JP6; unexpected AWESOME playability, but lacking sustain?

[Pott]

Hi guys! A couple of months ago I got a JP6 which is an AMAZING-playing guitar; I'd never played one before and got curious, and man was it worth it. I like thick, narrow necks (Axis SS, AL), and I had no clue I could grow to like the JP's neck so much.

Now unfortunately the guitar is clearly a 'shred' type guitar; I like its fluid, smooth voicing, but I have issues with the sustain, very much lacking (I guess it's ok for very fast, technical players who pick everything, but not me).

I've got a tremol-no on the vibrato, but still, I have to delegate the guitar to rhythm functions only, which is a shame given how amazingly comfortable she is.

Thoughts? To those of you who have ALs and Axii to compare against, did you notice the same thing?

 

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Return it for a JP12. Mine has great sustain.

 

[QuietSpike]

Return it for a JP12. Mine has great sustain.

That is a solution.... My JP12 has great sustain as well.

Are you sure the action is not too low? If it is against the frets at all, obviously that will limit sustain. Without seeing/playing it, it is tough to diagnose. The fact that it is a "shred" guitar does not mean it doesn't sustain. I think the JP models with the LF/CL and illuminators are some of the best sustaining geeetars out there. Especially the mahogany neck/body/tone block ones.

 

[Kenji20022]

^ I still get fantastic sustain with low action, I play with 1mm on both sides @ 12th fret with a completely flat board, little to no relief.

The trick to getting more sustain out of a JP or any Trem'd guitar is to block the trem with a nice piece of wood in the cavity. Guitar will resonate more causing an increased sustain. While floating I get 6-8 seconds of sustain on all of my JP's, 8-12 seconds while blocked. I've never compared the 5 against each other but I should totally do that!

 

[QuietSpike]

Yeah kenji-- not saying you can't have low action (mine is so finely tuned that the slightest climate change warrants an ever-so-slight truss adjustment to keep from fretting, and my sustain is just fine). Just saying if it is so low that it is fretting somewhere where the player hasn't noticed yet... Tough to imagine he wouldn't, but without seeing it, I gotta start with the obvious!

 

[DrKev]

While floating I get 6-8 seconds of sustain on all of my JP's, 8-12 seconds while blocked. I've never compared the 5 against each other but I should totally do that!

Yes but in real music nobody counts how long the note holds for and we rarely ever hold notes that long. Talking about sustain in terms of seconds is not very useful. Besides, it also depends on playing volume (both in our perception of sustain and the actual 'physics' of it).

Just saying if it is so low that it is fretting somewhere where the player hasn't noticed yet... Tough to imagine he wouldn't, but without seeing it, I gotta start with the obvious!

Absolutely! Very smart people have spent many hours looking for difficult solutions to problems when the obvious solution is ignored for being too obvious. So, in order of obviousness...

• Fresh strings. Old strings can't sing!
• Try raising the action a little (or loosening the truss rod a little)
• Check the pickups are not too close to the strings.

It's an important rule of thumb (especially on stage) - when there is a problem, always check the stupidly obvious things first.

 

[Bungo]

MORE GAIN!!!

Solves everything...

 

[Pott]

Well I used to be a guitar tech and I play with the strings at a reasonable height (Blues-style feel, more than metal).
So the strings are the same height as on my Strat, pickups are at exactly the right height for what I want to get out of them. Strings are brand new, I changed them as soon as I got the guitar. Impression is after a couple of weeks of play on her.

Trem is blocked, but with a tremol-no. I live in a tiny country with no wood-shop available, I couldn't get the right piece of wood sized for this guitar
Got it second hand so no returns; I don't think I ever saw a MusicMan JP that wasn't a JP6 either, certainly never saw a JP12 in my life
I love the sound and playability; but I wasn't expecting this on the sustain I guess.

 

[QuietSpike]

Yeah Pott... Weird... And shouldn't be that way...

Not trying to be an a$$, but are you sure it isn't a fake? If it is real, are you sure the p-ups or electronics haven't been tampered/swapped?

What amp are you using?

 

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Guitar Center is doing a EBMM clearance right now. You could get any of the BFR or JPX (preferably) models at a discount. I firmly believe this will put the sustain issue to bed.

Also, no one has mentioned this, but how about changing your string gauge? That is one of the most underrated components of sustain and sound.

 

[Pott]

I would if I lived in the US My own MusicMen are the only I ever saw in the country.

There's 10s on it right now. I never use anything lighter. I would definitely try 11s but I don't have a spare set right now. I'll do it when it's time to change. It's definitely real. I guess I just need to get used to the sound more.

... or I could just play that Axis Super Sport Rosewood. Holy massive tone batman. If only they made a hardtail JP6 with a separate top :O

 

[Kenji20022]

Yes but in real music nobody counts how long the note holds for and we rarely ever hold notes that long. Talking about sustain in terms of seconds is not very useful. Besides, it also depends on playing volume (both in our perception of sustain and the actual 'physics' of it).

It's still a good show of how much improvement there was in sustain by changing something, I think it's useful and a lot of people do measure sustain in how long the note lasts. Surely a time measurement is more than qualified, especially considering he wants longer sustain. Either way, I still stand firmly that you get increased sustain by giving the guitar more contact with the actual body of the instrument.

The Tremolno doesn't really improve the sustain all that much sadly, I used to use them on my guitars to access a hardtail style on my JP's. There's still the gaps between the brass blocks and the body of the guitar so it won't resonate as much as if there was full on contact.

And Pott I actually took a small piece of wood and sanded it down to the right dimensions myself with just some sandpaper! Took about 30 minutes to get it done myself! And a hardtail JP would be excellent, I'd surely buy one myself!

 

[ksandvik]

I suspect the tremol-no is causing issues, try to take it out and see if there's a difference.

 

[luke2joey]

Hi,

I have a JP 6 and I have to say it has become my main guitar. I play in two different bands, with a great variety of music (pop, acoustic, hard rock).
The strings do make a difference in the sustain: I am using Ernie Ball regular Slinky's for ages now. Together with the Mesa Mk V I am getting more than enough sustain.
At first, I was surprised with this, as I was playing a PRS. I thought I would miss the sustain that I used to have. But, to my big suprise: the difference is there, no doubt about it, but I can hardly notice it. The JP has more than enough for me, I have to say that the guitar is played much and cared for very well.
For really sustaining notes, I am using a Carl Martin compressor/limiter: the Holy Grail of compressor, imho. Very musical, dynamic and beautiful sustaining notes, e.g. when playing long notes in a ballad-solo.
John (Petrucci) is using this pedal too, so that should be convincing enough....
I have to say that the amp also does a great job in this..