COLUMNS
TOOLS OF THE TRADE, PART 6
TALES FROM NERDVILLE
The 1959 Gibson ES-335 with Varitone circuit
by Joe Bonamassa
For video of this lesson, go to guitarworld.com/october2023
ELEANOR JANE
THIS MONTH, I’D like to feature a very rare guitar, a 1959 Gibson ES-335 fitted with a Varitone circuit. For those who missed the previous column, the Varitone is a multi-position tone control that offers six distinctly different EQ settings. It also puts the guitar in stereo, so one needs to use a stereo cable to access the instrument’s wide array of sound possibilities.