Rewire A 1965 Gibson ES-345 TDSV? [Of Course - It Sounds Much Better Now!]

Doing the unthinkable, or a sensible upgrade? Mick is in no doubt…

Welcome to the show. Something slightly different this week to see us over the British summer.
This lovely vintage guitar has a tonal Achilles heel and I’m determined to repair it.
I’ve taken the opportunity of some time off to really get into this project – stuff like this is time consuming mentally and physically and I don’t want to rush it. So yes, it’s a loooong and drawn-out video, the absolute opposite of the fast-and-simple delivery that this medium typically demands. No apologies.
If you do want to skip to get the the action however – I totally get it – I’ve made the chapter sections nice and detailed.
Enjoy if you dare!

Interesting bits and go to sections…
0:00 Hello & welcome
0:30 What is that guitar?
2:47 The good news!
4:22 The not so good news…
4:42 Why rewire it?
5:35 Vintage ES Medal Table
9:13 The stereo story
10:40 Two amps, opposing polarity
12:03 ES-345 stereo pickups!
14:25 Stereo pickups, polarity & middle position
15:49 Why split the pickups to different amps?
18:00 Varitone demo
21:00 What I’ve never wanted to do
22:15 Somebody more creative?
22:40 How it works in my rig
25:00 Normal cables and TRS cables
26:50 Summed cable, pickups out of polarity
28:55 The problem of summed outputs
30:48 Varitone and opposing polarity pickups
32:00 What I didn’t know until today
32:50 A little play before we pull it apart
36:30 Options for what to do next
37:20 Should you modify a vintage guitar?
38:32 You should sell it!
40:32 Why not just buy the guitar you want?
42:30 The work begins!
45:30 Pickups out
47:50 The pickup and cavity routs
48:30 Unscrewing the pots and switch etc
50:20 Out comes the switch…
51:26 Out come the chokes…
53:25 And here’s the Varitone switch
54:08 Thank you, great techs
55:15 Still trying to extract stuff
56:00 It’s all out!
57:03 Two decisions made
58:55 The pickups & DC resistance
1:00:30 The chokes & weight
1:01:33 A closer look at the Varitone
1:03:07 Stereo / TRS jacks
1:04:18 Varitone Circuit analysis & thoughts
1:07:38 I don’t want that!
1:10:40 What did Matt Monty Gleeson say?
1:11:45 My fave tones… are not Varitone
1:12:16 Swap the pickups?
1:13:50 Standard 335 loom it is!
1:14:42 PAF & Patent Number info
1:20:50 Locating the dummy pot
1:23:42 Dummy jack for the jack socket
1:24:45 Here’s the new loom
1:26:05 Soldering on the pickup wires
1:29:10 Feeding the loom in
1:32:30 The moment of… FAIL
1:33:15 It was the switch!
1:38:05 Reattaching knobs and tip
1:39:20 Bridge orientation?
1:41:05 Reattaching the pickguard
1:41:45 Does it work?
1:43:28 Final play test
1:50:44 Final thoughts

Pedals & Stuff used in this show
If you use these links to buy stuff - any stuff – we receive a (hilariously) small cut.
• UK & Europe: Andertons Music - https://bit.ly/3zaTX5Z
• USA: Sweetwater - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/5g6ALN
• Australia: Pedal Empire - http://bit.ly/2mWmJQf

Thorpy FX Warthog
Ibanez TS 808 Tube Screamer Keeley mod
Dan Drive Austin Blender Octave Fuzz
Free The Tone Overdriveland ODL-1-CS
Free The Tone Future Factory FF-1Y
Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk MkII
TheGigRig G3 Atom


Guitars in today’s show
• 1965 Gibson ES-345 TDSV

• Gibson Memphis 1958 ES-335 - Mick’s video here:    • Gibson Memphis 1958 ES-335 – Mick's V...  

Amps used in today’s show
• Two Rock Classic Reverb Signature 100/50 & 112 cab with EVM12L speaker

• Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb with stock speaker
UK & Europe; https://bit.ly/2G9OnFJ
USA: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/ZQe62z

You can buy TPS merch to support our efforts https://www.thatpedalshowstore.com

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Please visit our preferred retailers!
UK & Europe: Andertons Music https://bit.ly/3zaTX5Z
Australia: Pedal Empire http://bit.ly/2mWmJQf