NGD: Holy Grail, Batman! Schecter Blackjack w/Sustainiac!

[Winston Psmith]

Really, I got this a week ago, but I've been too busy to really sit down with it, much less post about it.

 

It's a Schecter Blackjack SLS C-1 S "Hell's Gate" Guitar - I know, it sounds more like a product code than a name for a Guitar Model, but that seems to be a tendency among some builders.

 

It's a double-cutaway Solid-body, Mahogany body, carved Mahogany cap, 3-piece Maple neck, Ebony fretboard, 3-on-a-side Schecter locking tuners, Tonepros T.O.M.-style bridge, string-thru-body design (no accursed FR!!!!), a Duncan Full Shred in the Bridge position and a Duncan Sustainiac in the Neck position!!! It also came with a fitted Schecter HSC.

 

I didn't need another 6-string, at least, not another conventional 6-string, but I have been looking for a Sustainer-equipped Guitar for a lo-o-ong time. They don't turn up often, and even then, they've generally been more than I could afford at the time.

 

Of course, there's a story that goes with it, but let me continue with the Guitar, itself.

 

If someone had given me a blank sheet of paper, to write down what I'd want in a solid-body Guitar, it wouldn't have been much different from this Schecter. It's matte Black, Black being my favorite color for solid-body Electrics, just as Mahogany is my favorite tone wood. Given a choice of fretboard materials, Ebony would be my first choice, with Rosewood my second, and I've always loved the sound of Duncan PU's. I might have preferred a Fine-tuning tailpiece to the string-thru-body design, but I'll gladly take string-thru-body over a Floyd, or any Trem system, any time! Lest I forget, it has a 24-fret neck with a 25.5-inch scale.

 

It has one Volume and one Tone control, plus an "Intensity" control for the Sustainiac. I'm not at all certain just what the "Intensity' control is attenuating, but it can be dialed back to "Zero", with no Sustain coming through.

 

There's an On/Off mini-toggle switch for the Sustainiac, plus a 3-way mini-toggle that switches from the Fundamental to 2 slightly different Harmonic modes. I've read that the Sustainiac is also supposed to be an Active PU, but I didn't notice any issues playing it without a battery installed?

 

The Tone control is interesting, in that it goes all the way down to the muddiest, wooliest "mud-bucker" tone I have ever heard. Presumably, this is intended to tame some of the highs from the Sustainiac? In any case, it makes for a very wide range of tones from this Guitar.

 

I terms of feel, it's . . . I'm not sure how to describe this? It doesn't feel like a Guitar that will allow for, nor forgive, sloppy, careless playing. Maple+Ebony makes for a very stable neck, but they're also hard woods. It makes me want to pull out my Mahavishnu transcriptions, and see what I can do with it.

 

The neck joint is very nicely done, and feels almost like a neck-thru-body design.

 

The "Hell's Gate" refers to a very nicely done Skull inlay at the 12th fret, the only ornamentation anywhere on the fretboard. I think it has a sort of Art Deco feel to it, really, there's nothing particularly infernal about it, but one has to consider the target market, I suppose, which is clearly the Metal realm.

 

Ah, yes, the Sustainiac; it's well named, in every regard.

 

Have you ever seen a newbie sitting astride a motorcycle, when they grab the throttle for the first time, and the bike almost takes off without them? That's what this thing feels like. Flip that little switch, and ALL the strings start vibrating, all at once. Unlike the E-Bow technique, where you're trying to position the E-Bow in order to trigger the string you want to drive, with the Sustainiac, it's a matter of figuring out how to control, or even mute, anything but the notes you're trying to sustain. That "Intensity" control will quickly become a good friend, I can already tell.

 

I still have to tweak some things on it, adjusting the string height, balancing the PU's, but mainly, I need to work on a Sustainer technique. This is the closest thing to having a Guitar come alive in my hands., something with a mind of its own, and its own voice, besides. I have found that it lends itself very nicely to a two-handed technique, where the placement of my hands also serves to help mute some of the open strings. This is going to be very interesting.

 

As I said at the outset, there's a story that goes with it, but I'll leave it for later. I figured most of us would be more interested in the Guitar. In the meantime, we have a Novparolo show tomorrow evening, so I'm pulling gear together for that. Until later . . .

