New PC1 - Possible Sustainer Issues?

[friscokid]

I just picked up a new PC1 in RedRum. I noticed that once I started playing it, all strings, no matter where I was on the fretboard, responded with an oscilating sound rather than a smooth note. Is it possible that there is something wrong with the sustainer system? Has anyone else out here ever encouontered this type of problem with a PC1?

Thanks

[shreddermon]

Not sure I understand what you mean. If it sounds like the note you are playing is feeding back, that is normal. That's what the sustainer is supposed to do - either the fundimental note or the harmonic, depending on the switch.

If it's something different, try lowering the height of the sustainer PU a bit and see if that helps. Might be too close to the strings.

[Bengal65]

No, and welcome to the board Where's the pics? They will continually vibrate unless you mute the strings. The sustainer is a magnetic driver. You can control the amount of driving sustain by using the sustainer driver control. That will reduce or increase the amount of string vibration. Try turning the knob counter clockwise to back off the vibration.

[friscokid]

Thanks for the welcome. I will post pics shortly. Sorry. I wasn't very clear. The problem is happening when the sustainer is off, meaning the toggle is off and the driver control is at its lowest setting, when I get the oscilating type of sound. I thought the action was a little high when I first started playing the guitar so I lowered it to taste. I can't remeber if I noticed the oscilating sound before I did this or not. Once I noticed it, I did return the action to where I thought it was initially. However, I continued to have the issue. I also looked at the sustainer and thought it was set pretty high. It looked to be mounted on spacers of some sort so I didn't think it was lowerable. I'll have to look at that again. I'll try to lower the sustainer / raise the action a little more and see if I can get the problem to go away. If not, back to the dealer for some help. Thanks for the help.

[Bengal65]

Hmmm, You should not get any vibration or oscillation with the sustainer OFF. Is this a new or used PC1? Sometimes the switches are turned around or moved. Sounds like your sustainer is still on. Try removing the batteries. You may have a switch that is not turning off the power from the batteries.

[rjohnstone]

You sure you have it off?
The PC1 sustainer switch position is up to turn it off and down to turn it on.

Edit: Here is a pic of what does what.

[friscokid]

Thanks for the picture. My PC1 is working as you note. No backward switches, etc. I was able to lower the sustainer pickup, turns out it is mounted on a piece of foam, and not spacers as I had originally thought. I lowered the other pickups as well and was able to put the action where I like it. The problem is still there, but no where near what it originally was.
It appears that a little tweaking and some setup work will fix the issue.

Thanks to all who helped out on this one. It is much appreciated.

[dyingsea]

You sure you have it off?
The PC1 sustainer switch position is up to turn it off and down to turn it on.

Edit: Here is a pic of what does what.

Sorry for the hijack but what exactly does the blend switch do?

[Bengal65]

Well, let me try my best to explain. This is a 2 way switch, in one position you have a standard string oscillation. In the other you get a fundamental harmonic vibration in addition to the standard string oscillation. (Don't ask me how they do it) As far as what you hear with the fundamental harmonic is a sound similar to a pinch harmonic that never ends. If you listen to Phil Collen on later Def Leppard recordings play lead solos, you can hear where he uses it. The sustain just goes on and on.

[danastas]

I just bought a RedRum PC1 last month and was having problems. This was a brand new one, maybe it was made in the same batch with yours. It took me some time to figure this out, but indeed my sustainer switch was flipped the opposite way around. Mine is down for on and up for off.

[rjohnstone]

Sounds like Jackson may have done a circuit board revision.
The switches are part of the PCB board, so they can't accidently flip them during install and the board won't go in reveresed either, due to the location of the power LED.
As for on/off function, up has always been off and down has always been on, up until 2005 anyway.
Several things to remember about sustainers.
The driver and the humbucker must both be the exact same height/distance from the strings.
Optimum distance between the strings and the pickups is between 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch.
Too close or too far away and the strings are out of range of the magentic field. it will still work, but it won't be as effective.

It sounds like you may need to send yours back for warranty repair.
Easy way to tell what postiion is on or off, just pull the batteries and plug the guitar in.
With the sustainer switch on, you should get NO sound.

[danastas]

Well then, mine is working the correct way, up for off, down for on. I thought it was the reverse. My inital confusion was also due to the fact that one of the contacts had slipped off the circuit board. So, when I switched the sustainer on, the guitar had sound. When I switched it off, there was no sound (because the contact was off). That's what lead to my initial confusion anyway. I opened the caivty, placed the contact back on, and the problem was solved.