Hey Trogly, I've got the inside scoop on that guitar. I had a hand in its development. The guitar IS stereo. The Jack has an additional contact and it requires a double contact plug with a rattle snake split on the other end. I have the second prototype and all the rest were based it. Gibson knocked it out of the park! Chuck Berry did not use effects or peddles, he let VOLUME take care of the tone.
Small request. There is a question just below your comment on troglys video. It's in regards to the pickguard. Where or not it should be removed for storage and whether or not a stable material was used to produce the pickguard
Yep, just get the "vinatge USA Horizon Switchcraft stereo cable for Gibson es 345 355 L5 es 335 archtop" from Reverb and you're good. There are "Y" cables available elsewhere as well so long as you grab the correct impedance.
John, great job on this reissue. Those Aged '68 Custombuckers are fantastic. The Team that set the specifications for this instrument and specifically those pickups hit a Home Run, Thank You.
My former drum teacher used to play for Chuck. He told me the funniest thing about Chuck was that he often forgot the songs - not how to play them, just which one was which. The first time he played for him, Chuck came up to his drum riser and asked what song they were playing. Jeff chuckled because he thought he was kidding (since they were playing it already!) but then Chuck asked again a little more insistent, and he told him. He would just start playing a tune, then had to find out which one it was before he had to sing it, lol.
I have a '65 345 and find four of the varitone settings useful. Great neck; a friend says it feels like butter. *yes, I bought it new...I'm wicked old*
Dick Wagner played a 345 for many years. He could make it sound like an acoustic when he employed one of the settings. I still want a tobacco 345 Stereo Varitone, they are great guitars.
loved the Guitar and your demo...but did you know the Low E string was off it's saddle? Seemed to happen a few times. Oops...never mind , you caught it! lol. Again, Thanks Austin for all the hard work !
Stereo Gibsons actually do not have two outputs. They require a special stereo cable (think 1/4” cable, but with two rings on the tip). They use to be issued with a stereo to stereo cable and a stereo to dual mono cables.
Chuck Berry was great, one of a kind. I don't know if anyone else would have have come up with that unique playing style. I hadn't seen the thumb device or heard about it before. If I remember right, he tuned his guitar up to "F Standard." That was cool for one of your viewers to make you a custom guitar pad to keep them safe. 😎
Chuck Berry always had a rider in his contract, 'Promoter must provide two Fender Dual Showman Amplifiers,,' Always when I was there, he used the stereo 'Y' chord. In my experience Mr. Berry arrived either alone in a Cadillac he drove himself or was flown in on commercial aircraft, drove a rental car and carried his guitar to the dressing room. Sometimes he brought his bass player, Jimmy Marsala. He came to Detroit's Fox theatre one night, headlined a show with Jerry Lee Lewis. As Jerry was finishing up, Chuck came down from the dressing rooms and hid in a wing curtain. As Mr. Lewis walked off to great applause Chuck sneaked behind him and grabbed him with both arms. Jerry jumped and hollered, turning around realized it was Chuck, and they greeted each other as only age old friends can. During Chucks' show one of the amps got unplugged by a Fox stage hand walking behind the line when the lights were down. There was a drop in guitar feed, I looked for something amiss, saw the pilot light out, ran out from the wings and plugged it back in because no one else was making a move. Two weeks or so later, a fellow of more recent acquaintance said "Hey, what were you doing backstage at that Chuck Berry Fox gig? I was in the second row and saw you run out on the stage!" I told him that my job was as 'swing man' in case Marsala hadn't come, at the request of band leader Bob Baldori. During 'Reeling and a Rockin' when Chuck called the audience on stage to dance the security crew went nuts tying to keep them off, Chuck just kept calling them up. They finally gave up and a ball was had by all. Just another brush with the King of Rock and Roll, I was lucky to have had several! Also, you can order a really nice stereo chord from Sweetwater.
I am blessed to own a NOS 1973 version that my older brother gave to me for completing work at Florida State University, in 1974. And yeh ... Way back when, none of us knew that the pickguard would self-destruct as mine did. Where the guard USED to be, now has lacquer checking due to those gases. My 355 was flawed from the factory in terms of wiring; so it eventually went to Gibson Repair and Restoration for all new innards and the beginnings of the Memphis Tone Circuit which is very close to the directions I provided for my tone circuit. I still have the guitar and it sounds quite fab, especially when run stereo through two amps! This Whine Red looks fabulous! Good job on demoing this, Mr Trog. In fact, most useful I have seen. Kudos to thou, young Sir.
