TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE STEALTH PRO FUNCTION EXPLANATION PAGE
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BASIC FUNCTION
WIRE FUNCTION DESCRIPTION AND DIAGRAM
Troubleshooting info
Magnetic tab adjustment for Strats

BASIC FUNCTION
You can refer to our OPERATION DIAGRAM for more details (20KB PDF file). Also, at the bottom of this page, we have files on troubleshooting, and other useful hints and tips.

First, here is what happens when the sustainer is OFF: The pickup selector will function normally when the sustainer is OFF. The Sustainiac driver functions as an active neck pickup. There is a gain trimpot on the Stealth PRO circuit board. With this, you can adjust the neck pickup volume to match your other pickups.

When you turn the sustainer ON, the pickup selector will no longer function. Your bridge pickup will be selected all the time until you turn the sustainer back OFF.

The Sustainiac Stealth PRO sustainer takes your bridge pickup signal, amplifies it, and processes it. Your raw bridge pickup signal still proceeds on to your guitar amp without any change. (The signal that is sent to the Sustainiac never goes to your amplifier.) The Sustainiac-processed and amplified signal than goes to the Sustainiac driver. The Stealth PRO driver replaces your neck pickup (in most cases). The driver responds to the amplified, processed bridge pickup signal by producing magnetic pulses that are in sync with the string vibrations. These magnetic pulses cause the strings to vibrate indefinitely, until you stop them by left/right hand muting. In some cases you can reverse the driver/bridge pickup positions, putting the driver into the bridge pickup slot, and receive its input signal from the neck pickup. But, contact us first on this one for special instructions.

The driver works best in the neck pickup slot. The bridge pickup signal is the best input signal for the sustainer. There are good reasons for this:

• There must be plenty of distance between pickup and driver. The driver radiates a pulsating magnetic field in response to the bridge pickup signal. The bridge pickup responds to this pulsating magnetic field by producing a pulsating output signal. This is similar to the problem you get when you put a microphone too close to the speaker in a PA system. The speaker pulsates in response to the microphone signal. The microphone responds to the pulsating speaker signal (sound). Uncontrolled oscillation (squealing) occurs until you reduce the system gain setting. If you turn it down too much, it no longer functions well.
• The input signal should be rich in upper harmonics. The bridge pickup signal is best for this.

One of the new features of the Stealth PRO is that you can have either SINGLE-COIL or HUMBUCKER sound from the neck pickup (sustainer = OFF). The driver, when functioning as a neck pickup, is hum-cancelling. The pickup sound is equalized on the Stealth PRO circuit board to have either a sound that is similar to a Strat neck pickup (but hum-cancelling), or a '59 type humbucker sound. There are two wires that, when left open (or simply cut short) create a bright, Strat-like single-coil sound. When you connect the VIOLET wire (10-pin connector) to ground, the sound darkens. When you connect the WHITE wire (10-pin connector) to ground, you get a 6dB boost in pickup volume. So, if you use a toggle or push-pull switch to simultaneously connect both VIOLET and WHITE to ground, you instantly go from a SINGLE-COIL sound to a HUMBUCKER sound.

DESCRIPTION OF SUSTAINIAC STEALTH PRO WIRE FUNCTIONS:

You can refer to our WIRE FUNCTION DIAGRAM for a description of all the Stealth PRO wire functions. (20KB PDF file). This description can be a big help when troubleshooting an installation.

TROUBLESHOOTING THE STEALTH PRO

PDF file containing detailed troubleshooting instructions for Stealth PRO

MAGNETIC TAB ADJUSTMENT

We don't include the magnetic tab, except for Stratocasters and similar guitars where there is a SLANTED SINGLE-COIL BRIDGE PICKUP. Click here for a PDF file showing how to mount and adjust the Magnetic Tab. Magnetic Tab Adjustment