WAY O.T. - Chuck Berry and the Gibson ES 350T

[kennyhowes]

So, who here knows - is it a Gibson ES 350T on all the Chess sides, or was he using an ES335 for those records too?

[peewee]

There's actually two answers for this, Kenny. The sides from the original Chess classics are the ES-350T, either a 1955 or 1956 model (my total dream guitar).

The tracks from the '50s feature the guitar fitted with its factory P90s.
http://designingthehuman.com/interface/ ... 62x300.jpg

Then @ '59 or early '60, he was using the same ES-350T but it had been fitted with a set of PAF pickups at Gibson's Kalamazoo plant.
http://cookingwithjames.googlepages.com ... l-full.jpg

He ended his affiliation with the Chess brothers in 1966 and signed with Mercury. It was with Mercury that he started using a cherry red Gibson ES-345TD.
http://guitarfixation.com/images/pic/ch ... hology.jpg

Then he resigned with Chess in 1970. Somewhere during his second stint with the label he started playing an ES-355TD which he's most commonly seen playing.

I also have pics of him playing a '54 Les Paul Custom but I don't believe that he ever recorded with it. He did however use a Gibson Electraharp -- a pedal steel type of instrument -- to record a few songs during his first stint at Chess.
http://musicmansteve.com/guitars/images ... arp-9d.jpg

[kennyhowes]

That's great, Mike, thanks!

So: The '50s Chess stuff was done with a guitar with P-90s? COOL.

At the top of the list of my favorite non-Rick guitar sounds are guitars with P-90s. Townshend, Lennon, and now this!

Plus a friend of mine has a real '52 goldtop with stock P-90s that KILLS.

[peewee]

My favorite pickup hands down, Kenny. I had an ES-5 w/ three P90s and a master tone control that just dripped that old T-Bone Walker tone. My dream for years has been to eventually land either a full bodied late '40s or early '50s ES-350 or a mid '50s Es-350T; but it has to have the P90s either way. My #1 guitar is a 2001 Gibson Historic Authentic '56 goldtop reissue with vintage 1955 guts and a '50s stop tailpiece with case hardened studs. This deal sounds as good as the original 1954 Les Paul I had in the mid 1980s -- just a killer guitar for Rock or Blues and even get a "jazz box" tone from the neck pickup by playing back on by bridge with the tone slightly rolled back. I love a great set of P90s!

[collin]

Wow, cool picture!

Just last week I bought an identical ES-345 to this one, '68 , cherry red etc etc.

[jingle_jangle]

Stereo and Varitone, too, Collin?

Hate to say it, but I remember when the '64 Gibson catalog was my evening reading, and these were new...

It was a very classy piece of collateral, matching Gibson's standing in those days.

[Danotron]

Congratulations Collin!

Was it the one at GC Fountain Valley?

[peewee]

Killer guitars, Collin! The varitone is really such a hip feature. They actually made a few custom order ES-335s with the varitone back in the day; how many is not known. Check B.B. King's Live at the Regal for a recorded example -- a 'dot marker' 1959 ES-335 w/ varitone cranked through a 4x10 tweed Fender Bassman. Probably my favorite live recording of all time and certainly one of my favorite B.B. records!

[collin]

Stereo and Varitone, too, Collin?

Hate to say it, but I remember when the '64 Gibson catalog was my evening reading, and these were new...

It was a very classy piece of collateral, matching Gibson's standing in those days.

Yep, stereo and Varitone too!

ES-335's typically sell for more than their more "deluxe" ES-345 and ES-355 cousins, and I do know that people swear by the simplicity of the ES-335 circuitry, mono and sans varitone, but......every time I've plugged into a nice vintage 345/355, it had the tone. Why pay more for less? I'm sure there is an audible difference, but personally I like the set tones from the varitone, and a cranked ES sounds like a cranked ES, no matter what it is.

It's a '68, so it's on the early Norlin-era cusp, without the typical Norlin characteristics (like it doesn't have a "volute" or whatever you call it, behind the nut, and it has an orange label, smaller headstock profile, patent # pickups etc. ). Looks pretty good in person, I'll have it Friday and post some pictures.

Cool that you remember these guitars when they were new---it seems like ages ago, but they're not really that old in the "big scheme."

Congratulations Collin!

Was it the one at GC Fountain Valley?

Thanks! Funny---I stopped by F.V.G.C today, and just before I left, I noticed that '68 on the wall. Identical to the one I just bought, though mine has more wear. That one was also priced to the moon ($6K I think..). More than twice what I paid, for sure. Sure looked good though.

[collin]

Got it in today.

Man oh man.....what a sweet guitar. This thing plays itself and screams the blues.

It's even a great match for my ES-345 based MCI Guitorgan !

[kennyhowes]

You have a Guitorgan! Cool!

[collin]

You have a Guitorgan! Cool!

Oh yeah. I've had a few of them.

.....preeeeetty much the coolest thing ever. I'm fairly certain.

[whojamfan]

Very cool Collin-nice score!