Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

ES-339 Memphis two knob model...weird behavior...two volumes?


rpavich

Recommended Posts

Hi,

I just received this guitar and love it. It plays like butter and sounds great but I have one question that's perplexing me...it's the two knob version and I thought it was "one volume, one tone" but the tone knob seems to be a volume knob OR the tone rolls off punch and volume or something. It acts like a volume knob.

Can anyone shed light on this behavior?
here is a video showing what it does...
 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been doing some digging and I think that this is the "Memphis tone circuit" wiring...my question is: is this weird behavior normal for that wiring setup?
If anyone has a memphis tone circuit guitar, can they check to see if it does this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I have a twin knob ES-339 Studio from 2015. It has the Memphis Tone Circuit.

Mine works fine as it should do. I don't know what's going on with yours. Maybe someone carried out some 'mods'? 

I've done enough research to know that plenty of players don't much like the MTC and have replaced it with the modern (regular) one. 

I found this from Music Radar extract from this link

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/guitars/gibson-es-339-176347

 

Quote

 

Gibson advertises, however, that: "the 339 also sports Gibson's new Memphis Tone Circuit, which preserves the guitar's high frequencies no matter where you adjust the volume control.

Elsewhere Gibson confirms that this grandly titled circuit simply replaces the standard 300k ohm linear taper volume pots for "500k audio taper pots that preserve the high-end as you turn down the volume. [The] volume control is logarithmic for smooth, even roll on and off."

 

 

I just checked the 2015 archives and pasted the control info here but its lost its formatting. Check this link and scroll down and find it

http://legacy.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2015/Memphis/ES-339-Studio.aspx

Control Pocket AssemblyVolumeType:CTS 500K AudioPeak Voltage:1080VRange:0-500KPower Rating:1/4 watt above 100K ohmsResistance Tolerance:500K +/- 20%Minimum Resistance:100 ohms  ToneType:CTS 500K AudioPeak Voltage:1080VRange:0-500KPower Rating:1/4 watt above 100K ohmsResistance Tolerance:500K +/- 20%Minimum Resistance:100 ohms Capacitors:Lead ValueRhythm Value Orange Drop .022mfd/400v

 

The controls are not that difficult to fish out of the lower f hole. I suggest taking a look see and confirm that you have 500k pots. Good luck.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...