ES-345?

[Nick Beach]

Does anyone have an ES-345, they seem to be the lesser favorite to both the 335 and 355, but does anyone know why? If you've got one let me know what you think of it, I'm really interested in one, also show some pics!

[Robin Nahum]

Yes. I've had two.

 

This was the first - a 67 with the skinny neck to which I could not adjust - but it had great tone - just like an L5.

 

 

I replaced it with this 2002 which is now my go-to guitar - at least for jazz. After tweaking, it too now has great tone but with a C neck.

 

 

My hunch as to why 345s come second to 335s is the perceived complexity of the varitone and stereo output. Many players ask, "Who needs it?". You can see in the first pic that I needed to run a stereo cable to a breakout box and then mono leads to two amps. The later models have clever outputs that work with mono leads. Lots more on this here at the forum if you do a search on 345.

 

I seldom use the Varitone or stereo facilities but I like their quirkiness.

 

RN

[EDD BUDZYNSKI]

Ive got a 1978 345, Sunburst, doesnt have that chucky neck that is associated with that period. Nice gutiar, has changed tuners but has an original Bigsby. Best sounding guitar i own, played into a Reissue princeton. Dont use the varitone that much but as the chap said before the quirky vibe is cool. I have mine wired in stereo and then couple the singals together. Would love to try it with 2 amps though!

[georg]

Well, maybe it wasn't love at first sight with the stereo wiring and varitone of my 345.

However, sounds great into Princeton Amp, as Edd says.

 

[eljay]

leon russell's lead guitarist, chris simmons, played his '68 345 for the show i saw in denver in october.

 

the split parallelogram inlays are the sex!

[L5Larry]

I had a 1975 335 that I loved and played for 25 years until it wore out. I replaced it with a 2000 built "Historic Series" 345 (mono). The first gig I played with the 345 was enough to convince me to sell the 335.

 

I DO use the Varitone. Position 1, or course (bypass), and I use positon 3 very often. I also use position 2 every once in a while. Positions 4, 5 and 6 are useless. I also prefer the "bling" of the 345 over the 335 (gold hardware, slip-parallelograms, etc), and I prefer the stop-tail of the 345 over the trapeze of the '75 335.

 

This is a Nashville Custom Shop guitar, not a Memphis. It is historically accurate to a 1959 model, and VERY different from what Gibson sells today from the Memphis plant as a 345.

 

[Hall]

I have four 335s going back to 1963. BUT, I didn't see a 345 on this post I don't like. Some very nice looking instruments there men. I'd be proud to own one.

[Robin Nahum]

Forgot to mention that the Varitone makes it a cinch to dial up those scooped tones that you hear BB King playing on, say, Live at the Regal.

 

RN

[Hall]

So the collective opinion is the Varitone got a bad rap through the years?

[Robin Nahum]

So the collective opinion is the Varitone got a bad rap through the years?

 

Not a bad rap so much as many people figured they could live without that feature.

 

I think the original idea was that the 345 would create single-coil-ish tones while retaining the humbucking function.

 

RN

[L5Larry]

As I've said, I DO use position 3 of the Varitone VERY often.

 

In my opinion, the downfall of the original 345 was the STEREO feature. It took a special cord, and in most cases two amps (plugging in to two channels of the same amp many times had a "phase canceling" affect, or something, the same reason you can't just jump the hot leads together to make one mono.

 

The original 345 and 355 in 1959 were mono, whomever came up with the idea to make them stereo should have been fired (or worse, tar and feathered comes to mind). Although "mono" continued to be a "special order", the production models were all stereo.

 

If the 345 had remained a traditional mono guitar, I believe they would have sold a ton more of them. Who wouldn't have wanted a gold plated, fancy inlayed, tone variable 335 for a few bucks more?

[Robin Nahum]

The mono output option on my 2002 certainly gets a lot of use - as does the neck pickup. On the single stereo output models, I believe Gibson made the right choice in having the neck pickup output go to the amp if the guitar is used with a mono lead.

