Jackson DK2S Sustainiac question

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Inflames626

New member
Hi guys. I have tried emailing Sustainiac about this but for some reason the emails aren't going through. I thought I'd ask about this here. The good news is it doesn't deal with the Sustainiac itself but rather things I'm trying to do around it.

The diagram is here: https://www.sustainiac.com/dk-2s_rev5.pdf

What I am doing is:
1) Replacing the Duncan Distortion bridge pickup with a Duncan Parallel Axis Distortion.
2) Putting that into a Triple Shot mounting ring
3) Wiring that to a Shadow killpot

1-3 shouldn't be a problem as I do this with most of my builds. Where it gets a little difficult is:

4) Replace the middle single coil Duncan STK-S1 Classic Stack (to my knowledge a discontinued model) with a Parallel Axis Stack to better match the bridge pickup

The problem is I also want to be able to split the stack with a push/pull DPDT knob.

Since the master volume will have a killswitch and the other knobs go to the Sustainiac, I won't have any knobs/switches left to do this. The only option is to turn the master tone knob to a DPDT push/pull and wire the Parallel Axis Stack to it while retaining it as a master tone knob.

The problem I see is coming off the switch. I see how C2 is carrying the output signal to the volume knob.

The thing is I don't know how to isolate the middle pickup signal from the switch and send it on its own to the tone knob for the push/pull while also keeping the knob as a tone knob.

Any ideas on how to make this work? Worse comes to worse I'll ditch the tone knob and make it a dedicated DPDT split for the center single coil.

I feel like I'm overthinking this and the solution should be fairly simple.

Thanks.
 
A push pull is separate from the pot that is on. Just run the middle pickup to the master tone push pull switch, then to the pickup selector switch. The master tone wiring is separate. The middle pickup will never touch it.
 
Thanks eclecticsynergy . That's a good idea too and it will probably require less rewiring. I don't want to mess with the factory connections any more than necessary.

I thought perhaps the signal from all pickups would be summed coming off C2 and then going to the volume. I didn't think I could split the hot wire from the lead and run the conductors to the DPDT. I thought it wouldn't work unless they were all wired to a single pot.

I have a lot less experience wiring Strats, especially 8 position import switches, than Les Pauls. Looking at all those lugs still confuses me a little and the Sustainiac doesn't help with all its wires.
 
Remind me again please as to how the Sustaniac functions and sounds.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
Demanic , mine has switches for harmonic and fundamental feedback.

In fundamental, it basically sounds like an EBow. In harmonic, you get a squeal associated with standing close to an amp.

There is an intensity knob on the DK2S which affects how strongly the string is affected.

It all comes from the neck single coil pickup which also does not sound bad as a traditional pickup.

I love to use the guitar to track solos because I can instantly go from a regular to sustained note with a flick of a switch, during high notes in solos, etc.

My version came OEM when Jackson was putting them in Dinkys from about 2007-2012. They are a bit hard to find now.

They were calling the Jackson version the "Stealth," but it may have been modified for OEM. Their standalone versions seem a little more complex.

You need a pretty big route for them as they are a circuit board. I wouldn't try it in anything less than a Strat or four knob Les Paul.

If you want to hear it used go to about 0:20 on this Judas Priest tune I recorded. I use it again around 4:30.

https://soundcloud.com/devolve1980/beyond-the-realms-of-death

I consider it far superior to an EBow. The string reacts much more quickly and you don't have to practice and develop technique to use it. I always had problems getting an EBow to vibrate a string instantly. Here it is not an issue.

FYI bridge pickup is a Duncan Distortion.
 
Cool, I was just wondering. I have access to a ridiculous amount of gain with my setup, so getting feedback and sustain is more of an issue controlling it.
I suppose for running in crunch or clean, it's a game changer.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
Demanic , everything I recorded was with plugins at bedroom volume. It's very easy to control, turn on and off, etc., unlike an Ebow.

It's just too bad that guitars have to be modified so heavily to use it.

