dull neck p.u.

[bradb]

Hey guys,Long time player,new to site and happy to find it.I recently bought a Jackson PC-1 guitar,sweet axe,and it had the closest features to what i was looking for in an axe at the time.One thing extra that I wouldn't have put in my dream axe is a neck sustainer p.u. as any decent guitar should ring for days w/out that!But there it is, and I've already had problems w/ the (2) 9v batt.boxes(another thing a good axe shouldn't need IMHO)But now to my real question.As I already had to sell a kidney to buy the pc-1 I can't afford to go changing p.u.'s and while the stock bridge Dimarzio super-3 is good, and the mid HS3 works,the neck p.u.(a single coil size, dual blade design sustainer that I can't seem to find out who made)DOES NOT HAVE THE TREBLEY BITE OF SAY A TEX.SPL. OR EVEN A TEX-MEX.QUESTION: CAN I HOOK A CAP OR SOMETHING ON JUST THAT P.U. TO GET MORE HIGHS,BITE /LESS MUD.I sure hate the notion of ripping out the sust. cause it's not just a p.u. it's a cavity full of crap.Also it's wired w/ 1 vol., 1 tone & 1 cntrl pot 2 mini sw. for sust. So you can't isolate a vol/tone for just the neck p.u. I don't have anything against a sust. just not at the sacrifice of that cool SRV/Trower sounding neck pu. Thanks for any help & sorry if I rambled on.

[cynical1]

Greetings and welcome to the Nutz House! ;D

While I am not the resident expert on the Fernandes Sustainer, I did recently pickup a rescue with one in it. I've studied their drawings and have had multiple e-mails back and forth with their tech support in an effort to get it playing again. If you haven't tried contacting them yet, I would suggest dropping an e-mail to them at [e-mail]. I have to give high praise to them for the job they've done for me.

In the meantime, follow this link to Sustainer Trim Pot Functions for some insights on what you can do with the neck pickup off of the main sustainer board. There should be a small trim pot on the sustainer board labeled FGC that allows you to change the output of the neck pickup. Might help, might not...

As far as the controls, I have talked to them about adding switches on the two passive pickups in the circuit, and they tell me it can be done. As far as tweaking anything on the neck/driver pickup that's something they're going to have to answer for you.

Hope this helps a little.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[bradb]

Hey Thanks for your reply, I actually had contacted Fernandes shortly after buying the PC-1 and was told they didn't make the sust. in that model. Wierd huh, as I know Jackson uses thiers in other models. I guess I will try again as well as asking Jackson.Thanks again!! Peace.

[cynical1]

Guess I just assumed it was a Fernandes... From the little I've found so far it seems, depending on the generation of Jackson you have, they used a Sustainiac.

The Jackson site was essentially worthless. Have you contacted Jackson about this issue?

Let me dig around a little and see what I can find.

HTC1

[cynical1]

Well, after much digging around and reading I learned more about sustainers then I ever wanted to...

Long and short of it is that in all probability you have the equivalent of a Floyd Rose sustainer in your PC-1. The Dinky's have a Sustainiac, but the PC-1's got the Floyd Rose version.

Two points on the Floyd Rose Sustainer I found. Floyd hasn't actually made these things since the 80's. Sustainiac, from what I can tell, picked up the rights to them.

My guess...and that's all it is...is that Sustainiac produces an OEM version for Jackson. Whereas the Fernandes and Sustainiac sustainers are a 9v system, yours looks to be an 18v system...just like the old Floyd Rose model.

I didn't see much on your neck p/u problem, except a lot of the similar complaints... It seems that the neck pickup is what it is, is worse with the sustainer engaged, and unless you're using the middle and bridge for your passive type output, you're stuck.

If you haven't tried yet, you might want to contact Sustainiac and see what tips they can offer. Their support e-mail is [e-mail]. It's worth a shot.

The only other options you might consider is replacing the Sustainer unit, or just rip it out and go all passive. 4Real has a DIY sustainer design, but I'm of certain how that would work in your guitar. He'd be the point of reference on that one.

Sorry I couldn't be more help with this.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[dannyc]

hi guys, newbee nere....i just bought some second hand pickups from adverts.ie...was told they were from a strat plus deluxe...one problem after fitting them in guitar i looked on net and realised they don't have the cool lace sensor covers on them. my guess is that they are standard american pickups. the neck one has blue and white wires and the middle has red and white wires. i replaced tonerider pickups with these, the new ones sound bit better, not much, but better. any ideas guys? thanx