Mustang sustain?

[mysticguitar]

Does anyone know how the sustain is on the American Performer Mustang? I've been putting off getting one but I want to go for it.

[Unicorn Warrior]

I mean, it’s a short scale and single coil guitar. You should not expect it to “sustain for dayz”. Sustain has everything to do with gear and technique also. To me, that’s not a problem. Mustangs were created for something completely unique. Embrace what the mustang was for..does it have enough sustain for you? I can’t answer that. But they do for me.

[HarlowTheFish]

Can't speak for the Performer, but on my Vintera (shimmed neck pocket with a 0.5 degree shim and raised the bridge a bit more than stock), with a set of 11-58s and decently low action it's enough that I never notice a lack of sustain. Gets me 20+ seconds easily on a chord played gently around the 5th fret, and easily 30+ if I just whack the low string and let it ring. Like, I don't know when either of those things would be musically useful, because sustain is a pretty meaningless metric, but like I said, it's more than enough to not be an issue for me with anything I play.

[Embenny]

I've never played a guitar that was musically unusable because, despite its great tone and inspiring playability, the notes stopped ringing before I needed them to.

For what it's worth, I mostly play shortscale offsets.

[mysticguitar]

I mean, it’s a short scale and single coil guitar. You should not expect it to “sustain for dayz”. Sustain has everything to do with gear and technique also. To me, that’s not a problem. Mustangs were created for something completely unique. Embrace what the mustang was for..does it have enough sustain for you? I can’t answer that. But they do for me.

I don't expect them to sustain like a Les Pauls but are they better than Jaguars?

[mysticguitar]

Can't speak for the Performer, but on my Vintera (shimmed neck pocket with a 0.5 degree shim and raised the bridge a bit more than stock), with a set of 11-58s and decently low action it's enough that I never notice a lack of sustain. Gets me 20+ seconds easily on a chord played gently around the 5th fret, and easily 30+ if I just whack the low string and let it ring. Like, I don't know when either of those things would be musically useful, because sustain is a pretty meaningless metric, but like I said, it's more than enough to not be an issue for me with anything I play.

So does shimming the neck and raising the bridge help sustain? I bought a Jag but returned because lack of sustain. How you like the Vintera? Isn't that vintage frets and 7.25?

[mysticguitar]

I've never played a guitar that was musically unusable because, despite its great tone and inspiring playability, the notes stopped ringing before I needed them to.

For what it's worth, I mostly play shortscale offsets.

How about a Jaguar?

[Embenny]

How about a Jaguar?

I have several of them. Like I said, I've never owned a guitar that was rendered unsuitable for making music by a lack of sustain. It's a massively overblown issue in online guitar culture. I don't know, is it from people playing pentatonic blues solos who think that holding a single note for 10 seconds at a time at bedroom volume makes for compelling music?

If I want a note droning forever, there are plenty of ways to achieve that and none of them rely on plucking a string in isolation and it lasting for 30 seconds. Controlled feedback standing in front of an amp, ebow, or effects-based solutions would all do that job. I mean, an entire genre of music employing all those tricks to create droning, swirling soundscapes sprang up around offset Fender guitars, which are not at the high-sustain end of the spectrum.

[HarlowTheFish]

So does shimming the neck and raising the bridge help sustain? I bought a Jag but returned because lack of sustain. How you like the Vintera? Isn't that vintage frets and 7.25?

It's vintage frets and 7.25, yeah, and it was a very weird first day because prior to the 'Stang my main guitar's been a Kiesel multiscale headless with jumbo frets and a 20" radius. Wild ride for sure, but it feels very comfortable despite being very different, and I've ended up playing it way more since I got it. I really dig it, feels great, sounds great (I replaced the stock pickups just to push my amp a bit harder, but I actually really liked the stock ones sound-wise, just a bit too low output), and the LPB looks incredible. The MIM Fenders are getting scary good -- the quality on this one is as good as any production MIA I've had my hands on. IMO there's honestly no reason to get a US Fender unless you want a Parallel Universe or CS axe, the Vinteras are incredible for the vintage vibe and are good out of the box, and the Players are killer for more a more modern feel (though these IMO need new pickups, I'm really not keen on the stock ones).

