1959 es 345

roysessions · Apr 1, 2024

Felt like sharing a photo of this beauty. Harness still attached and I play through a Y cable. I was advised to keep it stereo and not screw anything up. Feel lucky to get to play it!

Cheers everyone

jb_abides · Apr 1, 2024

Beautiful ... love the grain pattern on that top, and nice color overall! Enjoy!

brandtkronholm · Apr 1, 2024

roysessions said:
Felt like sharing a photo of this beauty. Harness still attached and I play through a Y cable. I was advised to keep it stereo and not screw anything up. Feel lucky to get to play it!

Cheers everyone

Very nice!
Here's mine. It's an early 1959 with the black Varitone ring. All original except the Schallers. I typically play it through an old Mesa Boogie or an older blackface Super Reverb. (Behind it is a 1995 R9.)

Steve Craw · Apr 2, 2024

Beautiful !! Good move leaving the stereo wiring intact. I mono'd a buddy's ES-345, but when I got mine and figured out how cool stereo is and what you can do with it, not to mention how easy it is to work around it. There is no need to alter these guitars. Btw, here's my often seen lefty from 1964.

roysessions · Apr 9, 2024

brandtkronholm said:
Very nice!
Here's mine. It's an early 1959 with the black Varitone ring. All original except the Schallers. I typically play it through an old Mesa Boogie or an older blackface Super Reverb. (Behind it is a 1995 R9.)

View attachment 25440

gorgeous!!!

roysessions · Apr 9, 2024

Steve Craw said:
Beautiful !! Good move leaving the stereo wiring intact. I mono'd a buddy's ES-345, but when I got mine and figured out how cool stereo is and what you can do with it, not to mention how easy it is to work around it. There is no need to alter these guitars. Btw, here's my often seen lefty from 1964.
View attachment 25454

i actually havent tried stereo yet- probably should! lol.

57gold · Apr 10, 2024

My beloved 1959, bought from the long time thinline master Gil Southworth, very strong double white PAFs.

Never liked the stereo/varitone extra honk (slight cocked wah tonality versus a mono hook up), so had Hogy lift out the circuit. Probably weighs almost a pound lighter and has a louder acoustic quality given space created by removal of the electronics. Sold my 1959 ES 335 and 355 because would never play them versus this instrument.

Sits in middle between former 1959 mates:

brandtkronholm · Apr 10, 2024

57gold said:
My beloved 1959, bought from the long time thinline master Gil Southworth, very strong double white PAFs.

Never liked the stereo/varitone extra honk (slight cocked wah tonality versus a mono hook up), so had Hogy lift out the circuit. Probably weighs almost a pound lighter and has a louder acoustic quality given space created by removal of the electronics. Sold my 1959 ES 335 and 355 because would never play them versus this instrument.

Sits in middle between former 1959 mates:

It is interesting to know that your 345 has double whites. My 345 has double blacks. While they're hot PAFs, measuring in the low 8Ωs, I wouldn't call mine a 'Burst killer.
- Although I had a guitar friend over a few months ago who did proclaim that my 345 was a 'Burst killer ... maybe my standards are out of whack...!
I tend to live in the middle position, fiddling with the volume knobs dialing the out-of-phase sound in and out as the ensemble (jazz/bop) I play with requires. I use the Varitone, #2 and #3 often.

57gold · Apr 10, 2024

BK - Do you play with two amps?

Closest I come to jazz is when someone calls a jam band # like "The Chicken" or "Chameleon" or "Just the Two of Us" or "On Broadway" or "Masquerade"...though one guy, just once called "Killer Joe"!

The "Burst killer" BS is BS for folks who can't hear the difference between a thinline and a sold body...which probably means they get all their tone from pedals, or buzzmeister amps, not great guitars into classic tube amps.

brandtkronholm · Apr 11, 2024

57gold said:
BK - Do you play with two amps?

Closest I come to jazz is when someone calls a jam band # like "The Chicken" or "Chameleon" or "Just the Two of Us" or "On Broadway" or "Masquerade"...though one guy, just once called "Killer Joe"!

The "Burst killer" BS is BS for folks who can't hear the difference between a thinline and a sold body...which probably means they get all their tone from pedals, or buzzmeister amps, not great guitars into classic tube amps.

