I was hoping someone could answer this question: Is "Me Wise Magic" the first time Ed used a Fernandez Sustainer Pickup?

I think he has that white wolfie with the sustainer and the transtrem on it,I can't think of any other songs off the top of my head right now where he used one of them though.

Well, I know he uses it like crazy on Year to the Day on VH III, but Me Wise Magic is on GHV1, which precedes III. I was just curious if he was screwing around with it before that.

I know that he's had sustainer pickups for years, like back in the Kramer days, but I don't recall him ever relying them for a studio recording. I think he thinks it's too much like cheatinghttp://www.vhlinks.com/vhlforum/smilies/biggrin.gif

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Baluchitherium

Yeah, well.....he seems to have gotten over it to a degree! LOL

[This message has been edited by Mike5150 (edited May 20, 2000 at 10:32 AM).]

I don't think you can really be 100% sure what he's usin when. He's pretty secretive at times.

Ed definately said he used the Fernandes Sustainer on the end of me wise magic. I don't recall any of his Kramers having that system, because back then you only had the Sustainiac and that required a wire that ran down from the headstock of your guitar to a box.

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"I won't go down in history, but I will go down on your sister!"...David Lee Roth

Brown
I don't remember the exact name of them, but I just about bout a Barreta with this pickup Ed was advertising. You had a switch down by your volume/tone control and when you wanted unlimited sustian, you hit this switch, played you note and it went on and on and on. There was no wire coming off the headstock (or anywhere), however it did have a battery, (9v).

Does anyone remember these, I think the quote they used from Ed in the ad was, "it allows you to perform a tecnique that normally that year of practice to master"

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Baluchitherium

yup it was a model called the kramer sustainer..came out around 89...the ad shows ed on the beach with a pink kramer sustainer...with a quote like"a jug of wine a loaf of bread and endless sustain"...he looked pretty baked in the picture too..http://www.vhlinks.com/vhlforum/smilies/smile.gif also i beleive ed used the sustainer on Respect The Wind witch preceeded Greatest Hits.

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eddie vanhalen , there is no substitute.

actually ed had a ebmm with the sustainer and used it for the solo on the pensocola show. where he did the wild thig from close encounters. it was quite kewl. i used to have it but my dumbass deleted it some how.

Also, it's probably obvious, but he uses the sustainer in harmonic mode on Learning To See, and i'm pretty sure he flicks it on for a second during the middle of It's About Time.

On a related note, I should be picking up my 1998 Ivory Wolfgang Special from the store this week - they were installing a Fernandes Sustainer on it :)

Should be a fun thing to mess with.

if you listen closely under the 2nd verse of humans being he's using the sustainer aswell.

There is no better evidence of Ed using the sustainer pickup than "Respect the Wind" off the Twister soundtrack.

http://www.vintagekramer.com/Ads/edsustainer.jpg

There is no better evidence of Ed using the sustainer pickup than "Respect the Wind" off the Twister soundtrack.

http://www.vintagekramer.com/Ads/edsustainer.jpg
wow, I haven't seen that pic in years.

wow, I haven't seen that pic in years.
PIC???? WHAT PIC??

I know that he's had sustainer pickups for years, like back in the Kramer days, but I don't recall him ever relying them for a studio recording. I think he thinks it's too much like cheatinghttp://www.vhlinks.com/vhlforum/smilies/biggrin.gif

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Baluchitherium

Well this past tour Ed pretty much cheated the whole tour then because he relyed on that Sustainer like crazy. I know you said ,"in the studio" but I think that was on of the the worst decisions he ever made was to put a sutainer in his Wolfie for the 04 tour. One of the shows I have on DVD is one when he used the Sunburst Wolfie with no sustainer. I much prefered that because he would just hold a not for 10 seconds in the middle of a song. However I was amazed at the sustain he was achieving even without the Sustainer pickup. It's all in the fingers, we must remember. But I have to admit when Eddie would use the Sutainer right it would sound pretty cool. I just didn't like him relying on it.
Ed I don't wanna tell you what to do but... DON'T USE THE SUSTAINER IN 2007 OR WHENEVER YOU TOUR!!!

I much prefered that because he would just hold a not for 10 seconds in the middle of a song. However I was amazed at the sustain he was achieving even without the Sustainer pickup. It's all in the fingers, we must remember.
At stage volume sustain is pretty easy to get going. I agree Ed has the touch but for sustain if you're loud enough you can get a clean tone to sustain for days pretty easily.

From the boots I've heard of the 04 tour EVH went way overboard with the fernandes unit. It was cool in the first song, but by the the third it got old quick.

I have one...it's just another tool IMO. Ed did go crazy with it during his solo last tour which made for some of the worst solos he has ever performed IMO.

Anyway....Ed used to use a device in the studio called an Ebow back on the early stuff....I read an interview somewhere??

And HomeUnit is exactly right when he points out.....if the stage volume is loud enough, I guitar with a hot PUP like a Wolf will pretty much sustain forever. A sustainer really helps when you are cranking on the trem bar a lot. Vai uses one all the time. And the sustainer will sustain perfectly clean notes...which is hard to accomplish without one.

Another thing that is cool is that you can vary the amount of sustain on many models, so by just adding a slight amount, your guitars basically sounds normal, but you get that little bit more. You can also have it it normal mode...or harmonic mode where it will sustain the note at the next higher harmonic...such as sustaining artificial harmonics.

If you want a bit more sustain that a passive PUP, but don't want the Fernandez in your guitar....get a set of active EMG's. They are a good compromise IMO.