I always liked the added top end presence the ebony fretboard has in semihollows over rosewood. I had a 345 with stereo outs that I used all the time, but never for 2 different amps. I'd run through the neck through an octave fuzz and the other dry, or modulation, overdrive and even sometimes run the bridge through a Wah or volume pedal and run them both, one would to the crybaby thing or volume swells while the other stayed dry. When I first bought it I remember saying "here's a cool feature that I'll literally never use." I ended up using it so much that I've converted several guitars to stereo through the years.
A quick way to determine if the pickguard is celluloid is to put into a sealed ziplock bag for a day or two and then open the bag and then immediately smell the inside. If it has a slight Vick's vapor or camphor scent is is probably celluloid.
Tone wise up prefer the F-holes, but for live the bound F-holes do a surprisingly good job at reducing feedback. I've owned a few 335s and a 345, and over 15 years repairing guitars I've lost count to how many I've played and find the unbound have a livelier sound, but any help reducing feedback is worth it, especially if you play loud.
Man would I love to literally play one of those until I wore my fingers to the bone. Such an astonishing instrument! The versatility is incredible and enjoyed almost every tone you got out of it. A little screechy on the first couple distortion tones, I'm sure a guy could dial them in with an EQ pedal though. What a sweeeeeeet "Fancy Boy" lol 😆 🤣 😂
Austin. you need to study this guitar allot more. It is an ES 355 Stereo is uses a special stereo cord and doesn't require 2 output jacks. It is a premium guitar. Much like Lucille. To many make comparisons to the ES335. This is much more specialized guitar with many added features.
There was a time when celluloid was used in a lot of things from instruments to automobiles. That as you turned it over looked like real celluloid. If it isn't it's a very good recreation since it is slightly opaque as celluloid usually is. Of course its use like plenty of other things was discontinued due to various issues of degradation. I wonder if the ground isn't attached to the bridge. One of my acoustics an EJ200SCE/BK has two inputs one hidden at the strap position. It also has two pickups the standard Fishman ribbon at the bridge and bracing mounted under the end of the fretboard. Maybe Gibson installed a stereo Jack input on these guitars so you don't have to deal with two cables. I know haven't seen to many stereo guitar lamps. I'll have to check out the work mat. Kudos to the maker of that one. Ah ha you got me . I thought you was ending it and was going wait wait. I've had several guitars with varying tremolo systems a bigsby style ,a couple of licensed one with locking but and both with tuning on the tail. And the one 61 SG reissue that I bought from you. The only one I barely had to deal with detuned strings was the one with the locking nut. The bigsby style i looked at it and it would detune. The 61 actually stays in tine better than I'd expect though.
A friend was a CS builder and he told me that they use real celluloid, but its sandwiched between acrylic so you shouldn't have off-gassing issues. I've got one on my '71 355
I’m a big ES-345 fan. Would love to see you buy a couple to check out. Maybe a custom shop version and one from the new original collection. I love double parallelogram guitars. About 15 years back I traded an old 0018 Martin for a really sweet looking 1968 es-345 that was professionally refinished in black nitro and converted to a stop tail. I regret selling that guitar a lot. I’ve never understood why 345’s are the least popular of the 335, 345, 355 family.
Anyone else notice the Low E string was off the saddle when he was playing and talking about the guitar at the end. Just an observation. Great looking guitar.
I would have loved to have gotten one of these as I am a huge Chuck Berry fan and have seen him play the guitar this is based on as well as his 345. Unfortunately, an actual Gibson is out of my price range but, back in 2011 Epiphone released a limited edition 345 at a fraction of the price. And my Epiphone has a Bigsby which is more usable than the Maestro vibrola.
For the first time I truly love a Gibson signature guitar. Okay the trem should not be there, I agree. Very warm neck pickup, blends well in mid position. The cream binding goes well with the wine red. I wonder if Michael J Fox would like this one. Doc Brown should give him one as a present. ;-)
Your low E was off the bridge saddle BTW. Cool guitar and good demo. I had a 1967 ES345. Was into Jefferson Airplane / Jorma Kaukonen and Paul Butterfield / Elvin Bishop. This brought back some good varitone memories. Wish I still had it.
The varatone was popular during the 70s, as guitarists had to cover funk and disco, as well as classic rock. The varatone offered stratish type sounds, needed for funk and disco, without having to drag a strat along, and to not needing to switch guitars between songs, which would also mean changing amp settings.
