

[@reeseimmanuel526]

@Hassan Maxton Thanks, I signed up and it seems like a nice service :) I appreciate it!

[@youssefkasim7556]

Love that sustain. Keep it up.

[@RickHollis]

Thanks mate!

[@emmanuelwolf6568]

I’ve just bought myself a Fernandez vortex elite Flying V,and man is it good,omg.

[@mattstephenson8450]

Love your playing and that sustain is another

[@mattstephenson8450]

Hit send too soon , was gonna say your sustaining is on another level . And man , what a beautiful guitar ..❤

[@jbjb9691]

great job. The intro sounds like the finale of Genesis' "Supper's ready".

[@stevetaylor6488]

Fantastic Rick - just purchased a lower cost version from here in the UK...love the Schon 2k sustains - perfect

[@B32Mike]

I come back to this video for that juicy, juicy intro playing

[@danijkgers7216]

Genius❤❤❤❤

[@mattstephenson8450]

Wow !

[@Abzshred]

Nice!

[@wandersonlucaslamas]

Excelente!!! timbre lindo.

[@keithfields1178]

Best preamp ever sold. ADA MP1. Finally got a replacement foot controller again, loving the Amp all over again.

[@jariel1031]

I recently bought a Schecter Niki Stringfield guitar with a sustainiac. It's an amazing thing. It actually help me play better because I have to make sure I am muting strings. It's great to have fun and just control the feedback.

[@fernominal]

I used to have a Fernandes 7 string guitar, with famous Fernandes Sustainer. Sustainer pickups sound great! (I enjoy playing them!) You have a beautiful guitar now! (Love the sound) noticed the reverb and echo, took away the "punch" from the sound of the guitar. (Almost like a compressor, is turning the volume down or up depending on what note is played.) Love the sound though! (But I can almost copy the sound just by adjusting my Digitech RP-250 FX pedal sustain and octave settings! My FX Pedal doesn't give it as long or endless sustain, unless I crank the head volume way up, to where my neighbors can hear me play about a block away!!..lol..!!

[@ScottishWickerman]

I love it. I use ebow and plenty reverb for these kinda sounds but wouldn't might getting set up like yours.

[@RickHollis]

I am going to do a video comparing it to the Sound Stone, which is similar to the Ebow.

[@viewer-r]

Too gooood 😭

[@mrdrummond5727]

Welp, found something else I need now.

[@robinmiller986]

I love the first song it sound like a lap still guitar for sound so beautiful just like a lap still guitar plays almost similar like it

[@pottma01]

Wanted one for a long time but the installation always kept me from buying one. Fixed that by ordering a new guitar with it pre-installed ;) And this video was the last incentive I needed to actually do that. Just hope the new one has a better batterylife than the mentioned 2 hours though

[@RickHollis]

It does, by a long shot!

[@colinboylan1496]

Great video! I have an old Jackson Dinky with a Sustainiac pickup. Love the sound but it eats through batteries. Until I found this video I assumed it was just something wrong with mine and didn't realise it was part of the system.

[@GoCreateSomething]

It might actually be the wiring. Schecters with the sustainiac were going out with the ground wires from the two battery compartments reversed and that was causing them to eat batteries when it wasn't being played. The battery with the positive going to the pickup needs to have the ground going to the jack and the sustainiac battery needs to have the ground connected to the sustainiac board. Schecter was soldering them the other way and at least one owner was having that battery problem until they switched where the two ground wires were going.

[@mikkywhalan]

The feedback reminds me kf the track "Touch The Fire" by Icehouse

[@piyushsharma5177]

woah man.. Can you please upload the song in a separate video? its effing awesome!

[@paulstimson576]

You might not know how to solder but you can certainly play a good tune. very useful video.Thanks.

[@RickHollis]

Thank you

[@christianstanleychaconbarquero]

i want this pick!

[@BlueSoundDesign]

I have brand new one for sale in single format and rare white colour !!

[@donniekellerman5833]

I was told by a guitar tech. If you want a sustainiac pick up to buy a guitar with one in it! Wires galore & easy to mess up if you're not familiar with wiring harnesses.

