1959 - 1960 Gibson ES-355 Mono

[Unbound Dot Neck]

My bad, red guitar & black knobs - Wally

Sexy ~
:salude

DevilBat, that is one beautiful guitar. Your Stereo is a looker, too, 57 gold.
UnboundDotNeck, where are these speed knobs???

 

[Wally]

NO problem, unbound...I have to keep things straight in my head or I get confused....even more than normal. I wish this one was older...but I bought it new in June, '67.

 

[hotblack59]

Does the (wipes drool from lip) 1959 345 have a black Varitone ring?
Are the knobs original to the 1959 345?

Does the 355 have out of phase pickups? (I can't imagine it does, but I have to ask.)

We await tone report with special attention given to the Varitone/no Varitone comparison among the 345s and newly acquired 355.

...drool..

6 years down the track, but I just thought I’d comment on the out of phase question. I’m lucky enough to have a late 59 mono 355 - all untouched on the wiring and PAFs - but they are out of phase. Makes no difference when the bridge and neck pup are on their own, but the middle position gives up some interesting sounds. When the volumes are both equal, it’s thin and nasally, but if you dial either up or down so they are unequal it they come alive and do what good PAFs do I understand most are in phase & I’ve played one almost same date (early 60) that was. I figure mine was just an anomaly and Gibson mixed up the pups.

Anyone else come across another one that’s out of phase. I’ve heard some LPs (apart from the Peter Green one) also were sometimes out of phase - on Customs.

 

[Wally]

I find it interesting that the Lucille and B.B. King guitars have pickups that are OOP. I take this to mean that Mr. Kings older 355s had OOP pickups and that that was how he preferred them. I can hear that he used that OOP at times. I also have a pet theory that perhaps that is why Greenie was changed to OOP operation.

 

[brandtkronholm]

6 years down the track, but I just thought I’d comment on the out of phase question. I’m lucky enough to have a late 59 mono 355 - all untouched on the wiring and PAFs - but they are out of phase. Makes no difference when the bridge and neck pup are on their own, but the middle position gives up some interesting sounds. When the volumes are both equal, it’s thin and nasally, but if you dial either up or down so they are unequal it they come alive and do what good PAFs do I understand most are in phase & I’ve played one almost same date (early 60) that was. I figure mine was just an anomaly and Gibson mixed up the pups.

Anyone else come across another one that’s out of phase. I’ve heard some LPs (apart from the Peter Green one) also were sometimes out of phase - on Customs.

Nearly all (basically 100%) of the Stereo Varitone 345s and 355s are magnetically out of phase. I don't know about the Mono non-Varitone versions of the 355. Of the 600 ES355s made in the two years 1959 and 1960, half had the Stereo Varitone and half didn't. I don't have any reckoning on statistics for out-of-phase mono 355s from this era. If I had to guess, it might not be out of the ordinary for a mono 355 to be out-of-phase, but that's a guess.

Also, pictures?!?

 

[hotblack59]

Nearly all (basically 100%) of the Stereo Varitone 345s and 355s are magnetically out of phase. I don't know about the Mono non-Varitone versions of the 355. Of the 600 ES355s made in the two years 1959 and 1960, half had the Stereo Varitone and half didn't. I don't have any reckoning on statistics for out-of-phase mono 355s from this era. If I had to guess, it might not be out of the ordinary for a mono 355 to be out-of-phase, but that's a guess.

Also, pictures?!?

My ‘59 mono on the bottom & early ‘60 on top. Both at my guitar techs on the same day. The ‘60 bridge pickup sounded slightly better than mine, but my neck pup blows away all before it