This wine-red model and the Alex Lifeson guitar are my dream guitars. They have a million variations of the Epiphone ES series and like 3 stock models of the Gibson ES and then these which, unless you are apart of the Freemasons, are impossible to get.
If they would have had cream bindings on the pick guard like they have on the rest of the guitar and it wasn't aged it would be a perfect guitar. That is a trying beautiful guitar design.
I've watched a countless number of your reviews of super rad guitars, but something about this one just really, really gets me. It's gorgeous. And I LOVE 335's so I bet this guitar sounds unreal. I really like the shade of red they used too. And the bound f holes is a nice touch. I just hope these guitars actually get PLAYED and don't just live their lives in a proverbial prison behind plexiglass. I always think about these high end guitars crying... Super depressed that they never get played... That they never get to do what they were born to do. I imagine this type of guitar looking at a Chinese made Yamaha electric guitar with ENVY, because the Yamaha gets to have all the fun. The Yamaha gets to be held behind it's players head, gets to be tossed around, spun around while being held by the strap, get cool stickers put on them and maybe a zany paint job. These high end signature guitars are like the Royal Family. Their bowtie always has to be straight, mom always spitting on her fingers to fix the cowlick in their hair, being told to stand up straight, etc... Looking great, but just miserable, dreaming of one day running off with the Yamaha and possibly (gasp) actually being plugged into an amp!!
I'm wager that the output jack is a TRS cable used with a breakout box for stereo, a standard cable will be mono. Also think the ground comes out at/next to the bottom strap button
The pictures on the Gibson website dont do the color justice. It looks almost muddy brown over there but here, you can see how vibrant it is. Odd that they slap a stereo cover on it but don't wire it up? But overall, a keeper... Though I think I'd struggle to lay out $7K of my own money for it. Give me one of those Supremes like yesterdays but original and mint? Yeah, I could get into that.
About identifying if a pickguard is actual celluloid, and off gassinng is a real danger, if you have it off the guitar, get a faucet running medium hot and put the pickguard under the running water for about 20 seconds. If it's real celluloid you should be able to notice a sour menthol kind of smell. Regular plastic will just smell like regular plastic, phenolic pickguards will smell like glue.
You've made a really good demonstration of all the tones the Varitone can produce, better than I've seen on any other video. It's a lovely looking and sounding guitar, and the F holes look great too, to my mind they should always be bound (they are on most quality Gretsches I think, and certainly were on the original Hofner Verithin variations, including the 4575 I have), it gives guitars a really classy look. Shame they used 'flare' instead of 'flair' in that booklet, though.
As a 355 it's a really sweet guitar. As a "Chuck Berry" signature , I'd be disappointed. He modded his guitar to suit "him". You (Gibson) should have respected those mods. Love the bench pad .... sweet. :)
This video took a hilarious turn starting from where he decided to try some distortion. I was like NOTICE THE LOW E PLEASE ITS BOTHERING ME suddenly it's fixed lol. So glad I watched all of this one
First press vinyl sells out quicker than you think and are usually more valuable than a second or more. Plus, were in a vinyl shortage since the pandemic.
the strings must be nice slinky feeling when the strings pop out of the bridge saddles while playing ;) i think i would appreciate that guitar, slinky strings and a little narrower nut width
Holy shit this thing sounds amazing all around. The only thing I didn’t like was varitone 3-5 on mid position clean and then you hit 6 and it opened up beautifully. What a ride! Too bad I can’t afford this lol maybe I’ll try to get some of those 68 pups
Chuck Berry used to buy a lot of guitars, red ES-355 for the most part, sometimes one every 6 months. He did this, apparently, for some kind of tax right off. Plus he was always paid cash in hand.
The only reason that a Mickey mantle rookie card is worth so much is because some jerk with enough money and ambition to recapture his childhood popped and is the winner of an old mildew ridden piece of cardboard with a grainy picture on it. A 1959 les Paul is worth six digits only because there is a small limited number of them in the world. Truth!! This is probably a phenomenal guitar. But the value attributed to them based upon collectibility is a fantasy. The music of today is not guitar based music anymore. While I may think that this 355 is a piece of beautiful functional art. The younger generation does not possess the same obsession with the instrument that we do!!! So who are we holding on to these guitars for?? Who are the future who will be willing to pay the top dollar price for all of these limited edition and signature guitars that we pay 25,000 dollars for ( and that is a basic middle of the road number) for. People!!! Buy a guitar because you are going to play it!! Love it!!!pour out your heart and soul!! Drop tears on, when your girlfriend dumps you. These are not collectibles! They are ment to be the extension of your heart!! If your instrument is a blinged out 50,000 les Paul. Then play it as such!! Do not hide it away to protect it from the purpose of its existence!! They are not fine China!! They are tools for the expression of the human soul!! Play them!! Play them all!!!