[@lect0n7]

_[Rolling Eyes]_ No, Just No Jimi Hendrix’s genius was so incredible that amp feedback was a signature of his tone… then, after Eddie Van Halen released _Eruption,_ it was laced with artificial harmonics which is similar to Jimi’s feedback, except it’s controllable…

[@michaelhooks3644]

would love to hear your playing with out massive delay.....wow!

[@RickHollis]

I’ll ease back on the delay next time. I’m shooting more content this week. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@zombiemosher1139]

This is the best Sustainiac video I've seen. I bet its addictive. Is this the Stealth model?

[@RickHollis]

Thank you! Yes it is.

[@guitartec]

I like the creamy smooth liquid notes, really, but it's sort of a one-trick pony- like being stuck playing the 1st Boston album all the time, if ya know what I mean? I'll go check prices and if it's not horrible, I'll install one in my Ibnz RG.

[@FantasticF113]

I gotta say, I love the Sustainiac sound, but I'm not a fan of some of the aesthetics. However, that Hamer looks absolutely rad - the new Sustainiac doesn't feel out of place and takes the look to a whole new level. Congrats on really awesome job. I hope you have many happy years playing now you've got your Mojo back!

[@RickHollis]

Thank you! I might spend tonight playing with it.

[@fredimachadonet]

This is awesome Rick. I'm getting one of these for my guitar. How long does the battery last with the current sustainiac?

[@HenryS360]

At 0:50, I'm hearing "The Touch" from the original 1980's Transformer Movie, love it!

[@TristanJCumpole]

I came into the comments to say this exact same thing. Stan Bush FTW!

[@exdafrianz3939]

Mannnn...!! i like to hear the intro longer did you made full version of that...??

[@RickHollis]

Thank you. I was just improvising over a backing track from the Elevated Jam Tracks KZbin channel.

[@TraumaHound]

Does the little groove in the sustainiac pickup cause any volume issues for the D string?

[@batpigguitar]

Awesome mate, how’s the battery life now? I’ve always been curious as to how the sustainiac sounds in normal neck pickup mode?

[@RickHollis]

Thanks Rick. The current version uses 1 x 9 volt battery as opposed to the old one using 2, so my tech wired the cavity to use 2 in parallel for twice the battery life again. Haven't run dry yet and I've been playing it a fair bit. I'm yet to compare the different sounds available from the neck pickup by switching some internal wires to see if I like the single coil or humbucker like sounds available. As is it is passable, but not outstanding. I think it is wired for HB sound and I'm not a fan in the neck position. Stay posted.

[@josephmonaco4503]

Not even 2 hours and that's if you're playing a show with 4 sets in it and you use your sustaniac in 1/4 of the songs just for cool sounding riffs. I don't know why 2 hours seems to sound like nothing but, that's a very long time. When you are not using it, just always keep it off but, if you're doing a concert and 1/2 of the songs have no lyrics in them, like Steve Vai's Songs" Then you will burn up 3/4 of the battery life in one show. That's still penny's for a concert. Why would someone worry about the price of a 9-volt battery if you are playing in concert or a bar for $100.00 a night. It's still penny's for the coolest solos... Hope that answered your question... '

[@5urg3x]

@@josephmonaco4503 Don’t use a 9V battery. Use a lithium battery pack that can be recharged.

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

@@5urg3x - Yup. There are 9v Lithium batteries on Amazon I use which are rechargeable and last at least 100 to 300 recharges. Some actually have the charging port on the side [of the battery] where you can flip open the 9V battery cavity on the guitar and just plug the mini-USB charger into the battery without removing it, which makes it way more convenient than taking out the batteries and replacing them.

[@fabiosupelano5191]

@Rick Hollis. May you share link for baking track.. It sounds good

[@adakhochalai]

Ebow made a pickup called SUSTANIAC

[@marko6831]

The Chapparal with Sustainer was my dream guitar when I was a young player. What is that bridge humbucker ? It looks weird ?

[@humanbeing2420]

I just got a Schecter Reaper with a Sustainiac. It’s fun.

[@RickHollis]

Nice! I’m sure you’ll get hours of fun out of it.

[@humanbeing2420]

@@RickHollis I was actually having a bit of trouble figuring out how to make use of it but watching what you did there got me going. Still having some runaway feedback here and there though...

