Members Jericho-79 Posted March 28, 2021 Members Share Posted March 28, 2021 (edited) Hi everyone. I hope I'm not asking a dumb question here. I haven't been to a Guitar Center in a long while. So I need some advice from any GC regulars. Since 2018, I've owned a Fender Classic Series '70s Stratocaster in olympic white. https://davesguitar.com/products/fender/classic-series-70s-stratocaster-olympic-white-wmaple/ I'm incredibly interested in the Ed O'Brien Signature Stratocaster with the built-in Fernandes Sustainer system. https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/fender-eob-sustainer-stratocaster But I do NOT want to purchase another guitar. What I'd really like to do is to have a sustainer system installed inside my Classic Series strat. Specifically, I want to change out all three original pickups on my MIM strat; and replace them with a single-coil-sized Duncan JB Jr. humbucker in the bridge position, a Texas Special single-coil in middle position, and a Fernandes Sustainer driver in the neck position. Could I take my Classic Series strat to my local GC to achieve these mods? Will GC be able to customize my MIM strat with a pickup configuration similar to that on the EOB signature? Edited March 28, 2021 by Jericho-79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 28, 2021 Moderators Share Posted March 28, 2021 I would guess so, but you could do the mods pretty easily yourself with a soldering iron and a credit card [to order the parts]. Why are you asking this here instead of calling your local GC and talking to the repair guy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stratosaurus Posted March 28, 2021 Members Share Posted March 28, 2021 The problem is that you spend a good bit of money on results that are completely unknown. Shop around and find out what kinda money you're talking for uncertain results, then look at the price of the guitar you're trying to mimic. Always remember that the guitar you hear & like, most likely ain't gonna sound the same in your hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 28, 2021 Members Share Posted March 28, 2021 (edited) Please understand that installing a Sustainiac is not a trivial modification. I put one in a flying vee for a guy - it was a major project. Would I trust Guitar Center to do this? Absolutely not. Edited March 28, 2021 by Freeman Keller 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted March 28, 2021 Members Share Posted March 28, 2021 No mods needed https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KCompPlus--keeley-compressor-plus-4-knob-compressor-pedal?mrkgadid=3303548288&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=0&mrkgcat=guitars&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=92700046934854718&lid=92700046934854718&ds_s_kwgid=58700005285194883&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007215323&dsproductgroupid=500449295194&product_id=KCompPlus&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9001727&creative=285723451829&targetid=aud-321747046995:pla-500449295194&campaignid=1465808371&awsearchcpc=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0oCDBhCPARIsAII3C_Hl7TfcftUOY39nfUuXDu-mIaQD7nVqSp5-DcPE6MUEMylT_ioMTaIaAi6UEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 28, 2021 Members Share Posted March 28, 2021 Not quite what he asked for, is it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted March 28, 2021 Members Share Posted March 28, 2021 (edited) It's a MAJOR bit of surgery to install as Freeman said. The average price per hour by GC, depending on the tech and the quality of their work, is between 60 and 100 an hour. I installed on in an Ibanez RG about 10 years ago, I know what a PITA it was. Minimum 5 to 7 hours. If you hunt, you can find one for the 400 range. A lot easier then hacking out your fav. And a side note here: Quite a few of GC "techs" I have run across were hired because they knew how to change strings, and owned a screwdriver. Would you trust the guy? Will you be willing to wait however long it takes him to do the job? And Mikeo, not the same thing in any way shape or form. A Sustainiac is a pickup and circuit board that acts like an Ebow, but on all 6 strings at a time. It magnetically vibrates the strings. Edited March 28, 2021 by badpenguin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 28, 2021 Members Share Posted March 28, 2021 (edited) As I recall I charged the guy for ten hours of labor plus some parts. We made new front and back covers and some other stuff - he didn't blink when I handed the invoice. I had to route the guitar to fit the pcb and batteries, I believe Sustainiac makes some models for strats that fit in the trem cavity. And for what it is worth, I wouldn't trust GC to change my strings. Edited March 28, 2021 by Freeman Keller 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted March 29, 2021 Members Share Posted March 29, 2021 1 hour ago, Freeman Keller said: As I recall I charged the guy for ten hours of labor plus some parts. We made new front and back covers and some other stuff - he didn't blink when I handed the invoice. I had to route the guitar to fit the pcb and batteries, I believe Sustainiac makes some models for strats that fit in the trem cavity. And for what it is worth, I wouldn't trust GC to change my strings. This 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jericho-79 Posted March 29, 2021 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2021 Hey guys. OP here. Would my best bet be seeking the advice from a luthier near where I live? I looked up a couple of small guitar repair shops close to my place. One of these luthiers specializes in the "design and building the custom guitar of your dreams". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted March 29, 2021 Members Share Posted March 29, 2021 Sure, go ahead and talk to them. Best advice I can give is: Ask questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 29, 2021 Members Share Posted March 29, 2021 (edited) Since the definition of "luthier" varies my suggestion is to take the guitar and all of the information you can find about the sustainer (they had pretty good instructions when I installed mine) to the person who might do the work and get an estimate. Installing the sustainer will probably involve routing the body which might mean some finish touch up. You need room for both the PCB and the battery (and make the access to the battery easy). There is substantial wiring in addition to the pickups that you want changed. I made new pick guards and a back panel cover and had them engraved. You will need to do the usual setup work. As I said before it is not a trivial mod. Edit - I want to empathize that I installed a Sustainiac (tm) not a Fernandez Sustainer. I can only speak to the issues involved with that particular unit. They have pretty good information about their sustaier https://www.sustainiac.com/stpr-org.htm You are on your own with the Fernandez model. Edited March 29, 2021 by Freeman Keller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jtr654 Posted March 30, 2021 Members Share Posted March 30, 2021 The bottom Line is you could spend as much for the mod as you could get the NEW guitar. Look for used Ed O 'Brian Strat and save some $$$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted March 31, 2021 Members Share Posted March 31, 2021 I agree. This is a situation where you buy another guitar and sell one of your existing ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 31, 2021 Moderators Share Posted March 31, 2021 Okay...you don't want to buy another guitar, but the reality is that you should. Having looked this over...you can get a used Ed O for about a grand. A used Fernandes sustainer p-up will run you around $400, assuming you can find one. Plus the harness, another $20-30 Duncan JB Jr. humbucker= $89 Texas Specials? I rarely have seen these as single units, and I did not find any on Reverb, e-bay, etc.; and a set of three runs ~$200+. You could buy the set and sell the other 2 p-ups for maybe $70 each...eventually. I have no idea what GC would charge to get the parts and do the work, but I'll bet it'll cost $3-500 in labor[through overhead] on top of the parts. Frankly...I know this is not the way you want to go, but buy the used Ed O, save yourself all that hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted March 31, 2021 Members Share Posted March 31, 2021 A synth would sound better. Or you can learn to use one of those uber delay boxes. Better yet, get both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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