Ebony fingerboard, tone too bright

[FBloke]

Hi guys, please can you help me out.

I have a Gibson ES355 with an ebony board and the tone is a little too toppy and percussive, bright like a funk guitar. I'm looking for depth and woodiness and need to take the top off a little. Is this a pickup or a pot thing? Some people have recommended 250k pots.

I'd welcome your thoughts.

Thanks,

Mike.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Ebony fingerboard, tone too bright

335s can be bright cos of the maple centreblock, so an ebony board might be brighter still. I have ended up with a set of 59's using a2 magnets in my 335. Now its just singing. The a2 magnets smoothed off the highs and cos 59 pickups are quite bassy anyway, it worked a treat. The natural cut of the wood comes thru the smooth pickups tho when needed so it is a really versatile and killer axe in all pickup positions. I reckon alnico 2 pro pickup set would sound pretty similar, so im gonna recommend them too. 500k pots all round with a2 magnets....
p.s. an SD 59 with a2's is a waay bigger, fatter and sweeter pickup than a gibson 57.

 

[Gypsyblue]

Re: Ebony fingerboard, tone too bright

I doubt it's the fingerboard. Does your ES-355 have the VariTone circuit? Most do. I've played ES-355 guitars both with the Varitone and without it. Those without it sound like ES-335's and, IMO, sound better. Works for BB King - doesn't work for me. Maybe not for you either. It can be disconnected and still left in the guitar so you don't have an extra hole in the top.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Ebony fingerboard, tone too bright

lol...BB doesnt even bother with it! he leaves it in bypass! - but maybe thats why he has those awful pickups in the lucille model to compensate for the circuit or something?

 

[Gypsyblue]

Re: Ebony fingerboard, tone too bright

I don't like those pinched tones myself, but I've seen BB sweep through the Varitone and use those mosquito tones. Those tones are all over the Live At the Regal CD. I think #1 on the Varitone is the "bypass" setting, but an ES-355 with the Varitone circuit sounds different than one without it: woodier and more like an ES-335 without it.

Maybe the Varitone circuit loads the pickups in some way, even when it's in the Bypass mode?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Ebony fingerboard, tone too bright

yeh you may be right. I reckon the varitone looks cool tho!...but i reckon itd be better used as a switch for various coil/phase options instead of the squishy cap thing that it does.
The simpler the circuit the better the sound when it comes to guitars and amps IMO.