lczegel
Member
It's been a few months being designed and built, but the guitar of my dreams is finally here! I wanted to combine the characteristics of my favorite guitars into one great guitar, including Sustainiac, piezo, 13-pin output, and Variax . The Parker Adrian Belew models come close, but have limited Sustainiac and midi control. So I decided to add a Sustainiac and a Graph Tech Ghost system to my Music Man JPX. Instead of transplanting a Variax, I decided to get a RackVax instead. If and when there is a new version of the RackVax, it will be a much easier upgrade than a new transplant.
For better midi control of the RackVax, I replaced the Graph Tech midi up-down toggle switch with two push-buttons. The RackVax provides a 13-pin thru for simultaneous connection to a midi processor (such as the GR-55 or the VG-99). Line 6 Variax Workbench software can be used to customize the guitar models, including alternate tunings. I run the RackVax through my Line 6 HD500 using VDI. The RackVax is very professionally put together with Line 6's blessing, sounds great, looks great in my rack, and Corey at RackVax answered my email questions immediately.
The Sustainiac in fundamental mode lets notes ring forever, including sliding to different notes. Mix mode is very much like amp feedback, the fundamental rings for a while then transforms into a harmonic. Harmonic mode is similar but with higher harmonics. When not in sustainer mode, the Sustainiac is one heck of a pickup, combining well with either coil of the bridge pickup. Some people say the Sustainiac affects the sound of the other pickups, so to avoid potential problems the bridge pickup is connected to the sustainer only when sustain is enabled. Alan Hoover of Maniac Music, who invented the Sustainiac, was very helpful verifying the relevant part of the electrical design.
The guitar tech who took this job on is Eric Bickerton of Bickertone Guitars. He makes amazing guitars from scratch, as well as performing customizations and setups of any complexity. I did the electrical design, but he did all the work, very creatively solving the physical problems of adding a lot of electronics and the 13-pin jack, while treating the guitar as if it was his own. It's a beautiful piece of work. If you're in the Toronto area and need any customization done, I couldn't recommend contacting Eric more highly. Check out bickertone.com
The control layout is as follows:
The 5-way switch has been rewired:
Position 1 is the bridge pickup only, with sustainer enabled
Position 2 is the bridge pickup only, with sustainer disabled
Position 3 is the neck pickup in parallel with the bridge coil nearest the bridge, sustainer disabled
Position 4 is the neck pickup in parallel with the bridge coil furthest from the bridge, sustainer disabled
Position 5 is the neck pickup only, with sustainer disabled
A toggle switch between the two pots closest to the 5-way selects Sustainiac normal/mix/harmonic mode
A toggle switch between the two pots nearest the bridge selects guitar/both/midi outputs
2 push-buttons are for midi up/down and for Rackvax control
Pot nearest the 5-way is magnetic volume, same as original
Middle pot is midi volume, and push-pull for power to Sustainiac and Ghost system
Pot nearest the bridge is piezo volume, and push-pull for two different piezo equalizations
Here's a picture of the JPX body, with the 2 new toggle switches and 2 new push switches, and a picture of the 13-pin output, which replaced one of the two original jacks:
For better midi control of the RackVax, I replaced the Graph Tech midi up-down toggle switch with two push-buttons. The RackVax provides a 13-pin thru for simultaneous connection to a midi processor (such as the GR-55 or the VG-99). Line 6 Variax Workbench software can be used to customize the guitar models, including alternate tunings. I run the RackVax through my Line 6 HD500 using VDI. The RackVax is very professionally put together with Line 6's blessing, sounds great, looks great in my rack, and Corey at RackVax answered my email questions immediately.
The Sustainiac in fundamental mode lets notes ring forever, including sliding to different notes. Mix mode is very much like amp feedback, the fundamental rings for a while then transforms into a harmonic. Harmonic mode is similar but with higher harmonics. When not in sustainer mode, the Sustainiac is one heck of a pickup, combining well with either coil of the bridge pickup. Some people say the Sustainiac affects the sound of the other pickups, so to avoid potential problems the bridge pickup is connected to the sustainer only when sustain is enabled. Alan Hoover of Maniac Music, who invented the Sustainiac, was very helpful verifying the relevant part of the electrical design.
The guitar tech who took this job on is Eric Bickerton of Bickertone Guitars. He makes amazing guitars from scratch, as well as performing customizations and setups of any complexity. I did the electrical design, but he did all the work, very creatively solving the physical problems of adding a lot of electronics and the 13-pin jack, while treating the guitar as if it was his own. It's a beautiful piece of work. If you're in the Toronto area and need any customization done, I couldn't recommend contacting Eric more highly. Check out bickertone.com
The control layout is as follows:
The 5-way switch has been rewired:
Position 1 is the bridge pickup only, with sustainer enabled
Position 2 is the bridge pickup only, with sustainer disabled
Position 3 is the neck pickup in parallel with the bridge coil nearest the bridge, sustainer disabled
Position 4 is the neck pickup in parallel with the bridge coil furthest from the bridge, sustainer disabled
Position 5 is the neck pickup only, with sustainer disabled
A toggle switch between the two pots closest to the 5-way selects Sustainiac normal/mix/harmonic mode
A toggle switch between the two pots nearest the bridge selects guitar/both/midi outputs
2 push-buttons are for midi up/down and for Rackvax control
Pot nearest the 5-way is magnetic volume, same as original
Middle pot is midi volume, and push-pull for power to Sustainiac and Ghost system
Pot nearest the bridge is piezo volume, and push-pull for two different piezo equalizations
Here's a picture of the JPX body, with the 2 new toggle switches and 2 new push switches, and a picture of the 13-pin output, which replaced one of the two original jacks:
