Fernandes FSK-401 and FSK-101 Sustainer Kits

A good friend of mine has been bit by the bug and is looking at buying a Fernandes Ravelle Elite as a second electric guitar. It is a really nice guitar at the higher end of the Ravelle line. When I was reading the specs I see that the Elite comes with a Fernandes Sustainer pickup set. I had never heard of this before so I did a bit of research and was quite intrigued with what I found.

Sustain is your guitar’s ability to hold a note after it has been picked. If you can pluck a note and it rings out for a long time you would generally say the guitar has good sustain. Every factor in a guitar’s physical construction goes to determining the amount of natural sustain it will have. Components like active pickups can also artificially increase your sustain by amplifying the signal. I never really considered the idea of using electronics to physically increase sustain though. This is exactly what the Fernandes Sustainer system does. Using magnets and an active electronics system the sustain is increased by magnetically influencing the vibration of the strings. As a result Fernandes claims you can get infinite sustain and even feedback if you want.

Here is an excerpt from the Fernandes website about the Sustainer pickup:

How the Fernandes Sustainer works:
The patented Fernandes Sustainer is powered by a 9-volt alkaline battery, and works with the Driver in the neck position, the Bridge pickup, and the Sustainer circuitry to give you infinite sustain. The driver sends magnetic pulses to the strings, which makes them vibrate. (The driver also functions as a great sounding neck pickup when the Fernandes Sustainer is switched off.)

Standard Mode: In the Standard mode, the Fernandes Sustainer will hold any note you play.

Harmonic Mode: In the Harmonic mode the Fernandes Sustainer creates string vibration similar to that when you’re getting feedback at extreme volume, generating the 5th harmonic of the note being played.

Mix Mode (FSK-401 only): The Mix mode is a blend of Standard and Harmonic sustain.

Being a geek I am all about using electronics and technology to advance guitars. Although, I should add that I think there is a limit to the role technology should play in guitar. I think this device is just wonderful and I will be looking to try one out at my next guitar store visit. It is a genius idea and from the videos on the Fernandes website it looks like it works very well.

[Via Fernandes Guitars]