What is the best way to improve sustain?

[guitarded]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Besides ensuring the guitar is set up decently... I have gotten real good results by adding a compressor sustainer pedal in front of the amp.

A new nut, bridge, neck, all of the above?!

I've got a MIM Tele that I really like. It plays well, stays in tune pretty well, and sounds great with the SD pups that are in it. HOWEVER... it dies out within a couple of seconds of every note. I can't get any sustain in it. Nothing other than the pickups have been upgraded and I don't mind doing a bit of work to get some results. So what are your ideas/secrets/vault-worthy ideas of improving sustain?!

Thanks! :beerchug:

 

[andrizzle]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Is it setup properly?

kinda.... well.... not exactly

What gauge strings are you using? Moving to a heavier string might help with sustain, it has on some of my guitars.

Using 10's ... my scrawny, weak fingers can't handle much more, so this will probably be one of the last things I try

A good set up goes miles to curing sustain problems. Aside from that, id replace the plastic nut and make sure your pups arent too high.

There was a trick mentioned here thats been around for a while and a bunch of people did it. I cant remember exactly what it was. It involved loosening 2 of the neck plate screws while the guitar was tuned to tension. I want to say the 2 nearest the headstock. The strings should go flat, then tighten all 4 starting with the 2 furthest away from the headstock. Its meant to help seat the neck heal properly.

Im not sure if that was the exact method but hopefully someone will correct me if im wrong.

anyone else know this technique? seems like a cheap fix if it works!

Try the 3 piece brass saddle sets, increase the neck angle with a shim, use slightly longer screws to fasten the baseplate, bigger frets, more mass on the headstock...etc.

after adjusting the pickup heights the 3 piece brass saddle bridge will be my first move... not worth it to re-fret this guitar

pro cut bone nut, fret dress and a good set up...if it's still dead after that t might be time to look into upgrading various parts...in your case, if memory serves me that guitar has the 6 saddle box bridge, if so a bridge with 3 brass saddles will add sustaiin as well and thats pretty low buck compared to the next step...

If I were you I'd get a new nut fret dress and set up first simply becasue it likely needs it then if you want more sustain or better tone in general go for the 3 brass saddle bridge if it's still an issue a new or new body will go a long way but at that point only you can decide if it's worth all that...

Also, make sure your pickups are not set too high....Fender style single coils are BAD on string pull and it often kills out sustain...simply lowering the pickups can help with that...

Greg's got the guitar right now, so when I get it back from him my adjustments will be as follows:

Adjust pickup heights, get a good setup, replace bridge with 3-piece brass saddle, change out nut, if it still sucks I'll probably have to turn it for another


Thanks guys!

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Greg's got the guitar right now, so when I get it back from him my adjustments will be as follows:

Adjust pickup heights, get a good setup, replace bridge with 3-piece brass saddle, change out nut, if it still sucks I'll probably have to turn it for another


Thanks guys!

Let us know how that works.
All the suggestions have been good.
There are two factors that I'm surprised no one has mentioned. The neck and the body. Sometimes the chunk of wood that a guitar is cut out of is just a dud. I had a guitar like that once. Luckily it was just the Eb on the 6th fret of the A string, or was it Eb on the 8th fret of the G string, I can't remember, but it was like something was resonating 180 deg out of phase and it would stop that note in just a couple of seconds. I guess that'd be what's called a dead spot. I dunno. I've never seen it on another guitar.

But if a setup, a new bridge, and new nut don't cure it, you could try an aftermarket neck or body - or both. Or change out the guitar completely.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

replace bridge with 3-piece brass saddle, change out nut

These are the 2 things I recommend --- looks like you are on track!

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

kinda.... well.... not exactly

Get it setup (if you don't know how yourself). I was working on my Les Paul the other day, and read in Dan Erlewine's book that not having the proper amount of tension on the truss rod can impact your tone and sustain.

Using 10's ... my scrawny, weak fingers can't handle much more, so this will probably be one of the last things I try

Worry more about the setup than your string gauge. If everything else is cool, you could use 9s and get all the sustain you need.

 

[andrizzle]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Get it setup (if you don't know how yourself). I was working on my Les Paul the other day, and read in Dan Erlewine's book that not having the proper amount of tension on the truss rod can impact your tone and sustain.

interesting... I "set it up" myself to eliminate as much buzz as possible, but I was just kinda dorking around with it instead of really setting it up.... I kinda figured I should wait till I can get a new nut and the setup and possibly the bridge done b4 I get it set-up by a pro

 

[supernosher]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Uh, the best mod for improving sustain in a bolt-neck guitar is without a doubt stainless steel inserts. I can't believe none of you even mentioned these. It allows the neck to be tightened against the body more, improving sustain.

