Weak signal for Sustainiac in neck position

[ahalaw]

I know that someone recently posted a similar question, but my problem is a little different. My Sustainiac functions fine as a sustainer, but when I switch to the neck position, the signal is very weak (even with a new battery). Here's the weird thing, if I take the battery for the Sustainiac out, my bridge pickup (an EMG) takes over and the signal becomes strong (even though the pickup selector is still in the neck position!).

 

What else is odd is that if I have the neck pickup on (still with a weak signal), the moment I switch on the Sustainiac feature, the bridge pickup takes over again. This may be a standard feature of the Sustainiac; I don't know.

 

Anyone have troubleshooting suggestions? I consulted the Sustainiac Troubleshoot pdf but can't seem to find a solution. Thanks in advance for any help you can lend.

[Freeman Keller]

Its been a while since I worked on a Sustainiac but one thing I remember is how critical battery voltage is (we installed a digital volt meter in the guitar that I worked on so the player could monitor the voltage and change batteries if necessary).

 

As you know, in the neck position the sustain feature is not working and the neck transducer tries to operate as a pickup. In my opinion it was pretty mediocre in that function. So, some questions - has it always been this way or has something changed? Did it gradually get weaker or just all of a sudden? If you have an EMG in the bridge, is it active and if so, does it have its own battery? Do you know that both batteries are good (at least 7.5 volts, preferably higher)? Does the feedback mode work correctly (and all aspects - fundimental, harmonic, mixed). Do you switch between pickups with a dedicated switch or does it go thru the Sustainiac pcb?

 

Lastly, have you gone thru all the checks in this (particularly section II)

 

http://www.sustainiac.com/troubleshoot.pdf

[WRGKMC]

You have a battery operates dudtainer and battery operates sustainer in the same guitar.

 

Did you try and get them both to turn on using the same input jack?

 

What it appears to be is a cross wiring between the two units. One battery shouldn't have any affect on the other device at all. only battery grounds can be connected to the jack to turn the batteries on. The positive battery leads must be isolated from everything else.

[ahalaw]

I followed your advice about the battery and it worked! (That should have been the first thing I tried.)

 

Thanks for all of your help!

[Freeman Keller]

I followed your advice about the battery and it worked! (That should have been the first thing I tried.)

 

Thanks for all of your help!

 

Glad you got it. The one I installed I put two battery boxes in the back cover and a little digital voltmeter with a three position rocker switch. The switch is spring loaded to center, center is off. By pushing on either side you can check the battery of the sustainer or the pickup. The owner of the guitar knows to check before every gig - if a battery dies the gig is over.