Yes, the "'Burst Killer" thing doesn't compute with me. Don't get me wrong, my 345 is darn zippy, but to be sure, a close listen should distinguish it from a Les Paul.
"The Chicken" is a close to rock as we do! - And I'm using an older (mid '90s) Fender Pro. Jr. with the jazzers. I plug straight in, turn the volume up to 6 or so, crank the tone, and use the controls on the guitar and my hands to do everything else.

Two amps - yes! Many years a go, when I was actually playing for a living, I toured with two amps. I used an AB box and an Ernie Ball stereo volume pedal to roll between a Twin Reverb and a Boogie. It was LOUD and awesome. The Twin is gone, but I do occasionally get to break out the ol' Boogie if the jazzers are playing a bigger outdoor gig. But even then I use an attenuator!

Here's a picture - for no reason at all - other than "It's all about those double parallelograms!" (But perhaps a NGD thread is due...overdue...)

Steve Craw · Apr 12, 2024

I agree, the "Burst Killer" doesn't work for me either. My 345 has an acoustic property that gives it a clarity that's beautiful and chimey, but crank the bridge pickup to ten, and play "All Right Now", then do the same on a Les Paul, and you hear what makes a burst so coveted.

Steve Craw · Apr 12, 2024

One thing I forgot to mention, my guitar is still stock, except someone flipped the magnet in the neck pickup, so the "Greeny thing" isn't part of my guitar. Anyone know why Gibson put pickups magnets out of phase originally?

57gold · Apr 12, 2024

Doing some Mahavishnu with the double neck?

Only jazzer to use one was John...and perhaps you.

brandtkronholm · Apr 12, 2024

Steve Craw said:
One thing I forgot to mention, my guitar is still stock, except someone flipped the magnet in the neck pickup, so the "Greeny thing" isn't part of my guitar. Anyone know why Gibson put pickups magnets out of faze originally?

The stereo guitars were intended to be used with stereo amps which had two separate, hence, out of phase, channels. Like a Gibson Stereo amp or nearly any old Fender. One pickup went to one channel, the other to a different channel. Because the amp channels were out of phase, the out of phase pickups put it all back in phase. (Think: -1 x -1 = 1, more or less.)
I think this is the basic idea, I'm sure there are subtleties I'm overlooking.

brandtkronholm · Apr 12, 2024

57gold said:
Doing some Mahavishnu with the double neck?

Only jazzer to use one was John...and perhaps you.

No McLaughlin for me at the moment! But "Meeting of the Spirits" has been discussed.
I've done a bit of Billy Cobham in the past: "Stratus" and "Red Baron" are always fun!!

Steve Craw · Apr 12, 2024

brandtkronholm said:
The stereo guitars were intended to be used with stereo amps which had two separate, hence, out of phase, channels. Like a Gibson Stereo amp or nearly any old Fender. One pickup went to one channel, the other to a different channel. Because the amp channels were out of phase, the out of phase pickups put it all back in phase. (Think: -1 x -1 = 1, more or less.)
I think this is the basic idea, I'm sure there are subtleties I'm overlooking.

Thanks

57gold · Apr 13, 2024

Did "Stratus" in the 1970s. We messed with "You Know You Know", our great drummer was blown away by Cobham.

gmann · Apr 13, 2024

brandtkronholm said:
It is interesting to know that your 345 has double whites. My 345 has double blacks. While they're hot PAFs, measuring in the low 8Ωs, I wouldn't call mine a 'Burst killer.
- Although I had a guitar friend over a few months ago who did proclaim that my 345 was a 'Burst killer ... maybe my standards are out of whack...!
I tend to live in the middle position, fiddling with the volume knobs dialing the out-of-phase sound in and out as the ensemble (jazz/bop) I play with requires. I use the Varitone, #2 and #3 often.

Just Beautiful!

garywright · Apr 13, 2024

fresh 345 vid.

jb_abides · Apr 13, 2024

Love how EJ was very focused on tone and never really noticed the highly visible Bigsby holes. Glad they let him be rather than 'play this while we interview you'. Norm threw out a $25k price point. I hope there will be a follow-up if he buys one (or something else TBD).

1959 es 345

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