Also a shredding/sweeping question

My guitar has crap sustain (I'm saving for a PRS Soapbar or maybe a Line6 Variax), so whenever I try and shred I can get the speed but it sounds crap because the notes just sound really staccato and muted (if that makes any sense to anyone). Any advice other than to get a new guitar (see above...)?

Have you tried using reverbs and delays ?
These effects are usualy used for soloing tones to make the notes flow easier ... May be the tone is what you're missing.