[@RickHollis]

@@humanbeing2420 You'll lear no take it ;)

[@danijkgers7216]

Se pueden usar hammers on y arpegios , para alargar el sonido????

[@fazquasha2632]

I still have a gap of knowledge how the pick up actually work. It ties into the bridge pickup somehow. So is the sutainiac is a pickup or just a sustainer? Is the bridge pickup is doing all the work? Can you explain how you get different tones with pickup selector?

[@ramblinwreck24]

Holy crap your pickups are set very high vs what I do. How does the sound change/how do you like it? I might need to raise mine

[@josephmonaco4503]

Ok Rick Thank You for that Partial Demo. Everybody who has done a demo on their Fernandez/whatever sustainiac system all FAIL to explain ALL of the simple mechanics of the system, BECAUSE they all seem to want to just show us while they are showing off on the guitar which doesn't help one bit and just before the video is over we are all just as confused as we were in the begginning. First off you mentioned that what used to be your TONE KNOB now was you " Blah, blah, blah knob" NEVER EXPLAINED WHAT HAPPENED TO IT'S NORMAL FUNCTION. Then another part was the 2 toggles. I believe that one of them just turns the sustainiac system on and off BUT,,,, The other toggle has 2 purposes, ONE is the HARMONIC OCTAVE JUMP HIGHER, then you mentioned that the middle position of that toggle does BOTH,,,,,BUT,,,,, you never slowed down to show us and let us hear what it does.....AS USUAL, The man doing the demo forgets that he's doing a demo and gets carried away in playing with Steve Vai's new toy and Mr. Fernandez, " The man who first came out with it" So , while he starts playing it to just SHOW US HOW IT WORKS WHILE HE'S PLAYING IT, We never learn what the second toggle switch 's function really does in SLOW-MOTION... I wish just one person would show us a proper demo on the system instead of giving us a demo of themselves playing their guitar with a ton of vibrato on every note when we're wanting to hear the sustain working and the harmonics/octave riser working by themselves. PLEASE TRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE HUMAN MIND ONLY LEARNS IF IT IS TAUGHT CORRECTLY. CONFUSION IS NOT TEACHING, IT IS CONFUSION... Thank You and I hope you will do another video explaining the system without any string vibrato and slowly show what each switch does in slow motion so we can learn the pro's and con's of the sustainiac system. Thanks...

[@RickHollis]

Hey Joseph, thanks for the feedback. I will be doing another batch of demos soon and one of them will be comparing the Sustainiac to the Sound Stone hand held sustainer. I will take your feedback on board and hopefully tick the boxes for you in that one. Cheers.

[@JorgeErnestoAvila]

That distortion tone is beautiful! How the hell can i get it? is it possible with a crap guitar???

[@abrahamyanes2405]

Hey I would like some of your knowledge. Okay so guitar has coil splitable Seymour Duncan Sentient in the neck position, single coil sized sustainiac in the middle position, then a Dimarzio fantom p90 in the bridge position, and then it has a graph tech ghost piezo floyd rose trem. Is there an easier way to wire this crazy guitar???

[@RickHollis]

It is my understanding that the Sustainiac needs to be as far away from the bridge pickup as possible so should really be in the neck position if you can swap it. I'd reach out to Alan for help with the install. [e-mail]

[@abrahamyanes2405]

@@RickHollis it shouldn't hurt the guitar. On the ibanez 30 fret got a single coil sized sustainiac and it works just fine. It's pretty much the same position as the middle position of an HSH guitar.. Thanks for the email tho.

[@inquisitor4635]

Wonder what it sounds like with some slide playing.

[@mikkywhalan]

Sounds amazing, just a question, do you need a load box to go from a guitar head to the cabloader?

[@RickHollis]

Thanks Mikky, Yes you do, cab loader just simulates speaker/power amp/mic.

[@doryempleo9717]

@@RickHollis where to buy sustainiac ang how much? Thank you!

[@therifflair724]

What’s it sound like just as the neck pickup?

[@danvelgtr]

2 x batteries , one for Sustainiac and the other for the existing active pickup .? Would the 2 run off a single battery ? tia.

[@danc3746]

What height did you set the sust pickup at?

