OffsetGuitars.com

Cool link! So yes, the varitone is just a way of selecting different value capacitors. How it behaves really depends on wether a potentiometer is also use to vary the resistance to ground, or if a fixed resistance is used for all or each capacitor setting. Essentially with this you can vary the -3 decibels frequency cutoff (called the corner frequency for this low-pass filter circuit f=1/(2piRC)).

Without a tone potentiometer you would not be able to control the amplitude (amount) of the signal bleeding to the ground.

zhivago wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:26 pm

...while I am being critical, the other thing I am not too hot on is the travel of the volume knobs..I know these are meant to have the improved pots to give you the 50s wiring thing, but I just don't see/hear it (and I have a 50s Gibson to compare)...although gradual to a certain extent, the travel then is very abrupt between 3 and 0. It's not as easy to ride the volume as it is on my 50s Les Paul. 10-3 is very "slow" if that makes sense.

Do you know how they wired them differently? I'd be very interested in that. I've seen different claims to "50's wiring", but never if one was truly the way they wired them in the 50's.

So classy! Congrats on this one! I have to say I didn't know what to expect from this thread.

Beautiful. Love the split parallelogram inlays and the 'aging' looks top notch. Can't wait for more pics.
This is not helping my ES gas either!

Is this the stereo or mono output ES-345 ?

carron wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:45 pm

Do we know how is the variatone circuit? I imagine it would simply be a different value capacitor to ground per position. Does it have an "open" position, that is without a capacitor to ground?. If so going from open to almost any capacitor to ground would have at least a small effect on the volume.

The first position is meant to be a bypass, but some people online dispute ir saying it sucks tone even in that position...it is hard to say, to be honest...the guitar sounds great in position 1 I have to say.

popvulture wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:38 pm

I really like the sound of nylon saddles—I've got em on an old ES-330, and I've thought about putting a Tonepros nylon saddle bridge on my 335... but it's always seemed like just-too-pricey and upgrade for me to bother. Still tempting, though.

Re: the Varitone, I was reading this Premier Guitar article recently—typically interesting/fun stuff from Joe Gore, who I love:

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/ ... ods?page=6

I actually have some spare saddles from a vintage early 60s bridge...I may just try it when I swap strings next time. It's a fairly quick operation to change the saddles

Shadoweclipse13 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:24 pm

zhivago wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:26 pm

...while I am being critical, the other thing I am not too hot on is the travel of the volume knobs..I know these are meant to have the improved pots to give you the 50s wiring thing, but I just don't see/hear it (and I have a 50s Gibson to compare)...although gradual to a certain extent, the travel then is very abrupt between 3 and 0. It's not as easy to ride the volume as it is on my 50s Les Paul. 10-3 is very "slow" if that makes sense.

Do you know how they wired them differently? I'd be very interested in that. I've seen different claims to "50's wiring", but never if one was truly the way they wired them in the 50's.

Hard to say with it being an ES and having no cavity...I will most likely put a different pots kit for Throbak in there. When I take the old one out I will take some photos

kosmonautmayhem wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:52 pm

So classy! Congrats on this one! I have to say I didn't know what to expect from this thread.

Beautiful. Love the split parallelogram inlays and the 'aging' looks top notch. Can't wait for more pics.
This is not helping my ES gas either!

Many thanks! It's a beauty, really...I am surprised b how much I've enjoyed it! The size is fine too, since I am '6 4" or so

timtam wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:45 pm

Is this the stereo or mono output ES-345 ?

Thankfully it is mono

zhivago wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:45 pm

Hard to say with it being an ES and having no cavity...I will most likely put a different pots kit for Throbak in there. When I take the old one out I will take some photos

Awesome I thought ES's had a rear cover?

Shadoweclipse13 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:59 pm

zhivago wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:45 pm

Hard to say with it being an ES and having no cavity...I will most likely put a different pots kit for Throbak in there. When I take the old one out I will take some photos

Awesome I thought ES's had a rear cover?

I'm sure the modding is already underway.

Shadoweclipse13 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:59 pm

zhivago wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:45 pm

Hard to say with it being an ES and having no cavity...I will most likely put a different pots kit for Throbak in there. When I take the old one out I will take some photos

Awesome I thought ES's had a rear cover?

Can't say re: the 345, but the 335/330s don't. The guy who works on my guitars was telling me it's a pretty huge pain in the ass to work on the pots via the f-holes. Eek.

Shadoweclipse13 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:59 pm

zhivago wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:45 pm

Hard to say with it being an ES and having no cavity...I will most likely put a different pots kit for Throbak in there. When I take the old one out I will take some photos

Awesome I thought ES's had a rear cover?

Not these...I think the Lucille has one though...that the BB King guitar that has no F-holes.

kosmonautmayhem wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:03 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:59 pm

zhivago wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:45 pm

Hard to say with it being an ES and having no cavity...I will most likely put a different pots kit for Throbak in there. When I take the old one out I will take some photos

Awesome I thought ES's had a rear cover?

I'm sure the modding is already underway.

that's the thing with reissues...they can be tinkered with, whereas with vintage stuff I aways leave them as-is!

It is a slippery slope!!