You agree on this? “Everyone likes a guitar with good sustain.”
But what if you could achieve endless sustain…
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you have probably heard about Sustainiac pickups, which basically give you endless sustain (as long as the battery lasts). All this is…pretty cool. Players from Satriani to Synyster Gates have been opting into using Sustainiacs.
This is why I was happy to put together this article that gathers the top-notch guitars with Sustainiac pickups together. I also reveal my 3 favorites…and if you have any questions, check the FAQ section of this article or leave a comment. And don’t worry, we’ll look at how Sustainiac pickups work too.
Let’s get started!
Check our full electric guitar pickup types guide here.
20 Guitars With Sustainiac Pickup – Plus 1 With Jackson Sustainer
Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR S is hands-down one of the best “value” guitars with a Sustainiac pickup. It has a Thin C neck with 24 XJ frets. This combo makes playing extremely comfortable and effortless. It’s also equipped with mean-sounding Active EMG 81 which fits modern metal really well. Pair this with a Sustainiac and you got a really amazing bang-for-the-buck guitar on your hands.
Price Range Icon Meanings:
$= $850-999
$$= $1000-1299
$$$= $1300-1599
$$$$= $1600-1999
$$$$$= $2000
| Model | Pickup | Body Style | Price Range | Check Current Price (affiliate links) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder FR-S – Cheapest Guitar With Sustainiac | Sustainiac Pickup & EMG Retro Active Hot 70 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $ | Sweetwater* – Thomann* |
| Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder PT FR-S – Best Budget | Sustainiac Pickup & EMG Retro Active Hot 70 Humbucker | Telecaster | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Cort MBM-2H Manson Meta SUS (Matthew Bellamy) – For Muse Fans | Sustainiac & Manson Design humbucker | Single-cut | $ | Thomann |
| Schecter Damien Platinum-6 FR S | Sustainiac Pickup & EMG 81 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter BlackJack SLS C-1 FR-S | Sustainiac Retrofit SLS & Schecter Brimstone Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater |
| Cort MBM-2H Matthew Bellamy – For Muse Fans | Sustainiac & Manson Design humbucker | Single-cut | $$ | Thomann |
| Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR-S – All-Around Metal Machine | Sustainiac Pickup & EMG 81 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter Reaper-6 FR-S | Sustainiac Pickup & Diamond Decimator Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter Banshee GT-6 FR S – Excellent Thrash Metal Guitar | Sustainiac Pickup & EMG 81 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter C-1 FR-S Apocalypse | Sustainiac Pickup & Schecter USA Apocalypse-VI Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter E-1 FR S Special Edition – Best Overall Offset Guitar With A Sustainiac | Sustainiac Pickup & Schecter USA Apocalypse VI Humbucker | Explorer-style | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter Synyster Gates Custom-S | Sustainiac Pickup & Syn Gates USA Signature Humbucker | Synyster Gates | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter DJ Ashba | Sustainiac Pickup & EMG 81 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$ | Guitar Center – Thomann |
| Ibanez Axion Label RG60ALS – Best Overall | Sustainiac Pickup & DiMarzio Fusion Edge-7 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter Avenger FR S Apocalypse | Sustainiac Pickup & Schecter USA Apocalypse VI Humbucker | Avenger | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter C-1 FR-S Silver Mountain | Sustainiac Pickup & Schecter USA Sonic Seducer Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter Banshee Mach-6 FR-S | Sustainiac Pickup & Lundgren M6 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$ | Sweetwater |
| Ibanez Joe Satriani Signature JS240PS – Best Premium | Sustainiac Driver Only Pickup & DiMarzio Satchur8 Alnico Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez Joe Satriani Signature JS2480 | Sustainiac Driver Only Pickup & DiMarzio Satchur8 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez Joe Satriani Signature JS1CR | Sustainiac Driver Only Pickup & DiMarzio Satchur8 Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Jackson USA Signature Phil Collen PC1 – Good for Def Leppard Fans – Has A Jackson Sustainer | Jackson PC1 Sustainer Driver & DiMarzio HS-2 DP116 Single-coil & DiMarzio DP-152-F Humbucker | Modern Stratocaster | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Schecter Hellraiser C-7 FR-S – 7 string sustainiac mayhem from our best Schecter Guitars of 2023 | Sustainiac Neck Pickup EMG 81 Active Bridge Humbucker | Solidbody Hellraiser C-7 | $$$$ | Sweetwater |
3 Best Guitars With Sustainiac Pickup – My Favorites
Listen. Every day, put your best foot forward in terms of guitar. And in terms of everything. After a while, you will be amazed by the results.
Teemu – Founder of GND
Best Budget – Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder PT FR-S
What I like
- Thin C neck shape paired with 1.625″ nut width gives a really slim and comfortable feel
- Fast playing
- EMG Retro Active Hot 70 Humbucker offers a less compressed tone than EMG 81
- Offers great bang for the buck
- Same great quality Sustainiac pickup as on 1000’s of dollars of more expensive guitars
What I don’t like
- Mainly fits metal (not super versatile)
- The neck can feel too slim for some players
- No tone knob
Who is it for?