Hello, just thought I'd mention that if you punch in "CHUCK BERRY & KEITH RICHARDS Nadine" in RUclips you will see him playing the guitar with the same tail piece as the one you have there Trogly. Thanks for the show.
I've been after an ES345 with a varitone for years. I played one a few years ago, but didn't have the money to buy it at the time. I probably wouldn't go for a ES 355, I'd go for the ES345.
I noticed the low E string kept falling off the saddle at least a twice. Did you comment on that? That’s a flaw I think. I saw you fixed it twice also. I have a 1959 reissue 355 m2m in cherry gloss and gold. I waited 1.5 years for it. Got it a few months ago. Mine never does that.
I built a blue parts telecaster with a humbucker and P90 with a varitone knob on the pickgourd with the chicken head selector because it could fit on a 3 hole control plate. Would have looked cooler but it’s a bunch of capacitors and duct tape. It connects to the output jack and not the pots.
Hey Trogly, I've got the inside scoop on that guitar. I had a hand in its development. The guitar IS stereo. The Jack has an additional contact and it requires a double contact plug with a rattle snake split on the other end. I have the second prototype and all the rest were based it. Gibson knocked it out of the park!
Chuck Berry did not use effects or peddles, he let VOLUME take care of the tone.
Wow. This has to be the best information I've ever seen shared here. Thank you.
Small request. There is a question just below your comment on troglys video. It's in regards to the pickguard. Where or not it should be removed for storage and whether or not a stable material was used to produce the pickguard
@@whatyoumakeofit6635 Yes, I'd like to know for sure if that is real celluloid.
John Cook Toasten, thanks for chiming in (pun intended).
Yep, just get the "vinatge USA Horizon Switchcraft stereo cable for Gibson es 345 355 L5 es 335 archtop" from Reverb and you're good. There are "Y" cables available elsewhere as well so long as you grab the correct impedance.
John, great job on this reissue.
Those Aged '68 Custombuckers are fantastic.
The Team that set the specifications for this instrument and specifically those pickups hit a Home Run, Thank You.
I wonder what it sounds like with the low E actually resting on the saddle at the bridge? 🤔😉😂
I saw that also
Sharp eyes there William
I thought maybe the saddle wasn't cut deep enough. I've never had one just pop out.
Caught my attention also
I was kinda distracted that in different cut scenes it kept on fixing and unfixing itself…
My former drum teacher used to play for Chuck. He told me the funniest thing about Chuck was that he often forgot the songs - not how to play them, just which one was which. The first time he played for him, Chuck came up to his drum riser and asked what song they were playing. Jeff chuckled because he thought he was kidding (since they were playing it already!) but then Chuck asked again a little more insistent, and he told him. He would just start playing a tune, then had to find out which one it was before he had to sing it, lol.
I have a '65 345 and find four of the varitone settings useful. Great neck; a friend says it feels like butter. *yes, I bought it new...I'm wicked old*
That’s badass that your guitar has had one owner for over 50 years.
Would you like to adopt me? ;-)
That is awesome!
Dick Wagner played a 345 for many years. He could make it sound like an acoustic when he employed one of the settings. I still want a tobacco 345 Stereo Varitone, they are great guitars.
Yes. 1-4 are useful. 5 & 6 sound like the Hollies' On A Carousel.
Beautiful thing.
Noticed that the bottom E pops out the saddle though.
Video timeline it happens between the clean and dirty demo, I was wondering what happened 😅
loved the Guitar and your demo...but did you know the Low E string was off it's saddle? Seemed to happen a few times. Oops...never mind , you caught it! lol. Again, Thanks Austin for all the hard work !
The 6th string is out of it's Saddle
You noticed that to it was driving me insane
I as well.
Stereo Gibsons actually do not have two outputs. They require a special stereo cable (think 1/4” cable, but with two rings on the tip). They use to be issued with a stereo to stereo cable and a stereo to dual mono cables.
