LSS - sustain on leads

[michael morguess]

Ok, love the amp, etc. I know not all amps do all things well.

Playing lead on the LSS, yeah, it sings.

Sometimes I would like some sustain on the notes.

Tried the 808 reissue (was using it with Fenders before), and while it does the OD thing, still not getting the sustain I would like sometimes.

The drive channel with the drive on, doesn't really seem to do this, or I haven't figured it out, yet.

Am I expecting too much from the amp, or has someone dealt with this.

Frankly, I hate using any pedals in front of it.

Would changing to JJs make a difference because I would really crank up the drive without the mud?

 

[LesCarr]

I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but.
IMHO check out the setup on your guitar i.e. strings (Gage and composition), string height, pickup adjustment and intonation pick attack may also be a factor.
tone/sustain is the sum of the parts involved.
Best of luck

 

[boogiemon]

try setting gain, drive & treble to 9 o'clock & the presence down to 3. This should do it.

good luck

 

[user 1198]

Sustain is highly dependent on the guitar and types of pickups that you are using. My LSC sustains for days with my PRS McCarty, but not as much with my Fender Stratocaster. What kind of guitar and pickups are you using?

 

[michael morguess]

Use strat, lp standard, and ibanez artcore jazzbox.

Yeah, i expect that strat will have least amount of sustain on its own, but when i plug it into my marshall valvestate (valve preamps, the rest is transistor-waste) it will sustain for days as well.

So, I know amp, or amp settings, figure into the mix.

Someone asked me about strings, that might make difference. Using DRs, nickel, 10s on all of my guitars. Someone also asked about string height. The higher they are the more, or less, sustain?

It's not a major problem, just requires me to adapt to guitar/amps ability to sustain or not sustain notes.

Now that I think of it, the problem is mostly when I bend notes, when I'm pretending to be Hendrix with long sustaining bends. I think I'm gonna get the scream at the beginning of the Machine Gun solo, and I get something that stovepipes instead.

 

[brianf]

Buckers will sustain longer than single coils in most cases. My LSS sustains very well on my R7 and PRS.

brianf

 

[timmerel]

A compressor in the loop or in front of the amp does the trick with the LSS, without colouring the sound. Any number of great ones out there - check out Analogueman's Bicomprossor, or just use a standard Pod XT compressor if you don't need anything fancy.

 

[SabuJSE]

Have not had any issues with sustain - and my playing is crappy so I rely on long-sounding notes.

Higher action is supposed to better for your overall tone - mine is pretty high and it forces you to dig in a bit as well... as others have said, so many things factor into it.

Also, are you using the gain higher than the drive? I find that to give me some nicely controlled sustain... I should say, with JJ's in the amp.

 

[JoeVFR]

I use a Keeley compressor that helps tremendously with the sustain. I also noticed I lose a little high end with it. I spent some time fooling with the tone controls and found if I boosted the mids just slightly, I could get great singing feedback or sustain. Just keep playing with the settings and you will find a sweetspot that works with your guitar. I have found it for my LesPaul and Strat and they are different. But, they will each sustain forever without the pedals if the controls are dialed in.

 

[vatoben]

i put an emma transmorgifier (compressor) in front of my LSS and it's beautiful for adding sustain and good "hype" to my leads. i tried the keeley but it seemed limitied as to what i could do with it.