As far as sustain, it was honestly already plenty good when I got mine, but I wanted to dial in the action and trem feel a bit better, which is why I shimmed. I get a touch more resonance with it, but mostly it was because with 11s the setup was a touch out of whack. Sustain on these with the stock 9s or even 10s is gonna be worse than a regular-scale Fender, but if you string them up with 11s (some folks don't need to, but IMO every guitar sounds better with these) a short-scale will feel a bit more "normal." A Jag is a bit of a different animal though, with the shallower break angle because of the trem, so on those I would 100% recommend a shim (if it doesn't have an angled neck pocket like some of the nicer Jags/JMs) and a heavier set of strings to dial them in just right. They need more stuff done than a Mustang to really come alive IMO, but the Mustang setup is very finicky -- took me about a week working on it 2ish hours a day to get it where it is, but for $700 used, it's dialed in as well as my Kiesel that was $1800: I don't have to think about playing, I can just play.

I'll agree with mbene above though, unless your guitar has structural issues that are genuinely killing sustain (shitty neck joint, stratitis but not enough pickup clearance, bad bridge - something really busted that you can't fix), just about every guitar can sustain long enough for any still-musical use. If you're still having issues with that, a new guitar ain't gonna solve your problems, you need an ebow.

[Bradley-Jazz]

I agree with all the above.

I have a Vintera Mustang and it sustains just fine for any “reasonable” musical purpose, and I have 10s on it for an easy ride (did have to spend a while getting it set up though). My JM Jag definitely benefits from 11s though.

Neither is a Les Paul, in terms of sustain, I have a Les Paul (special) for when I want that, but I find that’s more when I want a thicker, denser tone, rather than just sustain.

I’ve a Digitech FreqOut pedal for more unreasonable musical purposes (!). I also have an ebow, but find the pedal easier for more casual use - my ebow technique needs work.

[Axolotl]

How about a Jaguar?

If I'm not mistaken, the Jaguar is supposed to have less sustain than a Mustang, due to the distance from the bridge to the tailpiece which is very short on the Mustang (more, bridge-tailpiece distance, less sustain).

I play mostly offsets, and I agree that an offset sustain is more than enough for most players. Offsets have a very crisp/loud attack in contrast to the sound's decay, which sometimes lead to the impression that their sustain is poor, but the can ring out quite a bit -in their own way, but don't expect a Tele or LP type of sustain)

I was a bit dismissive of the whole lack of sustain in offsets things since I've been playing them for so long and got so used to them. That being said, lately I've been playing a DuoSonic and a Telecasters and yes, the sustain is noticeably louder and longer. At moments is even a bit overwhelming for my playing style. They feel like totally different instruments (which to a degree, they are!) I can totally understand how anybody used to LPs, Teles and such will find an offset a bit miffing in that regard.

But hey, as they pointed out above, that's the nature of the beast. Embrace it. I love the bite and the percussive qualities of offsets (especially short scales). If sustain is a must for you, maybe try a duo-sonic or one of the mustangs without tremolo?. In my experience a short scale with a fix bridge can still sustain quite a bit.

[Bradley-Jazz]

maybe try a duo-sonic or one of the mustangs without tremolo?. In my experience a short scale with a fix bridge can still sustain quite a bit.

Good call - I've been very tempted by these, but will resist (I think....)

https://www.peachguitars.com/fender-pla ... t-sand.htm

Though, technically, it might not qualify as an offset!

[jvin248]

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Get a compressor pedal and any guitar will sustain "where you can go and have a bite and you'll still be hearing that one".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL4kJL_NDR0

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[adamrobertt]

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Get a compressor pedal and any guitar will sustain "where you can go and have a bite and you'll still be hearing that one".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL4kJL_NDR0

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I came here to say this! Hotter pickups will do it too. "Sustain" can easily be manipulated on pretty much any guitar.

[HarlowTheFish]

If you like a guitar, but for whatever reason you can't get it to sustain how you want, try these 10 tricks! Number 7 will surprise you!

1. Play harder -- not always viable, but it will 100% guaranteed increase your sustain if there's more energy in the strings to begin with
2. Keep the volume at like 7 and use it to give yourself a bit of a swell as the sound starts to die
3. Clamp something heavy onto the headstock -- Fender literally sells a part for this, the Fatfinger, and while it looks ridiculous and is overpriced, it does what it says on the tin.
4. Turn up your amp -- the extra volume will help, but getting the preamp and poweramp cooking a bit will add some very organic compression
5. Speaking of compression, use a compressor: they don't bite, and they don't "kill tone" or "kill dynamics" if you take the time to set them up right
6. Hotter pickups have a different sonic signature, with more mids and lows (which are the parts of a guitar sound that sustain the longest), as well as more output to pick up the string (more sustain) and push the front end of your amp a bit more (more sustain)
7. I ran out of ideas

Also gotta go guys there's a Buzzfeed lawyer at my door with the fuzz