Wallmart
Best Comment EVER
Greetings RONDO
@@hkguitar1984 oah yeah wooohooo
@@rondobondo6600 You Know Thats Right
No wonder it sounds so good, those aged '68 Custombuckers sell for $650 a pair! (marked down from $800)
Best comment on the web
#8 Woooo Whoooo
Good evening HK
Chuck Berry was great, one of a kind. I don't know if anyone else would have have come up with that unique playing style. I hadn't seen the thumb device or heard about it before. If I remember right, he tuned his guitar up to "F Standard."
That was cool for one of your viewers to make you a custom guitar pad to keep them safe. 😎
Trogly's in the HOUSE!!!
Hey there Greg, Happy Hump-Day Sir
Greg in the house
Trogly’s in the HOUSE!!!
Ramiro, Hey there Sir
Greg imposter
Ramiro in the house
That 355 I think has the best sounds I have heard in a long time
It said 7 Comments but I see none!
I met a Nun
Thank you trogly
Chuck Berry always had a rider in his contract, 'Promoter must provide two Fender Dual Showman Amplifiers,,' Always when I was there, he used the stereo 'Y' chord. In my experience Mr. Berry arrived either alone in a Cadillac he drove himself or was flown in on commercial aircraft, drove a rental car and carried his guitar to the dressing room. Sometimes he brought his bass player, Jimmy Marsala.
He came to Detroit's Fox theatre one night, headlined a show with Jerry Lee Lewis. As Jerry was finishing up, Chuck came down from the dressing rooms and hid in a wing curtain. As Mr. Lewis walked off to great applause Chuck sneaked behind him and grabbed him with both arms. Jerry jumped and hollered, turning around realized it was Chuck, and they greeted each other as only age old friends can.
During Chucks' show one of the amps got unplugged by a Fox stage hand walking behind the line when the lights were down. There was a drop in guitar feed, I looked for something amiss, saw the pilot light out, ran out from the wings and plugged it back in because no one else was making a move. Two weeks or so later, a fellow of more recent acquaintance said "Hey, what were you doing backstage at that Chuck Berry Fox gig? I was in the second row and saw you run out on the stage!" I told him that my job was as 'swing man' in case Marsala hadn't come, at the request of band leader Bob Baldori. During 'Reeling and a Rockin' when Chuck called the audience on stage to dance the security crew went nuts tying to keep them off, Chuck just kept calling them up. They finally gave up and a ball was had by all. Just another brush with the King of Rock and Roll, I was lucky to have had several!
Also, you can order a really nice stereo chord from Sweetwater.
I am blessed to own a NOS 1973 version that my older brother gave to me for completing work at Florida State University, in 1974. And yeh ... Way back when, none of us knew that the pickguard would self-destruct as mine did. Where the guard USED to be, now has lacquer checking due to those gases. My 355 was flawed from the factory in terms of wiring; so it eventually went to Gibson Repair and Restoration for all new innards and the beginnings of the Memphis Tone Circuit which is very close to the directions I provided for my tone circuit. I still have the guitar and it sounds quite fab, especially when run stereo through two amps! This Whine Red looks fabulous! Good job on demoing this, Mr Trog. In fact, most useful I have seen. Kudos to thou, young Sir.
Waffles*Waffles*Waffles
Biker Jon, greetings
Good evening Biker Jon
Thank you for another Great Video Trogly!!
My custom 355 also has INCREDIBLE tone and clarity of note. Great guitars. Impossible not to like.
I always liked the added top end presence the ebony fretboard has in semihollows over rosewood.
I had a 345 with stereo outs that I used all the time, but never for 2 different amps. I'd run through the neck through an octave fuzz and the other dry, or modulation, overdrive and even sometimes run the bridge through a Wah or volume pedal and run them both, one would to the crybaby thing or volume swells while the other stayed dry. When I first bought it I remember saying "here's a cool feature that I'll literally never use." I ended up using it so much that I've converted several guitars to stereo through the years.
Wa
ssss up
Congratulations you made the podium today. I’m pleased to award you a Bronze Medal for today.
A quick way to determine if the pickguard is celluloid is to put into a sealed ziplock bag for a day or two and then open the bag and then immediately smell the inside. If it has a slight Vick's vapor or camphor scent is is probably celluloid.
If I had a time machine, II’d take one of those aged guitars back to just before it was aged. And take it home with me.
Trogly's guitars woot woot 🙌
great video as always austin but maybe you should spend a lil more time learning more chords to play for your demos 😎🤘🏽
Does this one come with the hidden camera, or is that sold separately?
Ope 👀
LOL
Trogly B. Goode played that guitar like he was ringin' a bell!
A nice guitar.
Grounding of the Vibrolo (which is actually grounding of the strings) can also be accomplished by wire contact with the bridge stud bosses.