[@rogerm7922]

Are there any hardtails out there with sustainiac ?

[@theo9952]

Α feature that every solid body electric guitar should have.

[@gersonramospr]

Onde compro no Brasil.. ou você envia ?

[@infall_blackmetal]

how long does one 9 volt battery usually last for a sustainiac? ik that I can run my EMG pick ups off one 9 volt battery for months and months and not have an issue, but what about the sustainiac??

[@RickHollis]

I haven't run out yet. Will et you know when I do some serious recording or gigging with that guitar.

[@infall_blackmetal]

@@RickHollis okay cool, if I do get a guitar with one I definitely dont wanna have to spend 30 bucks on batteries or something just cuz I have to change them so often. cool video man!!

[@doryempleo9717]

can you share the wiring diagram?please sir,,, thank you

[@vishnuravi1203]

WHICH IS THE SONG YOU PLAYED IN THE BEGINNING?

[@powersct]

Is the battery life better with this updated version? GORGEOUS USA Hamer, ever wanna part with it, let me know! ^_-

[@RickHollis]

Battery life is WAY better. I haven't had to change them out yet and it's been 6 months. I'll keep you in mind if I ever sell the Hamer, but I think she's a keeper ;)

[@powersct]

@@RickHollis That's excellent on the battery life!! Yeah, I don't blame you on your Hamer, I have two 1991 USA Archtop Customs and just acquired a '96 Mahogany USA Hamer Standard (totally recommend one of these, completely beefier sound!). I also have a Chinese archtop and a Korean Standard that are surprisingly good lil guitars and great for playing out/roughing around w/o worrying about my USA models having a mishap. Enjoyed your video, rock on! \m/ \m/

[@bobmartino8073]

I noticed your pickup selector is in the bridge pickup position. Did you switch it around?

[@joshduke134]

I’m not certain about this, but I think when you turn the sustainiac on, it doesn’t matter what pickup is selected. I think that’s because it’s wired-due to the nature of how it works-so that with the Sustainiac on, it must use the bridge pickup, because the sustainiac is no longer functioning as a pickup, but is physically energizing the strings for the other pickup

[@shortygrey8385]

Is the guitar still feeding back?

[@modlock]

Nice nice !! What’s the backing track’s name ?????

[@RickHollis]

Thank you. I’m not sure. I got it from the Elevated Jam Tracks KZbin channel.

[@doryempleo9717]

Where to buy sustainiac ?please

[@Citizen5667]

Where do you order it?

[@patricioherik.molinamekgar4073]

Como comprar una guitarra como esa. Chile

[@justanotherasian9711]

Does the sustainiac behave like a single coil when switched off... I'm a bit baffled by the fact that Synyster had humbucking neck pickups before he uses the sustainiac so does that mean he now misses the neck humbuckers. What's in the plain black pickup...

[@cobowe]

You can get single coil or Humbucker mounting Sustainiac. I prefer the single and have them on two of my guitars. Vai has the Single In his Evo guitar but paired with a lace sensor for hb tones

[@stwerks]

The humbucker is just a dummy cover. It's still a single sustaniac.

[@alejandrobarreras8919]

Hey great video, Does it work with rechargeable batteries?

[@RickHollis]

Thank you! I think it does but is not recommended.

[@alejandrobarreras8919]

@@RickHollis Oh ok, thanks

[@mixc8]

Is there any advantage using a Sustainiac vs to using a pedal like the FreqOut by DigiTech?

[@cobowe]

Sustainiac is a body experience, you gotta learn to use it. Digitech is just a cool effect

[@funkyfinnegan]

I have both. Huge difference. Sustainiac sounds natural, Freqout sounds artificial.

[@mixc8]

@@funkyfinnegan Got ya, I just picked up the Schecter Apocalypse with the Sustainiac and love it. Very beautiful guitar. I now can experience the difference of having a sustainiac built into the guitar with the ability to use the whammy bar. I also see the advantage of having the pedal is that I can use it on other guitars which is a plus.

