johnnyacousticuk Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Hi everyone This is my first post. I have a 74 - 75 Gibson es 355. I bought it about 15 years ago from a dealer in northern Ireland. He was selling it for a customer. I love this guitar and have gigged it a lot. I have always wondered about it because it has a varitone but it is labeled es355td and does not say stereo on truss rod cover. Another strange thing is a stereo cable was in the case. I tried the stereo cable but only one side worked. With a normal cable all seems well although the middle position is a bit muddy. I use it with either a vox ac10 or a drz carmen ghia. Both turned up full. Fantastic sound. I cannot find any details about a mono with varitone and wonder has anyone any ideas. I will try to post some pics. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Chance Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Sounds like your ES-355 started out as stereo varitone guitar when new. By the time you bought it perhaps it already had the common convert-the-output-jack-to-mono mod done on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyacousticuk Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 Sounds like your ES-355 started out as stereo varitone guitar when new. By the time you bought it perhaps it already had the common convert-the-output-jack-to-mono mod done on it. Thanks Slim Chance. The only thing is it is a es 355td with no sv on model number and the truss rod cover looks original with no stereo on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyWheat Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Hi everyone This is my first post. I have a 74 - 75 Gibson es 355. I bought it about 15 years ago from a dealer in northern Ireland. He was selling it for a customer. I love this guitar and have gigged it a lot. I have always wondered about it because it has a varitone but it is labeled es355td and does not say stereo on truss rod cover. Another strange thing is a stereo cable was in the case. I tried the stereo cable but only one side worked. With a normal cable all seems well although the middle position is a bit muddy. I use it with either a vox ac10 or a drz carmen ghia. Both turned up full. Fantastic sound. I cannot find any details about a mono with varitone and wonder has anyone any ideas. I will try to post some pics. John Try this: (I got the link posted earlier this fall by JimR56 by using the search function) http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/76891-why-does-my-es-355/page__p__1048950__hl__%2Bmono+%2Bes355__fromsearch__1#entry1048950 It gives some good explanations. I was unaware of a lot of this information before reading the thread when it first appeared. J/W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 JW, I'm less certain about what was offered (if anything) during the 70's in terms of mono 355's, but generally speaking, the early ('58-'65) mono 355's had no varitone controls (not that they couldn't have been ordered with one). I think Slim Chance has it right here. The guitar was probably rewired. The fact that it doesn't have the "SV" suffix on the label doesn't really surprise me... Gibson were never terribly consistent with such things; and the same goes for the truss rod cover (not very consistent, and that's a part that also could easily have been changed out). So, johnny... is the varitone control still active on yours? (I'm guessing no, but it wasn't clear). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyacousticuk Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 JW, I'm less certain about what was offered (if anything) during the 70's in terms of mono 355's, but generally speaking, the early ('58-'65) mono 355's had no varitone controls (not that they couldn't have been ordered with one). I think Slim Chance has it right here. The guitar was probably rewired. The fact that it doesn't have the "SV" suffix on the label doesn't really surprise me... Gibson were never terribly consistent with such things; and the same goes for the truss rod cover (not very consistent, and that's a part that also could easily have been changed out). So, johnny... is the varitone control still active on yours? (I'm guessing no, but it wasn't clear). Yes the varitone is still active. I don't use it but I have seen some demos on YouTube and might start giving it a try. I would love to remove the harness and see exactly what's going on but think it would be too stressful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Chance Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Yes the varitone is still active. I don't use it but I have seen some demos on YouTube and might start giving it a try. I would love to remove the harness and see exactly what's going on but think it would be too stressful. You might ask Charlie at ES-335.org about your guitar. He knows 'em better than about anybody out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 You might ask Charlie at ES-335.org about your guitar. He knows 'em better than about anybody out there. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyacousticuk Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks everyone. I contacted Charlie and he confirmed it has been converted to mono and they often left the SV and stereo signs off. He has some lovely guitars for sale. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks everyone. I contacted Charlie and he confirmed it has been converted to mono and they often left the SV and stereo signs off. He has some lovely guitars for sale. John Charlie Gelber may not know EVERYTHING there is to know about the ES 335 and its sisters, but he comes pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I think Tom Hollyer's site has been around even longer: http://www.es-335.net/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spot Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Love Charlie's site - It's really a treat! Tom's is great too but offortunately he only covers 335's up to 1964 which makes them out reach for dreamers like me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sihackett29 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Charlie's a genius when it comes to ES335s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.