 

At times, I have used the #2 position of the Varitone to reduce the output level without unduly changing the tone, but I now realise that the trick to getting a clean sound from buckers at least with Fender BFs and SFs is to use Input 2 (lo-gain).

 

Sometimes it is fun to run the two outputs just to explore new sounds but as one of my teachers once said, "Effects are a whole other trip" implying that if practice time is scarce, it is better spent focussing on playing. Given a choice between having a neat chorus/distorted/whatever tone or getting a solo right, I have to agree with him.

 

RN

[kaicho8888]

 

After 43 years, I finally rotated the magnet in one of the pickups. I now get equal volume using any combination pickup when the two stereo leads are soldered together in the jack to make a mono cable. Now, I love playing into one amp.

 

The varitone comes in handy once in awhile for quick switching; but as someone already mentioned 4,5,and 6 positions are too thin sounding.

 

In the sixties, I had help hauling two amps to gigs; one on each end of the stage. It's provides another gimick during long pychedelic jams...although, I don't think anybody even noticed...ha ha ha.

 

jesse

[Markwell]

I've wanted one with a Bigsby ever since seeing Back To The Future

For years I assumed it was just a 335 with a bigsby, but the last time I watched the series I noticed the inlays and varitone switch.

[Cemil]

Here's a picture of mine - dates from 1973, It's a fantastic guitar which plays really really well. Lovely tone too. Mine needs a bit of work now (intonation, refretting), but otherwise delightful.

 

I agree with the other posters that the biggest pain is the stereo "feature". The split lead is a pain to get and so are the two amps. Plugging in a usual 14" jack will connect the neck pickup only.

[georg]

Sometimes, instead of deal with two distinct amps, I manage with stereo wiring plugging the guitar (using a stereo "Y" cable) into the two channels of my Fender amp.

[ES345]

One feature I like is running one of the pickups through a line 6 delay and keeping the other one dry or even chorus on occasion, adds a nice delay or just thickens the tone, I've kind of had surround sound since '62. I think the biggest draw back is without a specifically designed stereo amp, although some fenders sound good using the separate channels, using two amps gives a sound that i haven't heard duplicated. with this setup i find myself using the middle position on the pickup selector more than the neck, even for jazz, limitless possibilities. put a boost pedal on the bridge pickup and dial in 4,5 or 6, use the middle position on the pickups and you have tonal pallate that is really funky, imho, it was a good idea in the day, still delivers today as designed. i love the multitude of dynamics and tones you can incorporate in any song or set. I bought this myself in '62, pretty much turned on by how easy it was to play, the tone the gadgets, hey i was only 16 yrs old etc. so i am biased but if you experiment with some of the things i've mentioned above you may have 40 or 50 years of tonal bliss too.

[aymeric22]

Forgot to mention that the Varitone makes it a cinch to dial up those scooped tones that you hear BB King playing on, say, Live at the Regal.

 

RN

 

I read somewhere that the special sound of the middle position switch (Neck+bridge) (BB King, Freddie King, Otis Rush, Chuck Berry, Johnny Jones, etc...) was more caused by the stereo system of 345/355 which makes an out of phase sound with a mono output. More than the little effect of the varitone on position 1 (by pass). Someone can confirm that ?

 

By the way it would mean that putting the neck pickup on the other side on a 335 (like a Peter Green mod on a LP) would manage to get that sound ?

[kaicho8888]

As mine came from the factory and if you just jumper the two hot leads to one mono plug, the ES345 sounded out-of-phase ala Peter Green... only the volume goes down a little.

 

I rotated the magnet on the neck pickup and made the two pickups in phase and used a stereo plug with the two hot leads soldered together into a mono cable/plug. Now it sounds more Les Paulie. Using the varitone at positions 3-6, it sounds thin and similar to out-of-phase.

 

Robin is right about the sixties neck...It's a tad skinny on the lower frets and my oldie left hand feels cramped when playing chords.

