How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

mcclano

mcclano

New member
Hi.
Im wondering how I might increase my amount of sustain on my Rg1570. It has a low-profile floating tremolo. And the neck is pretty darn thin.
ATM the sustain is basicly zilch on the high E string. And I can't even seem to get a decent sounding harmonic out of it. I honestly don't have a clue on how to fix it besides maybe raising the action.
Thanks.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Block off the trem? thicker strings? I have the same guitar, unfortunately part of the deal of having a thin neck and a floating floyd is that it will rob you of some sustain.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Floyd rose tremolo really "eats" some of sustain. You will never increase sustain until you get rid of your Floyd and, secondly, get a glued neck. As far as i guess, your neck is bolt-on. But i think thin nech has nothing to do with sustain in this case
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Get a Groove Tubes Fat Finger- it's a heavy piece of brass that attaches to the headstock- get the large one for bass, not guitar. It made a HUGE difference on my RG, moreso than blocking the trem
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Make sure your pick-ups are not too low.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

The fact that the floyd is floating and the neck is thin is robbing some right there. Block the floyd so it can only be pushed down, not up. That will at least give the bridge some contact with the body which will help sustain. Raise the action a bit, not a lot, to let the strings ring more freely, adjust the pickups so they aren't too close to the strings (magnetic pull can steal some sustain). Try using one gauge up heavier strings, if you use .009's, try .010's.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Rid said:
It is a setup thing, and preferly from a good tech:)
Click to expand...

I'd go along with that, but unfortunately you are stuck with a few things.

Ibanez have been progressively redesigning their Floyd Rose bridges and not necessarily for the better. The latest incarnation is too light and the bridge block is too short for the trem return springs to operate at optimum efficiency. I've also found many have a problem with loose frets. if the frets aren't firmly seated then it's like having a spring at the end of the string and this will absorb energy from the string, reducing sustained resonance.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Ibanez J-Craft....POS guitars!!!!
Nothing like what Ibanez Japan use to make, no comparison, they look like they where made in Indonisia or something like that, we tried to setup a JEM777.....the neck was warped, the frets where loose, the Floyd was some cheap piece of ultrasoft metal.
Did not look like Gotoh of old times, probally was not either.
For comparison, we had an old late 80's JEM, the quality was lightyears apart.
Ibanez is cutting some deep corners with some of their models right now.
Even the nuts where softer than led....terrible, and to think how amazing they once where...sigh.
By the way we had a George Benson Ibanez, it was made on another planet, amazing guitar.
But those J-Crafts....better off as fuel for a fire.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Hmmmm. I aint gona block the tremelo. Ive heard floyd's with endless sustain. I know the thin body has something to do with. But yeah the sustain is alot less than what it should be. I think the pickups might have something to do with it. I'll bring em back a bit. Then in a couple of months ill have it setup by a pro (besides me) again.
thanks
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Hmmmmm, I don't have any sustain issues with my Satriani or RG7620. I think that vibrato adds a lot to sustain because it causes the string to keep excerpting sound as it is moved up and down the frets. Using stock Ibanez pups? Try some other pups.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

i have an RG570 = older brother of 1570....

some thicker strings quenched my sustain thirst... then again, i'm guessing my floyd is a little more solid than the new ones, according to what people have been saying... mine's from '89
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

I'm guessing its a combination of hardware and setup. Take your guitar to a good tech and have him do a pro setup.

As far as hardware upgrades, anything other than an OFR or Edge bridge ain't really worth playing IMO. I've never been satisfied w/ anything else. And of course higher output pickups will help too.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Get Dan Erlewine's book, How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great. Do his kind of setup, and study his suggestions on coupling bewteen the neck, body, and bridge. A bunch of little tweaks combined can really help.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

find the sweet spot between your high-E string and your pickup. otherwise, you would need to change the pickups.... better to get a bright pickups JB or Evo's.... also a good set up is a must.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

Forget the pickups for a moment. How's the sustain acoustically? Does it ring out or is it dead flat? If there's none unplugged, the hottest pickup isn't going to give it any more than what's already there.
 
Re: How2 Increase sustain? Rg1570

I found that by adding a tremsetter to my old Ibanez RG550 increased the sustain considerably. I was still able to leave it floating, but it also stiffened the action of the bridge quite a bit. Which was fine by me since they are a little to squirmy anyway(personal preference) .

I would go ahead and check everything else as well. There are a number of things that it could be. But for the most part, some of them can be remedied.
 
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