If you are after an affordable metal-friendly guitar with a Sustainiac and prefer a slim feel of the neck, this Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Tele is one of the best options. It offers great metal tones, and while it’s not the most versatile guitar with a Sustainiac pickup, it still offers really high value for the money.
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Best Overall – Ibanez Axion Label RG60ALS
What I like
- Great quality and smooth-to-use Edge-Zero II Locking Tremolo bridge
- DiMarzio Fusion Edge-7 Humbucker on the bridge offer surprisingly full clean tones
- Slim Nitro Wizard neck offers comfortable playability (great shape for small hands)
- Mainly for metal, but can handle everything
- Distorted tones are super crunchy, mean, and awesome
- Has a Master-tone knob
What I don’t like
- None (Getting a gig bag too would be nice for this price tho)
Who is it for?
If you are after an extremely fast-playing guitar with a relatively affordable price and premium features & hardware, Ibanez Axion Label RG60ALS is a top choice. For this price, it doesn’t have any real cons, its Sustainiac & Dimarzio pickup combo sound mean, but are versatile too. It’s got a smooth & slim Nitro Wizard neck and great hardware (Edge-Zero II Locking Tremolo-bridge for example). Premium-level guitar with a price that many players can still afford.
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Best Premium – Ibanez Joe Satriani Signature JS240PS
What I like
- Really fast playing
- Offers excellent clean tones
- One of the most versatile guitars in this article
- Can handle metal
- Has a Master-tone knob
- Usually comes with a gig bag
- Edge Double-locking Tremolo-bridge works really smoothly
What I don’t like
- Shape and color might not be everyone’s favorite
Who is it for?
If you are after an extremely versatile and smooth-playing instrument with a Sustainaic pickup, Ibanez Joe Satriani Signature JS240PS is an awesome choice. It costs well under $2k, it can truly handle everything, and it has a premium feel and hardware on it. It’s an amazing all-around guitar and a dream to play.
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FAQ
What Is A Sustainiac Pickup?
Sustainiac generates an electromagnetic field that keeps strings vibrating long as the battery lasts after you have strummed a string(s) and turned Sustainiac on. This enables players to achieve basically endless sustain for the note (long as the battery lasts).
What Does A Sustainiac Pickup Do?
Sustainaic generates an electromagnetic field that keeps strings vibrating long as the battery lasts after you have strummed the strings. This electromagnetic field doesn’t pick up the vibration and transfer it to an electric signal when the sustainiac is turned on, it only keeps the string(s) vibrating.
This great video from DylanTalksTone (I recommend you SUB to his channel) explains more about Sustainiac pickups:
Is Sustainiac Pickup Worth it?
If having improved and basically endless sustain is something you want to achieve, Sustainiac is most likely worth it. And gladly you don’t need to shell out $2k or even $1k for a guitar with a Sustainiac pickup.
Sustaniac allows you to pull off awesome dive bombs without losing the note in the middle of the bomb(this happens easily with cheaper guitars or if the guitar has a poor setup). It also allows you to mix overtones with the notes.
Here’s a great demo of my Best Premium pick Ibanez Joe Satriani Signature JS240PS. Juca does an amazing job demoing the guitar and the Sustainiac pickup (I recommend you SUB to his channel):
How Much Does A Sustainiac Pickup Cost?
I discovered that currently there are no Sustainaic pickups sold separately on the mass market. I found a couple of closed Reverb listings where someone had sold a Sustaniac pickup set for around $200.
Guitars with Sustaniac pickup is usually $100-200 more expensive than the one without. Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder is one such example
How Much Does it Cost to Install Sustainiac?
The latest benchmark I found was from Maniac Music Inc’s(creator of Sustainiac pickups) website. They state that they charge $125-175 for the installation.
When Was The Sustainiac Invented?
This 2017 Music Trade Magazine reveals that the first Sustainiac product for the electric guitar was built in 1986.
Maniac Music Inc confirmed this information.
Does Sustainiac Work Without Battery?
No. Sustaniaic pickup requires 9V battery that enables Sustaniac to generate a strong enough magnetic field that can make strings vibrate.
Conclusion
It’s always awesome when a piece of gear brings something really useful to the table. And increased sustain is definitely something really useful. We had awesome guitars in this article and it was a ton of fun to learn more about Sustainiac pickups.
I hope this article helped you out, and maybe you even decided to get one of the guitars featured. If you have any questions, leave a comment, I and the GND team are here for you.
Now go, my son, and Rock!
Hello
Are any of these guitars with built in sustainers for the lefthanded player?
Hi Pete!
Sorry, I can’t remember from the top of my head…I’m pretty sure that there’s at least some lefty sustainer guitar. But you can pretty easily find out more with Google and Music store searches. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Peter,
Schecter has them!
Thanks for letting us know Carl 🙂
Schecter now has hardtail sustainiac guitars for those like to avoid the Floyd rose nightmare.
Thank you for pointing those great guitars out Roger!