Loved his plying but he wasn't a good guy
This is true good thing modern rappers are.
Tone wise up prefer the F-holes, but for live the bound F-holes do a surprisingly good job at reducing feedback. I've owned a few 335s and a 345, and over 15 years repairing guitars I've lost count to how many I've played and find the unbound have a livelier sound, but any help reducing feedback is worth it, especially if you play loud.
Man would I love to literally play one of those until I wore my fingers to the bone. Such an astonishing instrument! The versatility is incredible and enjoyed almost every tone you got out of it. A little screechy on the first couple distortion tones, I'm sure a guy could dial them in with an EQ pedal though. What a sweeeeeeet "Fancy Boy" lol 😆 🤣 😂
I can't deal with Chuck Berry anything since I heard some things about him.
Hahahaha...glad someone said it !!!!
@@eddiejr540 Once you know....you'd never see him the same.
Austin. you need to study this guitar allot more. It is an ES 355 Stereo is uses a special stereo cord and doesn't require 2 output jacks. It is a premium guitar. Much like Lucille. To many make comparisons to the ES335. This is much more specialized guitar with many added features.
I play blues and solo all over the neck as well, chunky Gibson necks are my favorite still but slimmer necks are cool too.
The 6th position was my favorite on all the pickup variations
There was a time when celluloid was used in a lot of things from instruments to automobiles. That as you turned it over looked like real celluloid. If it isn't it's a very good recreation since it is slightly opaque as celluloid usually is. Of course its use like plenty of other things was discontinued due to various issues of degradation. I wonder if the ground isn't attached to the bridge. One of my acoustics an EJ200SCE/BK has two inputs one hidden at the strap position. It also has two pickups the standard Fishman ribbon at the bridge and bracing mounted under the end of the fretboard. Maybe Gibson installed a stereo Jack input on these guitars so you don't have to deal with two cables. I know haven't seen to many stereo guitar lamps. I'll have to check out the work mat. Kudos to the maker of that one. Ah ha you got me . I thought you was ending it and was going wait wait. I've had several guitars with varying tremolo systems a bigsby style ,a couple of licensed one with locking but and both with tuning on the tail. And the one 61 SG reissue that I bought from you. The only one I barely had to deal with detuned strings was the one with the locking nut. The bigsby style i looked at it and it would detune. The 61 actually stays in tine better than I'd expect though.
Does this guitar film you while you piss? If not, then it’s not a true Chuck Berry signature guit.
That was an amazing sounding specimen!
A friend was a CS builder and he told me that they use real celluloid, but its sandwiched between acrylic so you shouldn't have off-gassing issues. I've got one on my '71 355
That first neck tone was absolutely lovely.
yeah, 3 and 4 postion sounds really nice. Nice work dude.
I’m a big ES-345 fan. Would love to see you buy a couple to check out. Maybe a custom shop version and one from the new original collection. I love double parallelogram guitars. About 15 years back I traded an old 0018 Martin for a really sweet looking 1968 es-345 that was professionally refinished in black nitro and converted to a stop tail. I regret selling that guitar a lot. I’ve never understood why 345’s are the least popular of the 335, 345, 355 family.
My favorite video you've made. I'm a huge fan of this particular style of guitar. Have a white 355 already and a walnut / burgundy 355 as well.
Anyone else notice the Low E string was off the saddle when he was playing and talking about the guitar at the end. Just an observation. Great looking guitar.
Yes, you should remove the pickgaurd during long term storage.
It is doubtful that stabilized celluloid was used for crafting that pickgaurd.
@@scottbott8525 Good to know, Thank You Scott, much appreciated.
I would have loved to have gotten one of these as I am a huge Chuck Berry fan and have seen him play the guitar this is based on as well as his 345. Unfortunately, an actual Gibson is out of my price range but, back in 2011 Epiphone released a limited edition 345 at a fraction of the price. And my Epiphone has a Bigsby which is more usable than the Maestro vibrola.
For the first time I truly love a Gibson signature guitar. Okay the trem should not be there, I agree. Very warm neck pickup, blends well in mid position. The cream binding goes well with the wine red. I wonder if Michael J Fox would like this one. Doc Brown should give him one as a present. ;-)
Gorgeous! For my ears the best sounding demos (and diverse tones) in 2 years of daily listening to Trogly. Mind blown...
Thank you, did not expect a mention!
Happy you like it!
