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DECEMBER 2017 THE GLOBAL ISSUE

MANIAC MUSIC SUSTAINIAC LINE PUTS OUTSIZED GUITAR SUSTAIN IN A PINT-SIZED PACKAGE GLOBAL COMPANY PROFILES

on a complicated cable/connector arrangement and a high-voltage ampli- MANIAC MUSIC fier floorbox, he concluded it could be improved through a low-impedance Sustainiac line puts outsized guitar sustain in a transducer powered by batteries and in- pint-sized package stalled as a self-contained unit on the guitar. This set the blueprint for the Sus- tainiac GA-1 model designed to fit into the Hamer Chaparral guitar in 1988. It WHEN JIMI HENDRIX rocked “The was followed soon afterward by the GA- Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock, 2, whose more conventional shape al- his secret sauce was a mix of heavy dis- lowed it to be retrofit on a variety of tortion and hellacious levels of feedback instruments. The GA-2 would be taken sustain. Listening to Hendrix and other up by guitar makers including Fernandes greats including Jeff Beck and Pete and ASI, as well as Hamer. Townshend, a musician named Alan Today, the Maniac Music lineup in- Hoover became fascinated with sustain cludes both electroacoustic and electro- as a playing technique as early as the magnetic versions. While mid-1960s. Then lead guitarist in an In- electromagnetic models demand a more diana band called The Villains, he started Sustainiac systems turbocharge guitar complex installation, they remain the thinking about ways to harness sustain sustain through a compact, guitar- prevalent style, Hoover says. “Many gui- without cranking the amplifier up to mounted device without excessive tar players prefer electroacoustic-type deafening volumes—though at the time, noise levels. sustainers because they produce feedback he lacked the technical knowledge to do sustain that is more like natural amplifier it. Later, though, that would change. to a weapon that attacks the senses with feedback, where the sustained string vi- After earning an electrical engineering the power to affect us profoundly. As brations can variously be fundamentals or degree from the University of Evans- armchair spectators, we’re left thinking, harmonics, in a less-predictable way than ville, Hoover went on to a career in elec- ‘If only I could do that….’” for electromagnetic-type sustainers,” he tronics design, developing systems for In that first Sustainiac model unveiled elaborates. “But the market for electro- the U.S. Navy at the Naval Avionics in 1987, Hoover and Osborne used an magnetic sustainers is and continues to be Center as well as audio circuits for RCA. “electroacoustic” design that mounts to the main product for electric guitar play- While at RCA, he met fellow guitarist the guitar’s headstock, producing feed- ers.” and electrical engineer Gary Osborne— back sustain by sending intense acoustic All told, Maniac Music now holds five and that’s when his decades-long interest vibrations into the strings through the USA patents on sustainers. Key innova- in sustain came full circle. In 1986, neck in response to the pickup signal. tions over the years include the debut of Hoover and Osborne built the first “Sus- This basic concept, launched simply as Sustainiac “Stealth”-style sustainers in tainiac” product for electric guitar, a the “Sustainiac,” paved the way for up- 2001, which transformed the electromag- compact, low-powered guitar-mounted dates including the early “Model B” sus- netic side by separating the controls from device that drives enhanced vibrations tainer, the “Model C” introduced in the circuit board and accommodating the through the strings for a turbocharged 2003, and the new Sustain-Man unveiled use of push-pull controls giving the tone without the vagaries (and noise lev- in 2016. Back in 1987, though, the de- player complete control over the system. els) of coaxing feedback sustain from the velopers were already refining an alter- With their very small circuit profile, amp. Since showing that first product at native sustainer model. Six months after Stealth models can be installed in most the 1987 NAMM Show, Hoover’s Ma- debuting their first product, they learned guitars with no routing and minimal niac Music company has rolled out a se- other manufacturers had developed changes to the guitar body. As Hoover ries of updates and variations that are “electromagnetic” sustain systems that sums up: “This was an important step used by numerous pro artists and built “work like a pickup in reverse,” Hoover forward.” In its latest edition, the Stealth into select models from Schecter, Ibanez, explains. In this type of sustainer, elec- PRO, the series incorporates a new trans- and U.K.-based Manson Guitarworks, trical vibrations from the guitar’s pickup ducer yielding very low magnetic field among others. are amplified and applied to a transducer, intensity at the bridge pickup, which al- “Feedback sustain has been used by no- which in turn magnetically vibrates the lows for very high sustainer gain and tables like Peter Townshend, Jimi Hen- strings. Hoover got his first look at elec- consistent performance across a wide va- drix, and Carlos Santana for decades,” tromagnetic sustainers when a tech for riety of guitars and pickups. says Hoover. “I’ve always thought these U2 invited him and Osborne to inspect a In another notable upgrade, last year’s and other guitar heroes in this genre were U.K.-built unit that had been installed on Sustain-Man model delivered a robust, the first rock guitarists to transform the guitarist The Edge’s instrument. After battery-powered electroacoustic sus- electric guitar from a musical instrument studying this early model, which relied tainer that mounts to the guitar body GLOBAL COMPANY PROFILES without requiring an A/C line-powered joined in the business over the years by floorbox: Powered by a single 9-volt bat- his wife Diane, his son Jay, and “many tery, it offers wireless connection to the friends,” he says, adding: “We have guitar amp. And as for coming attrac- worked long hours, days, and months to- tions: “There will be at least one new gether to make this idea a successful product within the coming year,” says product. Now that it is becoming some- Hoover. “I think this will be our coolest thing of a success, I cannot tell this story product yet.” without acknowledging their unfailing Since debuting as what Hoover calls a love and support. This keeps me excited “mini-hit” at its first NAMM Show, Ma- and energetic.” niac Music has built a following that’s www.sustainiac.com grown steadily into new applications and markets. At last count, its products are now sold to manufacturers and end-users across North America and most of Eu- rope, plus major markets in Asia and parts of South America. Hoover, now the company’s majority owner, has been Maniac Music founder Alan Hoover.