Problem with my Jackson

[Dazza1004]

Hi all,

I have a Jap made Jackson from the early 90’s and it is driving me nuts. It was a gift from my parents when they realised I was serious about guitar, I believe it was around the £700 mark back then.

The problem is the sustain. Unplugged it is quite a loud guitar and resonates very well. Plug it in however and it’s a different story, the sustain is very poor, the sound drops off quickly (I have tried lowering the pups but that made no difference), I am always reaching for the volume pot to make sure its up full.

I did have a Dimarzio evolution in the bridge and a breed in the neck (before I discovered BKP) but that didn’t make too much difference. I’ve always wondered if new pots and a switch would improve things, maybe a re-fret with bigger frets. The floyd is a Schaller so I am pretty sure that’s not the problem and to be honest I would be loath to make wholesale changes like that anyway. The only other thing I can think of is the finish seems pretty thick, I guess it could be that.

What do you guys reckon ?

Cheers

Darren

[gingataff]

How is the sustain when you play unplugged? if its good then it seems like an electrical problem rather than anything connected to the guitars own resonance.
What are you playing into, an amp or modeler? And do you use a noise gate by any chance?

[Muzzzz]

+1 on noise gate killing sustain.

Good thinking, Gingataff

[Dakine]

Hmm,
noise gate is a good guess.
I had a Jap Jackson SL4. Did'nt have any issues myself.
KNOW this is obvious but are the strings 'crips' i.e. newish?
If the pots are original mine were fine, but again, maybe they are getting old? Think it's had alot of playing (or was it bought new for you?).
Has it ever been 'set-up' fully (maybe you did this yourself, if so I apologise).
It could be a case of finding the 'sweet' spot with the pups.
Lil more info. may help :)