[@funkyfinnegan]

@@mixc8 Sweet! I'm thinking of getting one also. Freqout is good to have for my other gtrs. Especially since I went in-ears years ago :)

[@mixc8]

@@funkyfinnegan I have 3 different feed back pedals and I enjoy them. I use them for creative effects each brings something different to the table. I have the FreqOut, Boss Feedback/Booster FB-2 (Its a great booster pedal alone) and the Boss Super Feedback/Distortion DF-2 (I like the way it producers feedback great effects pedal) The last pedal I am trying to add to the collection is the Fender Runaway expression pedal ( I really want to get my hands on one as they are hard to find). This guy has one for sale on Ebay but the guy wants $600. (LOL I can wait for that price)

[@christianstanleychaconbarquero]

Where can you buy this kinda pick ?

[@RickHollis]

You can order direct from sustainiac.com

[@theplayingseaman]

What brand of sustainiac are you using sir?

[@RickHollis]

Original Sustainiac by Maniac Music. sustainiac.com

[@gregoriodecker2692]

If you have an ada mp1 why would you need the sustainiac

[@ricardoanaya4042]

Where can I buy the sustainer

[@RickHollis]

Sustainiac.com ;)

[@scottromesburg7935]

I'd never leave the room...is there a name to this tune? Where can I buy it?

[@RickHollis]

The backing track was used with permission from Elevated Jam Tracks. Check out his KZbin channel if you haven’t already. He posts a new backing track to jam to nearly every day.

[@stephenjohnson899]

Can u use the substainer in the place of the bridge pickup?

[@RickHollis]

I’m not sure. You could shoot Alan at Sustainiac an email and ask him.

[@jean-lucdelhaye5799]

No.

[@DanCooz323]

You can, but you wouldn't be able to use the sustainer function while on the bridge pickup, it would use the neck pickup to "gather" the sound, and bridge sustainer unit to create the sustain. It'd basically have to be wired in reverse from the diagram (neck where bridge connects, bridge where neck connects). Just keep all the wires and circuit boards as far apart as possible.

[@christianstanleychaconbarquero]

how much was the cost for this...

[@ItsNotDerrian]

Does anyone actually know how to buy these?

[@pbg9208]

18 v? Never seen that before for a Sustainiac

[@RickHollis]

Running 2 9 volts in parallel so the Sustainiac is only seeing 9volts.

[@pbg9208]

@@RickHollis thanks! I was thrown off as I didn’t see any other active pickups on that axe 😀

[@samiam9059]

Can do that with just my speaker...

[@trevorwesterdahl6245]

Just an FYI on batteries. They make Lithium batteries that last SUBSTANTIALLY longer. If you have any modern smoke detector and use a normal 9 volt battery, they die in weeks. If you use a Lithium battery, you get at least a year. Dramatic difference. Lithium batteries are perfect for sustainer pickups.

[@naegleriafowleri2230]

Wth a smoke detector have to do with it

[@swampnutz5201]

@@naegleriafowleri2230 smoke detector uses 9 volt battery, use a normal battery in one and it lasts a few weeks, use a lithium battery and it lasts all year

[@anthonymetcalf660]

Apparently this pickup does not work with chords or clean sounds because no one is demoing that. Swear to god everyone plays with a clean sound with chords and everything but as soon as they flip that switch it's all epic single notes with distortion in between shredding flexes. Or maybe people just aren't that creative.

[@Reetkever073]

Your intro scared the living fucking shit out of me

[@danielabilez3619]

You are better off getting the unit for your application directly from Sustainiac. What do you want to do with it in conjunction with the bridge pick???.. And more importantly, what kind of guitar you have. If you go through reverb you will not be happy. That is what happened to me.

[@rahkizta5013]

Geez! You're gonna spend money just to make an infinite sustain? During the 90's when i was in college I accidentally discovered a distortion pedal that can make an infinite sustain. Unfortunately It got submerged underwater for several hours when a storm struck our home and water quickly rose up to our ceilings and I had nothing to save but just a few clothes and my laptop

[@patricioherik.molinamekgar4073]

Make history in the end of the World.

[@patricioherik.molinamekgar4073]

Sell it to me. Chile. Bee Good. Go!!

[@patricioherik.molinamekgar4073]

Send. Ship and Chile. Plissss

[@patricioherik.molinamekgar4073]

Dont give away. Sell in to me.