Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

spitball

Members
  • Posts

    221
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by spitball

  1. 1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

    Nope I read that on Gibson website when they were selling the one I had, and not the ones that are 7k that they are making now. It stated Poition 1 was bypassed. Mine was a 2009.

    Ah, OK, I asked because that seems to be an age-old (as the internet anyway) question; namely, "Does the Varitone truly bypass in position 1? "

    By the sound of my modern Memphis VT guitar, I'm believing "yes".  Based on two older ('68 and '71) VT guitars I had, I'd say "not sure".

  2. 21 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

    The BB was stereo and mono (I used it in stereo a few times), no F holes to control feedback (nope I could make it do that), and there were 490's in it. On my BB position 1 was the V-tone was not in the circuit (that came factory wired like that), positions 2 - 6 was the V-tone making the guitar more nasally. 

    Sounds like you looked at the wiring and confirmed that the VT was out of the circuit in position 1.  I believe the "reissue" ES-345 that was being made in Memphis 2002-2012 had the same wiring with 57 Classics.  Mine is from 2011.  I prefer the jacks being on the rim, despite the non-traditional look, and VT position 1 absolutely sounds bypassed.  The case has "BB King" stenciled on the neck, so take it this guitar's approach was a preference of BB's...sort of a semi-Lucille 345.

  3. Bumping this thread with my 2011 ES-345.   I've gone through a number of Gibbys over the years, but, ten years ago, the buck stopped with this one...I found my "one".

    image.thumb.jpeg.eeb81aa66e688340a215c2e23063f353.jpeg

    • Like 1
  4. On 7/22/2022 at 7:21 PM, SteveFord said:

    How do you like the current 345?  I was looking at them but without the Tone Suck Device I took a pass.

    Kind of sad to see the "ES-345" come standard without Varitone.  I wonder if Gibson modified the Varitone sometime after the 1970s and fixed the issue wherein Position 1 was not true bypass.  My 1968 ES-345 and 1971 ES-355 never sounded right to me compared to a 335, but my 2011 ES-345 (Memphis) does sound right - position 1 truly takes the VT out.  Having two output jacks on the rim, making mono and stereo options both available, is another plus.  IMO, that Memphis line of ES-345  made from 2002 to 2012 was the way to go...

    • Like 1
  5. This 2004 R7 was mine once upon a time. I love the spiffy blacktop, but man, the neck on this thing was twice as thick as it should be, IMO. Despite the huge neck, it weighed well under 9 pounds. It was almost worth the price just for the privilege of staring at it.

     

    th_ebonyR7.jpg

  6. qblue, I'd love to play that "brick" ES-347...they are classy lookers for sure, and I think of them as something akin to LP Custom, so I expect them to have some mass.

     

    My 1967 ES-335 is the lightest Gibson I've ever owned - around 7 1/2 pounds. It doesn't have quite the same sustain as most LPs do ('specially with that trapeze tail), but it sings as sweetly as I could ever want, and it can still growl mean enough for my needs. Best-sounding of the 10+ Gibbys I've ever had.

  7. I had a ES-347 as of 3 days ago' date=' my home was broken into and they took the guitar. It was a guitar that my buddy had before he died at an early age. I purchased it from his wife so I could have one of his instruments. Very sentimental. My ES-347 was exactly like the one posted, blond. But mine had a switch on the lower horn. Glad I have renter insurance and I am hoping to find one just like mine. It is hard to adjust to the loss of a guitar, ES-347's are beautiful guitars.[/quote']

     

    Horrible. :(

×
×
  • Create New...