Sustain with my Ibanez

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IndyMan

New member
Hi guys.. I picked up a great sounding RG 550 Ibanez with the killer Edge Trem, cheap! It's a 1998 model.. Well, I love the sound of it, especially since I put the DD in the bridge, (Still needs a mid and or neck pup, but I may get a different pick guard and have it routed for two hums only).. Anyway.. I can't seem to get enough sustain out of the guitar.. That said, this guitar rings loud.. Especially for a Trem guitar .. I mean it's loud.. Has a maple neck which I love.. it's a little thin, but a joy to play lead on! Anyway, I want to keep the guitar, but I need more sustain when playing lead and when playing big open chords like G, etc, when I want it to ring out.. I find that it doesn't seem to matter how much gain I use, or what type of amp, tube or otherwise, it's just not got quite enough sustain.. I suspect it's either the Trem, and the DD or one of the two.. Now that said, I don't want to block the trem really, but I will if it helps that much.. I'd rather have a fixed bridge installed as I like the guitar that much, but I have no tech at all that can do this.. I don't care if it even gets painted afterwards, etc.. I just love the feel of the guitar.. So, should I go with a compresser? If so, what one? I hate the noise they add.. How does someone like Yngwie get his guitars too sustain so long? I was watching him on a video and he uses like 8 gauge strings with a maple neck scalloped, etc.. but he's also using Marshall Mk2's I think it is which I suspect along with his noise gate and pedals helps him.. Again, this thing is just a tad off.. not really bad.. but if it would just sustain another 2 seconds rougly when I bend a note I'd be really happy.. I can even feel the guitar vibrate in my hands and against my fat stomach..hehe.. Any suggestions? I'm thinking about going to a different pickup as I think the DD is a tad too bright in this guitar.. I wish I could get something not quite as hot, but close, but something that had a lot more bass and mids.. Like maybe the Blues sarceno pickup or something.. But I don't think it's wound hot enough for me.. Right now as of late I've been going directly into a Tech21 Tri Od which I love.. Sounds like a wall of Tube amps.. hehe.. into a PA.. or the effects loop of a Marshall Valvestate 100 watt head into a couple cabs..
Sounds great.. Ton's of punch, and that killer tube power amp sound cranked.. etc..

Thanks
IndyTim
 
Re: Sustain with my Ibanez

cranked tube amps will sustain forever....especially marshall plexis cranked.

Does the guitar sustain adequately when unplugged? My bench test is about 10 good seconds of ringing for the chord. When you put it on your lap, you should be able to feel the body vibrate a bit on your chest-if it's a dull vibration, perhaps something could use tightening. Slowly detune your strings, and loosen each of the bolts for the neck and re-tighten them.
 
Re: Sustain with my Ibanez

Two things spring to mind...

Possibly you've got that DD set too high (and the other pups also)

Or, your action is too low. In which case you can raise it by the two posts either side of the trem with an allen key.. you may need to fiddle with the spring tension to get it set right again as the extra tension is probably gonna change the orientation of the bridge slightly.

You don't need to raise it drastically, just a little higher should help.
 
Re: Sustain with my Ibanez

Hi Guys.. It rings for what seems like at least 15 or 20 seconds unplugged.. I have the action low, but not extremly low.. I've messed with the pickups a bunch, but I always have them low because of magnetic pull and what you guys mention as I've known this for a long time.. It's really odd.. I did the bolt on thing too... One of the first things I checked.. I'm suspecious of the trem, or something's absorbing the energy of the vibration, etc.. I'm not sure what..

I've not had the chance to play it thru a Marshall Plexi, but the one's I've played thru did seem to sustain forever it seemed.. What about the Marshall MK2? Does that thing sustain well, or is that also a Plexi? I'm confused about Marshalls and their models..
Thanks guys!
Tim
 
Re: Sustain with my Ibanez

Yeah, I did all that, and it seems to vibrate really well unplugged, etc.. I'm thinking hard about just totally blocking the trem.. The last time I did this on a cheaper Ibanez it worked great.. The guitar was the same except it had a worse fit and feel, and it had a terrrible trem.. I blocked the trem on both sides of the trem block so that everything was touching and I coudn't believe the difference! It was amazing.. and that guitar didn't ring near as loud as this one.. It was also a dull sounding guitar.. I only bought this one because it does sound great, and the guy I bought it off of on the net is someone I trust totally as he's always (this time included) done the right thing for me.. He told me that this Ibanez rang like an LP which it does, so it's making me think the Trem might be the culprit..
Tim


Quencho092 said:
cranked tube amps will sustain forever....especially marshall plexis cranked.

Does the guitar sustain adequately when unplugged? My bench test is about 10 good seconds of ringing for the chord. When you put it on your lap, you should be able to feel the body vibrate a bit on your chest-if it's a dull vibration, perhaps something could use tightening. Slowly detune your strings, and loosen each of the bolts for the neck and re-tighten them.
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