 

But I enjoyed this guitar and had fun with it in the old days with one amp on each side of the stage.

 

[sok66]

Elvin "Pigboy Crabshaw" Bishop's main squeeze. Not as popular as it's less or more expensive cousins, but just as cool. In the day the price difference between a 345 & 355 caused those who wanted the stereo & varitone options to just jump to the 355. Back in the day I ordered and sold a couple without the stereo / varitone tp see if the fancier inlays & gold parts might spark some interest. Wasn't much of a seller. The varitone contraption adds a lot of weight which some folks just don't like. All in all, still a great 3-series guitar. Still wish I had kept a '68 with Bigsby I bought from Mandolin Bros about 20 years ago.

[billyboysmith]

The 345 is a truly fabulous instrument, I had a '60 sunburst model back in the seventies which sounded and played excellent,(I threw away the Bigsby and converted to stop tail using the existing holes) !!, In the early nineties I owned a '74 sunburst model which was in mint condition, BUT, I personally didn't like the 'pointy' horns, large 'f' holes and the fact that the centre block didn't run all the way thru. I now have a '98 Historic 345 in natural finish which is factory mono WITH the varitone. (reads CUSTOM on the truss cover NOT stereo). Don't be put off by the Varitone, It's very useful and the tones are fabulous. (I have used most settings depending on the style of music being played). Hope this helps you decide, Good luck.

[spitball]

The varitone comes in handy once in awhile for quick switching; but as someone already mentioned 4,5,and 6 positions are too thin sounding.

 

It really depends on what you're plugged into, and (more importantly) what you want to hear at any given time. Last night, I heard the same tone as from the extended jam part of 'Midnight Rambler' when using the neck pickup and VT position 4. I wasn't trying to find that tone, I just stumbled upon it and thought, "Hey - its Midnight Rambler!", as we all know happens with tunes we like sometimes. None of the other VT positions nailed it so well with the amp I was using. I just have a Fender Champ reissue with the small speaker and I was going through a PODxt amp modeler on one of the Fender emulations (forget which...I don't know my amp models by name).

 

VT position 6 is extremey thin, no question about it. It brings me back to the 70s, listening to an AM station on a hand held transistor radio. Now, that is admittedly more of a novelty, but someone with a musical sense greater than mine might find lots of applications for it. I mean, it does evoke a strong sense of "vintage" in a unique way.

 

Of course, your 345 and mine may sound a bit different - probably having different pickups for starters, but either way, I wouldn't totally avoid those higher VT settings.

[gnappi]

Does anyone have an ES-345, they seem to be the lesser favorite to both the 335 and 355, but does anyone know why? If you've got one let me know what you think of it, I'm really interested in one, also show some pics!

 

Some claim that even in bypass the varitone has an effect on the tone, they don't CARE that what comes through is excellent, others vcomplain about the volume drop when going off 1 but a cheap volume pedal set right fixes that. The 345 is a great guitar, it's been around a long time, and will be around when other guitars are long gone. Mine is a 2002 sitting next to my 137 custom also with varitone

 

[spitball]

Some claim that even in bypass the varitone has an effect on the tone, they don't CARE that what comes through is excellent

 

Exactly. I remember someone on the Les Paul Forum posted audio clips of a 1960s ES-345, before and after removal of the Varitone, and I have to admit, that particular guitar sounded a lot better without it. The perception that the Varitone is an "evil tone sucker" certainly got a boost from that demo. That said, I have had the pleasure of playing two ES-345 guitars with Varitone (1968, converted to stop tail, and 2011), and in both cases, the tone was beautiful...I wouldn't change a thing about either one of them. In fact, the 2011 ES-345 I have now sounds so "full" in VT position 1 (even more robust than the '68 did, if I recall correctly) that I have a hard time imagining that anything is being "sucked out of" the tone. The way I see it, with this 345, I have everything an ES-335 offers, PLUS the very cool variations produced by the Varitone.

[spitball]

Hanging out with my 345 on a Sunday evenin'...just a tad blurry.