Sustain...

[itamar101]

Heyyooo,
Looking for somehelp today.
Recently I've noticed that my Gibson Les Paul doesn't seem to have as much sustain as it used to...In fact it really doesn't have a lot. The notes hold, but not for long enough. Maybe for 4-6 seconds (I'm very lucky if I get 6, by the way these aren't accurate - I haven't timed them. They're just estimations) with medium-high distortion (using the gain channel on my Orange TH30 with only a cable inbetween the guitar and the amp). Vibrato doesn't seem to help much.
I have my pickups rather faraway from the strings when I press down the 22nd fret and medium-low action. High enough to play slide without buzz when amplified and I dont really have much fret buzz anyway.

My guitar has gonna through multiple changes with techs and I think it may have had a bad effect on the sustain. I'll try to set it up slightly differently later but a few tips would be nice.
Also, my toggle switch has been messed up for a while now and, as far as I can tell, the middle position wont play both pickup. It only plays the neck pickup... The transition between the neck and middle positionsis also to smooth and "flimsy". There's almost no click. I'm thinking that this also may have had an effect on the sustain (even in the bridge position - thats where the problem started - long story...) and my tone seems a bit thinner and weak now... could be psychological.... but I don't know.

Anway, any tips are welcome :)

[Lezard]

How's it doing unplugged? can be hard to tell but it's usually a good indicator.

[itamar101]

How's it doing unplugged? can be hard to tell but it's usually a good indicator.

It's one of the most resonant I've played unplugged. The sustain still isn't amazing but it last for a similar amount of time... probably around 4-6 secs also (before it completely dies down) and surely when playing through a loud amp with high gain and mid-high output pickups thesustain should be better...

The guitar is rather bright unplugged but it's got strong low mids. Again, It's got a thin finish and it's very resonant.

[itamar101]

Any advice?

[Lezard]

Sounds like you need the switch replaced anyway and checking some of the solder joints couldn't hurt.

have you tried any other amps? YMMV but I've not found guitar electrics to have a huge effect on sustain.(unless there is something drastically wrong with them)
The most obvious thing I've seen ruin sustain is old or dirty strings but I'm guessing you tried changing strings first.


IIRC you'll never have more sustain through an amp than your guitar has acoustically (short of feedback tomfoolery), the amp will obviously make it louder and easier to hear and the volume will be more compressed if you use distortion making it seem like it's sustaining longer.

[Twinfan]

It's one of the most resonant I've played unplugged. The sustain still isn't amazing but it last for a similar amount of time... probably around 4-6 secs......The guitar is rather bright unplugged but it's got strong low mids. Again, It's got a thin finish and it's very resonant.

6 seconds of sustain and it's very resonant?  It doesn't sound it to me, 6 seconds is nothing.  As a comparison, one of my guitars will sustain for over a minute.  Yes, seriously.

If it's the same unplugged as amplified, then it's nothing to do with the electrics.  The obvious places to check are the bridge saddles and the nut slots, to make sure the strings are vibrating freely and not being choked by something.  Also check the neck relief and that the strings aren't rattling on the frets.

[itamar101]

It's one of the most resonant I've played unplugged. The sustain still isn't amazing but it last for a similar amount of time... probably around 4-6 secs......The guitar is rather bright unplugged but it's got strong low mids. Again, It's got a thin finish and it's very resonant.

6 seconds of sustain and it's very resonant?  It doesn't sound it to me, 6 seconds is nothing.  As a comparison, one of my guitars will sustain for over a minute.  Yes, seriously.

If it's the same unplugged as amplified, then it's nothing to do with the electrics.  The obvious places to check are the bridge saddles and the nut slots, to make sure the strings are vibrating freely and not being choked by something.  Also check the neck relief and that the strings aren't rattling on the frets.

By resonant i didn't mean that :D
I meant that you can really feel it vibrating when you play, much more that most guitars I've come across. That's different to sustait. For example, a classical guitar is extremely resonant but it doesn't have much sustain.

[itamar101]

It's one of the most resonant I've played unplugged. The sustain still isn't amazing but it last for a similar amount of time... probably around 4-6 secs......The guitar is rather bright unplugged but it's got strong low mids. Again, It's got a thin finish and it's very resonant.