What an amazing looking and sounding guitar
Your low E was off the bridge saddle BTW. Cool guitar and good demo. I had a 1967 ES345. Was into Jefferson Airplane / Jorma Kaukonen and Paul Butterfield / Elvin Bishop. This brought back some good varitone memories. Wish I still had it.
Trogly, why aren't you using the blackout fabric you bought? Maybe I missed where you provided the update?
The varatone was popular during the 70s, as guitarists had to cover funk and disco, as well as classic rock. The varatone offered stratish type sounds, needed for funk and disco, without having to drag a strat along, and to not needing to switch guitars between songs, which would also mean changing amp settings.
This wine-red model and the Alex Lifeson guitar are my dream guitars. They have a million variations of the Epiphone ES series and like 3 stock models of the Gibson ES and then these which, unless you are apart of the Freemasons, are impossible to get.
That is Maybellene Cadillac Gorgeous!! I want one.
I have to bring you my 78 Gibson and dads 80’s Electra with a 6 way switch with different modules you can plug in. You’d love both of them.
If they would have had cream bindings on the pick guard like they have on the rest of the guitar and it wasn't aged it would be a perfect guitar. That is a trying beautiful guitar design.
I LOVE The VARITONE Switch!!
I've watched a countless number of your reviews of super rad guitars, but something about this one just really, really gets me. It's gorgeous. And I LOVE 335's so I bet this guitar sounds unreal. I really like the shade of red they used too. And the bound f holes is a nice touch. I just hope these guitars actually get PLAYED and don't just live their lives in a proverbial prison behind plexiglass. I always think about these high end guitars crying... Super depressed that they never get played... That they never get to do what they were born to do. I imagine this type of guitar looking at a Chinese made Yamaha electric guitar with ENVY, because the Yamaha gets to have all the fun. The Yamaha gets to be held behind it's players head, gets to be tossed around, spun around while being held by the strap, get cool stickers put on them and maybe a zany paint job. These high end signature guitars are like the Royal Family. Their bowtie always has to be straight, mom always spitting on her fingers to fix the cowlick in their hair, being told to stand up straight, etc... Looking great, but just miserable, dreaming of one day running off with the Yamaha and possibly (gasp) actually being plugged into an amp!!
Get a grip
Austin is in His House 🏠 of AWESOME Guitars I want. Thank you Austin for tirelessly making Content for us to watch. You the MAN 👍✌⭐🎸🎊🎉🎁🎈🎶🎼👏
Yo Randy, Greetings Sir
Randy in the house
Very much appreciate the reference to the movie "The Jerk," well done. Appreciate your making these videos week after week, excellent job as usual.
Very nice guitar. Overall good review. Thanks for bringing these limited models for us to see and learn about.
My OG 1971 ES-355 stereo has a stereo jack FWIW (that's how they were all made) and it probably also has a stereo jack
I'm wager that the output jack is a TRS cable used with a breakout box for stereo, a standard cable will be mono. Also think the ground comes out at/next to the bottom strap button
The pictures on the Gibson website dont do the color justice. It looks almost muddy brown over there but here, you can see how vibrant it is. Odd that they slap a stereo cover on it but don't wire it up? But overall, a keeper... Though I think I'd struggle to lay out $7K of my own money for it. Give me one of those Supremes like yesterdays but original and mint? Yeah, I could get into that.
Not like Chuck's original was a $7000 guitar in his day
About identifying if a pickguard is actual celluloid, and off gassinng is a real danger, if you have it off the guitar, get a faucet running medium hot and put the pickguard under the running water for about 20 seconds. If it's real celluloid you should be able to notice a sour menthol kind of smell. Regular plastic will just smell like regular plastic, phenolic pickguards will smell like glue.
You've made a really good demonstration of all the tones the Varitone can produce, better than I've seen on any other video. It's a lovely looking and sounding guitar, and the F holes look great too, to my mind they should always be bound (they are on most quality Gretsches I think, and certainly were on the original Hofner Verithin variations, including the 4575 I have), it gives guitars a really classy look.
Shame they used 'flare' instead of 'flair' in that booklet, though.
My dad is a big Chuck Berry fan. Had to send this to him to check out. Always appreciated Chuck’s playing too! Thank you for the great review!
Chuck had a lot of different 355s.
Fender CEO: "We need more Chuck Berry case candy"
Fender Luthier: proceeds to dump out junk from their garage
Fender CEO: "Perfect!"
As a 355 it's a really sweet guitar. As a "Chuck Berry" signature , I'd be disappointed. He modded his guitar to suit "him". You (Gibson) should have respected those mods. Love the bench pad .... sweet. :)
"Opti-Grab," well done sir!