 

[j9fd3s]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

as the posts above allude too, there is no magic one thing that creates sustain.

you need a good tight neck/body joint, that thing where you loosen all the screws while the strings are on it, does work if its never been done.

neck screws need to be tight (my neck plates are all bent)

i like to make sure the bottom of the bridge is flat (if its stamped, its not), no direct experience on saddles, but any looseness is bad, you want some big chunk of real metal in there.

pickups need to be kinda low on a fender, experiment here, as it affects tone a bunch

string height is important too, any buzzing or fret slap is taking away energy from the vibrating string.

for strings i like 9's cause its still gotta be playable... some things are a compromise after all.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

You may also want to remove the neck and make sure the heel and rear of the pocket are smooth and not lumpy, which would cause a bad union, and thus rob your sustain.

Adding compressors and physical mass or gain or volume does not cure the problem, it merely treats the symptoms.

The issue needs to be addressed at the source. Though it can be a long involved process, in the end it's the best way to go because you will invariably run across a guitar that none of the "tricks" will fix. You'll have to address the root cause, which could be something as simple as smoothing out lumps in the neck pocket or on the neck heel, or both.

Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how you would go about checking for lumps or gaps with the neck attached. Maybe some sort of dimple gage but then you have to hold them just right or you get a false bad or good reading.

I suppose you could try a thin slice of paper against the butt of the neck, bolt the neck on, then try to slide the paper out. Maybe multiple strips like what comes out of a paper shredder? However, if you have any fretboard overhang and that pins the paper against the surface of the body.....

As well, you could have gaps on the bottom of the heel or neck pocket but none around the edges, and the paper slips would catch on the tight edges, but could be floppy in the center.

Hmmmmmm....some sort of marking system maybe? But what? Double-stick tape? Take a chance and just have the pocket and heel shaved/sanded down a bit just to be sure?

 

[jeremy]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

make sure every screw is tight in the string path
10's are fine, you might get a little more sustain with 11's but this isnt you biggest issue
a new nut will help open strings ring better
a fret polish will help fretted notes ring better
keeping your action a touch higher with just a little relief will usually help
a new bridge should help. i prefer brass saddles but three steel barrel saddles would help about as much and give you a brighter tone if thats what you want
fender pups do pull alot. the neck pup is usually the worst offender, then middle, then bridge. strat pups tend to be worse than tele pups since the tele traditionally has smaller magnets

and like kosh said, its possible you just have a sonically dead piece of wood. i have a '62 jazzmaster neck that feels awesome but tonally is just meh so i just keep it around in case something needs work so i can keep playing the guitar while the neck is have a fret job or whatever

 

[j9fd3s]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how you would go about checking for lumps or gaps with the neck attached. Maybe some sort of dimple gage but then you have to hold them just right or you get a false bad or good reading.

I suppose you could try a thin slice of paper against the butt of the neck, bolt the neck on, then try to slide the paper out. Maybe multiple strips like what comes out of a paper shredder? However, if you have any fretboard overhang and that pins the paper against the surface of the body.....

with a normal 21 fret fender neck, sometimes you can move the pickguard and put a feeler gauge in there, although clearance at the back should be zero.

i did end up shimming one of mine, as the rear of the neck didnt touch the body at all from the factory.

22 fret neck overhangs, and you just cant get to it

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Setup and Heavy strings. I play with 10.5's! Failing that Amp level.

 

[tc]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Ive gotta say, we always talk about modifying our guitars, but sometimes we should just modify the player. Not saying youre bad or anything because I dont know you, but the way you play influences a lot on how it sounds. Not tone in your fingers influence, but for example, George Lynch plays his floyds in a way he gets his notes to sustain forever with that vibrato...

Adjusting the amp differently also plays a lot on tone and sustain. An amplifier in a club or rehearsal with lotsa volume sustains a lot more than at, say bedroom level.

Play unplugged and try to get those notes to ring also helps.

But to your original question, nut and saddles IMO are the first things you should look into...and a new set of strings, thicker ones at that, also helps. Hope it works anyway.

Edit: forgot to add...start out small with your mods. Don't do anything drastic from the get go, unless totally necessary...

 

[Hellion]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

Adding a compressor will help, but you'll have to deal with some added noise.

 

[uOpt]

Re: What is the best way to improve sustain?

More sustain != better sound, keep that in mind.

If the above was a == then we'd all be playing Kramer aluminium neck-throughs today.