another newbie ! / Sustainerdiscussion

[Leander REININGHAUS <LEALOOP@compuserve.com>]

Hi, everybody

firstly, I'd like to say hello to all you guys at LD !
I'm a fan for quite a long time but its' just two weeks ago that I managed
to jump on the net
and yesterday I subscribed

I'm a guitar pro from Germany, I've been working with loops since 1981 when
I first heard
" LET THE POWER FALL " and got my first looping delay which was a Ibanez
DM1100 with 3.6 secs
Now, I'm working with Oberheim Echoplex and Paradis Loop Delay and I'm just
about to finish a
solo CD with quiet ambient loopstuff called " STARSCAPES 1 - The Bright
Zones ".
I'm a close friend to Michael Peters and Markus Reuter with whom I had a
little band called  " Trio GitarriStick ".
I met both of them 1991 on my first Guitar Craft Seminar wth Robert Fripp
in Switzerland. Since then I'm a
Crafty and play the New Standard Tuning nearly exclusively. I'm a fan of
David Torn and Steve Tibbetts - and I'd say I  know a little about guitars,
too.

As Sustainers seem to be the toppic of the day, I'd like to post a little
bit on that:

I've been using them since 1989 when I first met Alan Hoover at the "
Frankfurt Musik Messe " ( a trade show,
almost like NAMM ). I played with a  harpist that time ( yes, the big thing
with strings ) and I  was 
looking for something that should give me long sustained notes at low
volume. So I bought one, learned how 
to install it and from that time it went in all that were my favourite
guitars. After a short period of exploring and getting used to it, it
became an important part of my expression and I still don't want to miss
it. 
Then, my first unit broke and I had to change to Fernandes Sustainers
because Sustainiac had disappeared
from the market place. Normally, I like to support small companies rather
than big ones, so I felt happy viewing Alan Hoover reentering the market
some two years ago. I really admire him as an inventor and craftsman and
that he managed to keep his head up fighting for his ideas, but I must say,
without wanting to offend him in any way, dealing with him often takes a
looong time... 
15 months ago I began working on a custom electric guitar series called  "
PAINTERS Series " I constructed together with Eduard Tueske, a fine luthier
and builder of PHANTOM Guitars and Basses here in Cologne, Germany.
I really put all the ideas and experience of 23 years of guitarplaying in
this guitar and it should have been out on the market last year.
And of course, because it should be the ultimate guitar with ultimate
playing comfort and sound flexibility
it should have ( besides high-quality pickups and a piezo-trem with midi
access ) a sustainer on it ! 
Eduard also planned to make basses with sustainers but this is still the
missing link. I've been exchanging emails with AH now for more than a year,
saw the rise and fall of the GA-5 system but there's still no sustainer I
can put my hands on. Maybe it's easier for you guys in the States ( if so,
please, let me know ! ).
But again, I want to state my respect for Mr. Hoover and I'd like to send
him my best wishes hoping the delay problem will be solved. 
Maybe, some more orders from us can do the trick !
 
Okay, I think this may be enough for the first post... and there are some
tasty spaghetti waiting in the kitchen !

Greetings to all

Leander

PS.: If somebody is interested in specs of the PAINTERS Series Guitars or
PHANTOM Guitars and Basses,             please, let me know or write to
PHANTOM.GUITARS@okay.net