The chips on the truss rod are probably from the alan key pushing up against the sharp edge and the pressure cracked them upwards
This video took a hilarious turn starting from where he decided to try some distortion. I was like NOTICE THE LOW E PLEASE ITS BOTHERING ME suddenly it's fixed lol. So glad I watched all of this one
First press vinyl sells out quicker than you think and are usually more valuable than a second or more. Plus, were in a vinyl shortage since the pandemic.
the strings must be nice slinky feeling when the strings pop out of the bridge saddles while playing ;) i think i would appreciate that guitar, slinky strings and a little narrower nut width
Why does Gibson insist on ruining guitars with that stupid tremolo?
Cuz we likes the worbles
Also, with the proper care, bigsbys and vibrolas can be very reliable
2 hours late! I wasn’t even close. Beauty of an instrument.
Yooo
You just won the fabulous wallmart award for the very first comment wooohooo you are absolutely amazing 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪
Whoooo
Hey there Grant
@@hkguitar1984 yeww what’s goin’ down!!
@@rondobondo6600 thank you thank you ma man!
@@grantcindrich I'm just hanging in there.
Trying to not stress out these days.
More guitar playing and less watching/listening to the news!
That black background for the b-role looks very nice
Holy shit this thing sounds amazing all around. The only thing I didn’t like was varitone 3-5 on mid position clean and then you hit 6 and it opened up beautifully. What a ride! Too bad I can’t afford this lol maybe I’ll try to get some of those 68 pups
Great Demo, clean sounds are great but very muddy on OD
Chuck Berry used to buy a lot of guitars, red ES-355 for the most part, sometimes one every 6 months. He did this, apparently, for some kind of tax right off. Plus he was always paid cash in hand.
22:15 sounds like some Raw Country Heart of the Sunrise 🌄 🤠 🐎 🐴
The Maestro trem is the best! I go ham on those things!
glad someone i like can review this awesome guitar from a awesome rocker
I was hoping for some good Chuck guitar lics. Nice axe and yes the output jack is usually a stereo jack.
The only reason that a Mickey mantle rookie card is worth so much is because some jerk with enough money and ambition to recapture his childhood popped and is the winner of an old mildew ridden piece of cardboard with a grainy picture on it. A 1959 les Paul is worth six digits only because there is a small limited number of them in the world. Truth!! This is probably a phenomenal guitar. But the value attributed to them based upon collectibility is a fantasy. The music of today is not guitar based music anymore. While I may think that this 355 is a piece of beautiful functional art. The younger generation does not possess the same obsession with the instrument that we do!!! So who are we holding on to these guitars for?? Who are the future who will be willing to pay the top dollar price for all of these limited edition and signature guitars that we pay 25,000 dollars for ( and that is a basic middle of the road number) for. People!!! Buy a guitar because you are going to play it!! Love it!!!pour out your heart and soul!! Drop tears on, when your girlfriend dumps you. These are not collectibles! They are ment to be the extension of your heart!! If your instrument is a blinged out 50,000 les Paul. Then play it as such!! Do not hide it away to protect it from the purpose of its existence!! They are not fine China!! They are tools for the expression of the human soul!! Play them!! Play them all!!!
Does Gibson make a more affordable guitar with the baritone control?
Those pickups do sound incredible for being under wound! Don't think it is an aged thing at all, just how they come.
What happened to the bottom E string in the video?
Hello, just thought I'd mention that if you punch in "CHUCK BERRY & KEITH RICHARDS Nadine" in RUclips you will see him playing the guitar with the same tail piece as the one you have there Trogly. Thanks for the show.
Classic T-rog back at it agaim with the videos!
I just got my Chuck Barry ES 335
I've been after an ES345 with a varitone for years. I played one a few years ago, but didn't have the money to buy it at the time. I probably wouldn't go for a ES 355, I'd go for the ES345.
I noticed the low E string kept falling off the saddle at least a twice. Did you comment on that? That’s a flaw I think. I saw you fixed it twice also. I have a 1959 reissue 355 m2m in cherry gloss and gold. I waited 1.5 years for it. Got it a few months ago. Mine never does that.
I built a blue parts telecaster with a humbucker and P90 with a varitone knob on the pickgourd with the chicken head selector because it could fit on a 3 hole control plate. Would have looked cooler but it’s a bunch of capacitors and duct tape. It connects to the output jack and not the pots.