 

 

 

[Larryz]

Congratulations WP!!!  Sounds like you're going to be busy for a while with the new axe! Have fun with it and keep us posted! 😎👍

[Caevan O’Shite]

I love everything about this.

@Winston Psmith, I believe that the Sustainer system in your guitar there is from the same maker as my beloved Sustainiac Model C 'floor-box' "acoustic feedback generator", which instead of using a magnetic pickup/transducer to drive the strings magnetically like your guitar, uses a vibrating-transducer clamped on the guitar's headstock to physically vibrate the entire guitar and its strings.

The fact that yours is a Sustainiac/Seymour Duncan combination is extra double plus good with magic sparkles.

Both are FANTASTIC, both deliver genuinely endless sustain and blooming overtones as long as there's electricity. Perhaps even better yet than the Fernandez systems. The guitar just becomes ALIVE and the proverbial "THIS guitar practically plays itself!" genuinely applies.

 

On 7/21/2023 at 10:43 AM, Winston Psmith said:

Ah, yes, the Sustainiac; it's well named, in every regard.

 

Have you ever seen a newbie sitting astride a motorcycle, when they grab the throttle for the first time, and the bike almost takes off without them? That's what this thing feels like. Flip that little switch, and ALL the strings start vibrating, all at once. Unlike the E-Bow technique, where you're trying to position the E-Bow in order to trigger the string you want to drive, with the Sustainiac, it's a matter of figuring out how to control, or even mute, anything but the notes you're trying to sustain. That "Intensity" control will quickly become a good friend, I can already tell.

I would get on just fine with your new motoscooter! Fingerstyle muting and damping techniques similar to what good electric slide players like Duane Allman, Sonny Landreth, and Derek Trucks utilize will get you a LONG, L0O0ONG ways up that potentially bumpy road.

Similar to using your Sustaniac system's Intensity control, I set my Sustainiac floor-box to give maximum driven sustain and blooming harmonic-overtones, that melts away to more normality when I roll-back my guitar's volume-knob just a touch. It is VERY intuitive.

Dial everything in to get your new Sustainiac system and your BumbleBee "swell" pedal to work well together, and you're in for a treat for the rest of your life, face strained from smiling.       I speak from very similar experience.   

  

On 7/21/2023 at 10:43 AM, Winston Psmith said:

The Tone control is interesting, in that it goes all the way down to the muddiest, wooliest "mud-bucker" tone I have ever heard. Presumably, this is intended to tame some of the highs from the Sustainiac? In any case, it makes for a very wide range of tones from this Guitar.

Do you like that? Or, would you prefer less mud? Or even more of a 'mid-boost' EQ curve that shaves off only the high-treble, leaving mids and upper-mids intact and unsullied? This can probably VERY easily and EXTREMELY CHEAPLY modified (and easily reversed) to tailor to your exact wants and needs... Cap value on the tone-pot makes a HUGE and pretty specifiable difference.

[Winston Psmith]

Taking a minute now that I have my gear in order for tonight. Not exactly a day off, even if I'm not working.

 

In no particular order . . .

 

I find that I'm dialing back the Intensity control, which allows for a lot more flexibility in how I apply the sustained tones. Once I've had time to really set up the Guitar, I expect I'll find a setting that responds the way I want. Much the same thought regarding the Tone control. I suspect it was designed that way with good reason, and once I've had some more time with this Guitar, I'll have good use for it.

 

Otherwise, my week has been crazy enough that I've barely had time to experiment with it, or do much of anything. Early arrival and set-up time today, which means the rest of my day is running a little tight. Tomorrow starts a whole new session of circling round to various clients' houses, tending and watering their gardens while they're away for the hottest part of our Summer. No rest for the wicked . . .

 

Still have things to do here, so Happy Saturn's Day, all!

 

 

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

1 hour ago, Winston Psmith said:

Much the same thought regarding the Tone control. I suspect it was designed that way with good reason, and once I've had some more time with this Guitar, I'll have good use for it.

Roll that sucker down and hit your favorite fuzz with that Sustainiac engaged and you'll easily get deeply way within the ballpark for "American Woman" and Robert Fripp fuzz tones... !

[Caevan O’Shite]

I'm hopin' that you've gotten and enjoyed more and more use out of that, Brother @Winston Psmith, particularly with Bev in Novparolo...       

[Bluesape]

Congrats! Schecters are gaining tons of cred with great instruments.