About Jem7V sustain - Jem7V sustain

[Bati]

For some unknown reasons, the sustain of my Jem7V is not as long as that of Steve Vai's guitar from his playing.
Also, the sustain appears to be short when I go to the high frets like 20th to 24th. Is there anything to do to my guitar setup to make the sustain longer?

The distance between the string and the pickup is abt 3mm when I m pressing the 24th fret.

And does the sustain matter with the type of strings?

[caprile]

there are a lot of reasons! it could be gain, volume, bad setup, etc.
have you noticed the way steve sustains notes? that circular motion makes the note last longer (IMHO). If you're thinking about AIAUW there's a fernandes sustainer all over it!
about that high fret notes: it could be that you action is too low, or you don't fret a note totally 'behind' the fret (ie a part of your finger is nearer to the bridge than the fret)
well, hope that helps!

BTW bati has anything to do with Batistuta?

[Bati]

yeah Batistuta is my fav. player?

Can u tell me more abt AIAUW? Waz that actually?
and can u explain more abt how to make a longer sustain by the sustainer?

[Rich]

The closer you set your pickups to the strings the more sustain they will rob.

[caprile]

there are several posts here about AIAUW.
to make it short: the sustainer is an electronic device that generates a magnetic field that actually vibrates the string, sustaining notes almost indefinetely. if i'm not mistaken, the song whispering a prayer off AIAUW is not picked at all for the most part. steve just frets those notes and the sustainer does the rest.
if you were thinking 'traditional' steve, like the b in the beginning of FTLOG, that's just his fingers (and massive gain!)

[trouble311]

My thoughts exactly......it's all in the fingers....like when Satch holds that note at the end of the opening phrase in Flying In A Blue Dream.....the highest note on his guitar, and it just sings forever and never sounds harsh....wow

[Rich]

Well, when Joe does that he's in the "sustain 'spot'", he has his feedback spot too and he'll move into it. He always knows exactly where he needs to be in front of monitor or amp to get the most sustain and various feedbacks, *those sweet spots.

[RSVampire]

he also uses his bar....and hits the string it at the right moment so you can't tell that he's hitting it...but yes I agree....for that high of a note it's a long sustain adventure to the land of difficulty

[Kremlin]

Good vibrato will also dramatically extend your sustain. Is it just me or does Windows to the Soul sound like it has the sustainer in the intro and ending as well?

[loproman]

maybe steve vai is a little bit better than you on getting sustain.

[Juniper570]

Steve could hit the F# on the high E 24th fret, "Go 'n grab a bite an you'd still ber hearin' that one!" -Nigel