Mono'ing a 345 - and Keeping the Varitone

peteri

Hi

Just got ownership of a 64 345, very happy with it - but the stereo business is a pain - I've tried the stereo to mono plug adapter idea but don't get a sound from both pickups in the centre position.

Anyone got any other ideas which are non-invasive? If not can you recommend someone in Central(ish) London who could do something clever?

Any and all experience gratefully received

lewism

You can either remove the harness and replace with a mono replacement and aftermarket varitone (I did this to my very players grade ‘62 345) or I’ve read that you can use a buffer for each stereo output and sum them into one mono output - shouldn’t be too difficult to get someone to build that. At the time, I decided to just retire and put the old harness in the case but it might be an option if the original harness hasn’t been messed with.

badlydrawnbanjo

I think @shugz de-veritoned his vintage 345?

shugz

Yep, rip it out and find a nice box for it....

Varitones have their fans I know but I prefer just a decent mono 335 harness in a Varitone guitar.

Cheers
Hugh

jimmyguitar

Don’t change anything!! Using a Y cable lessens the output quite considerably which led me to believe my 355 just didn’t sound great. But then I tried it with the cable half in and it sounded great so I knew it wasn’t the guitar itself. This will sort it out:
http://www.radialeng.com/product/mix-blender

jimmyguitar

...and varitones are brilliant things, BB King didn’t sound too shabby

lewism

^there you go, a buffered blender! @jimmyguitar does it work well? Would have saved me The not inconsiderable hassle of rewiring my 345!

jimmyguitar

lewism said:

^there you go, a buffered blender! @jimmyguitar does it work well? Would have saved me The not inconsiderable hassle of rewiring my 345!

Not sure as i’m such a bad sufferer of GAS the 355 went before I had a chance to try it but apparently it’s perfect. You still need a stereo to duo mono Y cable but I think I have one going spare from my escapade if you need it @peteri ;

lewism

Come to think of it, I’ve also got a stereo to dual mono lead going free if you need one.

peteri

@lewism yes please!

that box looks great, I really like the Varitone do want to keep it £165 from Thomann is likely the cheapest option to be honest 

thanks all - awesome service!

lewism

@peteri drop me a pm with your address (and give me a while to dig it out!)

peteri

@jimmyguitar thanks ordered!

jimmyguitar

peteri said:

@jimmyguitar thanks ordered!

No probs! Hate seeing these things ripped out, they’re part of that guitar’s dna 

lewism

Mine’s in the case, but then the guitar had already lost the original pickups & tuners, had a headstock repair and at least two refins so it wasn’t too much of a wrench. It’s the early version with separate capacitors rather than the later version with the all in one capacitor unit too.

jimmyguitar

lewism said:

Mine’s in the case, but then the guitar had already lost the original pickups & tuners, had a headstock repair and at least two refins so it wasn’t too much of a wrench. It’s the early version with separate capacitors rather than the later version with the all in one capacitor unit too.

That’s totally understandable in that circumstance, you’re not altering an otherwise ‘all there’ guitar. Either way it’s @peteri ‘s guitar to do with as he wishes but just strikes me as a shame to mess with an otherwise original example. Nice one OP!

shugz

Tone sucking rubbish in my opinion but each to their own. 34/355s look great but for me at least, it's mono all the way.

BB would have sounded like BB on a Harmony Rocket. 

H

lewism

The early varitones with the separate caps are apparently out of circuit in the first position so shouldn’t cause any problems. It was Bernard Butler of Suede who inspired my love of Gibson thin lines with his 355. Took me a few minutes to realise that wasn’t the BB you were referring to!

shugz

lewism said:

The early varitones with the separate caps are apparently out of circuit in the first position so shouldn’t cause any problems. It was Bernard Butler of Suede who inspired my love of Gibson thin lines with his 355. Took me a few minutes to realise that wasn’t the BB you were referring to!

The other BB would still sound like the other BB as well on a Harmony Rocket Great player. Big Suede/ M&B fan plus all the other sessions/ solo work he's done.

H

ICBM

shugz said:

Great player. Big Suede/ M&B fan plus all the other sessions/ solo work he's done.

Here’s one that might be less well known... daft video but you can hear who's playing guitar .

lewism

ICBM said:

shugz said:

Great player. Big Suede/ M&B fan plus all the other sessions/ solo work he's done.

Here’s one that might be less well known... daft video but you can hear who's playing guitar .

Thanks for that, not heard it before - you can hear Butler all over it in a relatively subtle way. His work with Ben Watt is fantastic, and the Kate Jackson album is great as well. Even the first Duffy album benefits from his touch, telling that he had no involvement in the second album. There’s apparently an unreleased M&B album which I’d love to hear. He’s been a huge influence on my playing & is the reason I’ve lusted after an Es355 since 1993. I’ve got a 345, a 330 and a 335. The right 355 (i.e. players grade cheap) just never seems to have come up at the right time!

ICBM

lewism said:

Thanks for that, not heard it before - you can hear Butler all over it in a relatively subtle way.

Exactly. I recognised it the first time I played the album, and the guitar on that track just jumped out - checked the credits and found he co-wrote it as well apparently. Very distinctive even though there’s no big solo or anything.