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1959 ES 345 porn

Mars Hall

Active member
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
1,829
So what's the consensus on flipping one of the magnets for correcting the out of phase sound. Those with paf's, I assume, might be wary about opening one of the pups. I personaly find the volume drop in the middle position annoying, which I now rectify by playing through Fender amps that have out of phase channels.
 
L

loufed52

Guest
Removing and unsoldering pots may be more intrusive than just pulling the entire harness still in tact and replacing with a repro 335 style. This way only the two solder joints at the selector switch are released. You would have remove the harness, unsolder and break apart the "cans" that enclose the pots on a 345, then unsolder the harness connections to the pots. It sounds like a pain but removing the entire harness is quicker for a good tech and easily replaced with the harness "unbroken" for originality for those who give a rats-ass.

I should have been clearer about why I said this.

It was directed at those that wanted to continue to use the Varitone.

My suggestion was so that those people could use the Varitone and still bypass it for normal use.

Obviously there is no way to do this without compromising the originality of the harness..

I wouldn't touch the cans- I'd leave that side of the harness alone, keep it for future sale, and just use new parts/wiring with the Varitone parts.

It could then be brought back to original specs without too much trouble.

I doubt that many 345/355s with a Varitonectomy will ever be put back to original specs- most people will just keep the old harness in the case.
 
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CoolGuitarz

New member
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Messages
528
Removing and unsoldering pots may be more intrusive than just pulling the entire harness still in tact and replacing with a repro 335 style.


but how then can you ever do a true a/b comparison of "varitone still connected" tone vs. "varitone disconnected" tone, if the pot's and cap's used after the varitone is disconnected, are different from the ones that originally came w/ the guitar?? :hmm

vintage pot's and cap's sound different from repro pot's and cap's, no??
 

ES335TD

Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2002
Messages
374
So what's the consensus on flipping one of the magnets for correcting the out of phase sound. Those with paf's, I assume, might be wary about opening one of the pups. I personaly find the volume drop in the middle position annoying, which I now rectify by playing through Fender amps that have out of phase channels.

I flipped mine - it was a tough choice since my pickup covers were never off. I took pictures of the process with time stamped photos for a purist. After trying the PG tone for awhile, I realized I needed the two pickup sound for rhythm when playing live.

And yes, I did the varitonectomy, and love my 335/345!

'60%20Gibson%20ES-345.jpg
 

RAB

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
2,122
When I had my '59 345 (factory stereo and varitone) I flipped the magnet in the neck PAF (actually had Gary Brawer do the work since I was scared to death to work on the pristine git-tar! The neck pup turned out to be a double white!) and it sounded wonderful in the middle position. I also employed a stereo to mono guitar cable...RAB
 

11Bravo

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2002
Messages
346
Hi guys,
I just about have decided to pull the varitone and install a 335 style setup but I'm still not sure about one thing, do I need to flip the magnets in the pickups as well or does installing the 335 harness put everything back in phase? Thanks!
 
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poor man's burst

Active member
Joined
Oct 3, 2010
Messages
421
Has anyone experimented with a true bypass for the varitone circuit, for those who enjoy the tones it provides?[/quote]

It is possible to really bypass the varitone (in 1st position) and still have it functional in the other positions once you convert the whole circuit in mono. Then you can wire the varitone in mono (using one half of the varitone) and use the other half of the rotary switch (which is now free) to truly bypass the varitone in the 1st position. That implies a complete rewiring of the whole harness and I personnally prefer to keep the original harness aside and build a new one fot that purpose.
I've done it several time and it works.
 
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