I suppose recording you could already have the Ebow going and do an slip edit to fade it in, but you're never going to get the control you get with a Sustainiac with an EBow unless you practice with an Ebow a lot.

It's as easy to solo with as flicking a switch, and you don't have to think about changing your picking with your right hand.

I'm pretty sure Kerry King used the Fernandes version live and maybe in studio with Slayer, so if that's the infinite sustain sound you want, it will do that for you.
 
Sorry I can't help the OP & this is a bit off topic but anyway...

I actually bought used DK2S (cherry burst) off ebay around 2007. At about $350 plus shipping I thought it was a steal for an MIJ Jackson with a Duncan & a Sustainiac (they were about $800 new I think). Turns out I did;nt read the fine print. The Sustainiac & Duncan had been removed and the guy was selling it without pups..so yeah , huge disappointment since I could'nt afford a new Sustainiac & I heard they're a bitch to install anyway. Did'nt want to mess with that.

Anyway, disappointment aside, that guitar turned out to be a hell of a player. I put a Lace Deathbucker in the bridge, a single sized Screamin Demon & Hotrails in the neck and middle and it was one of my fave guitars to play for years. A real shred machine.

Unfortunately there's a problem with the tremolo bridge right now (screw broke off and it's stuck in there, among other similar issues so it needs some work & it's unplayable atm)..but yeah, I've been after a Sustainiac for a long, long time & finally got one (Schecter NGD in the guitar section). Never tried an Ebow so I can't compare...
 
Phantasmagoria , yeah I was lucky to get mine when they were fairly new. I've seen some ads that say they've been taken out, etc.

I thought Fernandes was going to put Sustainiac out of business since they could leverage their guitars to sell more of their sustainers (like Sustainiac they have single and humbucker versions--never tried the humbucker version). But instead Fernandes is the one who went bankrupt.

I hope you like the Sustainiac. The Jackson DK2S was a mid quality MIJ Dinky guitar of the time. The main thing you'd need to upgrade would be the bridge with a Schaller Floyd Rose, as it will fit the route better than an OFR.

Most MIJ guitars from the 90s-00s seem to be going for insane prices now, far above what they were worth new. It doesn't make sense. I guess the expense of USA models is pulling everything upward.

It makes no sense to pay more than $1500 for a production guitar when that's getting into custom shop price range.
 
Also Demanic it really isn't so much the amount of gain you have but that the Sustainiac actually keeps the string vibrating indefinitely. This means you don't need high volume or any gain at all to get the note to ring forever.

It will do it for chords too although I don't remember how well this works in practice.

Here's the original promo video that inspired me to get it used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSpG80PuBi0
 
Inflames626 said:
Phantasmagoria , yeah I was lucky to get mine when they were fairly new. I've seen some ads that say they've been taken out, etc.

I thought Fernandes was going to put Sustainiac out of business since they could leverage their guitars to sell more of their sustainers (like Sustainiac they have single and humbucker versions--never tried the humbucker version). But instead Fernandes is the one who went bankrupt.

I hope you like the Sustainiac. The Jackson DK2S was a mid quality MIJ Dinky guitar of the time. The main thing you'd need to upgrade would be the bridge with a Schaller Floyd Rose, as it will fit the route better than an OFR.

Most MIJ guitars from the 90s-00s seem to be going for insane prices now, far above what they were worth new. It doesn't make sense. I guess the expense of USA models is pulling everything upward.

It makes no sense to pay more than $1500 for a production guitar when that's getting into custom shop price range.
Click to expand...

Yeah, for a while there were a lot of used Fernandes guitars from Japanese sellers being sold on ebay for $250-300 onwards depending on condition and I often thought about getting one of those but never got around to it..

The DK2S was probably the first mid-tier production guitar with a Sustainiac in it that I came across. They only had them on some of the higher end US models like the Jackson Phil Collen sig.

Nice to know about the Schaller bridge. Cheers. I tried a Floyd special in there but the Jackson had a real swimming pool route..

Yeah used prices have really shot up since Covid. Makes more sense to buy new (and local) these days..
 
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