Rabs Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 Theres also two others I have been milling over... A silver burst studio with mini humbuckers for £999 And a DC standard for £1695 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 That silverburst looks very tasty - I'd like to try one of those! Still in love with my ES 139. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 No pickguard for that 336? I tried one of those Double Cutaways many years ago, I bought a LP Studio instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 (edited) I like Lucy better in Ebony.. Edited February 5, 2022 by mihcmac 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 2 hours ago, mihcmac said: I like Lucy better in Ebony.. "Ditto!" Reminds me of my aunt, Lucy and she dyes her hair black. She's got to be in her late 80's. I could have bought one way back. Blessings of my wife as a gift. That dial with the gold ring behind it? "Forgot what it's called?" Anyway, it was loose and didn't work so I put it back and bought my Gretsch. It was a Gibson also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 13 hours ago, Rabs said: To be honest I am pretty shocked it hasnt sold already. I suspect if it was a more popular/better known model it would have. because I thought the exact same thing about the Howard Roberts Fusion I bought last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryNimda Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 15 hours ago, Retired said: "Ditto!" Reminds me of my aunt, Lucy and she dyes her hair black. She's got to be in her late 80's. I could have bought one way back. Blessings of my wife as a gift. That dial with the gold ring behind it? "Forgot what it's called?" Anyway, it was loose and didn't work so I put it back and bought my Gretsch. It was a Gibson also. Varitone selector. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 36 minutes ago, OrdinaryNimda said: Varitone selector. Or POS tone suck switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 3 hours ago, OrdinaryNimda said: Varitone selector. Yes, thank you! The mind goes at times and for the life of me I cannot remember simple things. Must be old age as it's the same with Deb and she's 3 years younger. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 On 2/5/2022 at 1:52 PM, Sgt. Pepper said: Or POS tone suck switch. The one way back I played must not have worked as I placed it in every position and could not tell any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, Retired said: The one way back I played must not have worked as I placed it in every position and could not tell any difference. As you go up in numbers it gets more nasally, if its operational. Edited February 7, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 I have 2 VariTone guitars both admittedly with P90’s, the VariTone is very handy for modifying your tone or noise reduction, specially when recording.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 (edited) From a VariTone article ............. http://aws2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Vary-Your-Tone-With-The-Varitone-Switch!.aspx If you’re a fan of Gibson ES-345s and ES-355s you’ll be aware that some models have an extra knob: the Varitone. Even nearly 60 years after it debuted, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what the Varitone switch does. Just a quick look at guitar forums and you’ll see phrases like “Sucks tone”,“Kills sustain”,“ruins fat jazz tone”... Huh? It’s quite easy to debunk such myths, but first it’s best to understand what the Varitone actually is. What the Varitone Is Although a rotary design like a so-called “pot,” Gibson calls it the Varitone “switch.” Below the chicken-head knob lies a notch filter with six separate capacitors soldered to switch decks. The first position (1 on the dial) is true bypass, allowing the signal to go straight to the volume pot from the pickup, with no resistors or capacitors in the way. The other five steps on the switch remove certain frequency ranges, offering EQ “maps” that are set. So unlike the regular passive tone pots elsewhere on your guitar, the Varitone doesn’t act as a low-pass filter, it’s effectively a notch filter. It takes preset slices out of the midrange. The result is a selection of tones that are increasingly more “nasal” than their full-fat bypass equivalents. If you’re into the science: - A 1.5H choke is housed beneath the treble pickup and it fixes the range of the notch. - Position 1 on the Varitone switch is the bypass. - Positions 2-6 traditionally cycle through 1000pF, 3000pF, 0.01μF, 0.03μF, and 0.22μF capacitors. - Each cap is paired with a 10M resistor to avoid “pops” when you’re switching from position to position. Perhaps there’s so much confusion as none of the switch’s positions have ever had names: so you’ll get various people using terms like “squishy”, “underwater” or “transistor radio” sound. The exact frequency slices taken out at each step vary – some say ‘70s produced models have notably different sounding circuits – but the basic idea remains the same: the Varitone allows for pre-set frequency “maps” that you can dial in with the flip of a switch. What the Varitone Isn’t Although a lot of people also use the phrase “compression” when it comes to the Varitone, the Varitone circuit is not a compressor. But nor is it “just another tone knob” or even (I’ve seen it written!) “something like a wah pedal”. - In position 1, the Varitone is true bypass (or as close as possible) so it cannot “suck tone”. - Positions 2-6, it does “take out” a range of frequencies. If that is “sucking tone”... well, that’s exactly the point. And remember, you still have your usual two volume and two-tone pots to bring into play. Plus, of course, your 3-way pickup selector. Due to the nature of circuits, you inevitably will see a change in volume on Varitone positions 2 to 6, but that’s why your guitar has a volume control. It doesn’t have to be on 10 all the time. Maybe the Varitone just destined to be misunderstood forever. What we can say is that, in particular, some classic B.B. King and Freddie King tones need a Varitone switch-equipped ES. You’ll still get some players who have a (non-Varitone) ES-335 but say they can’t get the inimitable honk of B.B.’s “The Thrill Is Gone.” Have they tried a Varitone 345 or 355? “No,” they say, “Varitones ruin your sound...” Go figure. Suffice to say, B.B. King called the Varitone “the magic switch.” Edited February 8, 2022 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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