6 seconds of sustain and it's very resonant?  It doesn't sound it to me, 6 seconds is nothing.  As a comparison, one of my guitars will sustain for over a minute.  Yes, seriously.

If it's the same unplugged as amplified, then it's nothing to do with the electrics.  The obvious places to check are the bridge saddles and the nut slots, to make sure the strings are vibrating freely and not being choked by something.  Also check the neck relief and that the strings aren't rattling on the frets.

Yep, definately gonna check neck relief and I might raise the action up a notch... I don't see anything wrong with the nut though.

On a different note, today I used my amp on rather low volume and I cranked the gain up into the last gain stage and I got far more sustain. At least 12 seconds... I feel like i could.d get much more with a good set up though...

also...
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ONE MINUTE!!! What!?
Is that without any help from feedback or are you cheating :lol:
But dammit... what guitar is that? Surely it's not one of your double-cuts...

[Philly Q]

By resonant i didn't mean that :D
I meant that you can really feel it vibrating when you play, much more that most guitars I've come across. That's different to sustain. For example, a classical guitar is extremely resonant but it doesn't have much sustain.

Yeah, I'd agree with that.  I've found that very light, resonant, acoustically loud electric guitars feel "alive" in your hands but that doesn't always translate into good sustain.

Whereas guitars which feel quite "dead" acoustically can turn out to have really good sustain when amplified - often the case with hefty guitars like Les Pauls!

I sometimes think the resonance of the body dissipates the energy from the vibrating strings by sort of soaking it up, hence less sustain.  That probably doesn't make much sense scientifically....

 

[FELINEGUITARS]

I do a number of things to try to make Les pauls and suchlike really sing out
These are MY favourite things that I BELIEVE help - you don't have to agree
A lot of what PRS calls his rules of tone I concur with

these are all acoustic factors:

Fresh strings
Decent tuners that feel rock solid - I do like Sperzel but gotoh, grover, scahller or TonePro Kluson are all good
EArvana compensated tuning nut (I know I'm like a broken record over this - but it makes a lot of difference)
Well cut nut slots and well cut saddles grooves  smooth with no burrs, with the right angle to let the string sit well
Aluminium tailpiece - big fan of these! Gotoh are the best value.
Tonepro locking tailpiece studs - these clamp the tailpiece rigid - and with an aluminium tailpiece I think it's a good way to go.

A good fret job - nice clean crisply shaped fret-tops
I also like big heavy frets - makes for clean contact without fingertips needing to touch against the board

[Philly Q]

A good fret job - nice clean crisply shaped fret-tops
I also like big heavy frets - makes for clean contact without fingertips needing to touch against the board

Another aspect of that is how well the frets are seated in the board, isn't it?  Am I right in thinking you superglue your frets?

[gwEm]

Pickups will affect things.. It's a bit of a hack, but something compressed (like a warpig) will increase sustain.

Generally I prefer Jonathan's tips though.

[Twinfan]

ONE MINUTE!!! What!?
Is that without any help from feedback or are you cheating :lol:
But dammit... what guitar is that? Surely it's not one of your double-cuts...

I can rest my PS SC245 with the neck free (on a table, for example) and pluck the low E string and it can be heard vibrating for about minute - the pernambuco neck is what does it I think.  One of my doublecuts with a mahogany neck will do about 40 seconds.

Do the same check on your guitar and see what you get.

If you're talking about how long a fretted note that's been bent up will sustain, then that's a different thing.  A lot there will depend on your fretting technique and the frets themselves.

[Philly Q]

I can rest my PS SC245 with the neck free (on a table, for example) and pluck the low E string and it can be heard vibrating for about minute - the pernambuco neck is what does it I think.  One of my doublecuts with a mahogany neck will do about 40 seconds.

You know I'm just itching to get all my guitars out and grab the stopwatch now..... what a geek I am.  :roll:  :lol:

[richard]

It's never occurred to me to measure/time the sustain of a guitar or to even think about it. If I want a note to sustain for a long time I rely on the feedback of my amp.