When researching anything, what's the first thing you do? You gather information. Below is the first schematic I found of the stereo Varitone circuit.
We have our pickups, potentiometers, 3-Way toggle switch, the chokes, and the 6-Way rotary switch. This was the schematic that circulated on the Internet for years. The value of the chokes (circled in red) is stated to be 1.5 Henries. So, the next step in my research was to start buying up old chokes that players had torn out of their ES-345 and other Varitone equipped guitars and measuring them.
Hmm... 7.77 Henries to 18.50 Henries is -
a) quite a range
b) considerably higher than the stated 1.5 Henries specified
Could the Internet be wrong? Also, the value decreased over the years. The two bottom chokes with the cloth covered wire are from the late '50s, while the remaining ones are from the '60s to mid '70s.
So why does the Henries measurement matter? The larger the value, the more pronounced the effect the Varitone has on the sound/tone. I've played vintage ES-345s that sounded amazing in the first (bypass) Varitone position but then were lackluster in positions 2 through 6. I've also played ones that had the Varitone sounds in spades but were absolute dogs in the bypass position. After years of trying multiple Varitone equipped guitars, I truly believe it comes down to the perfect combination of the pickups and the chokes, unless you're going to pick and choose your parts for the best sound (more on that later).
Next up, we take a look at the 6-Way switch.
Illegitimi non Carborundum
Scott @ BMF Effects