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Contents:
Main Event
Feature
Presentation
Ax of the by Reno Kling
Month
Studio Secrets
Cyber Riffs The development of the solidbody electric guitar in the 1950s
Tip Sheet initiated radical innovation in pickups, switches, amplifiers, and
accessories that continues with ever greater technological
Links:
GMI sophistication. First there was a single volume control, then tone
Instruments control then three-way switches and on and on. The designer's
News & Info goal was to enhance the players' control of their sound. As each
Global Auction manufacturer rolled out a new feature, their competitors
Service
responded with their own.
Dealers
Feedback
Gibson introduced the Varitone six-way
tone control in 1959 on the ES-345. Then
in 1982 B.B. King and Gibson joined forces
to create the one and only Lucille featuring
the Varitone with a wide range of
expressive sounds from a blazing
humbucker to a cutting single coil pickup. And yes, there is a
Varitone on the new Little Lucille.

VARITONE CIRCUIT

The Varitone circuit is a notch filter that utilizes a variety of

capacitors to achieve a reduction in frequencies at set points
within the overall bandwidth. As the varitone is rotated from
Position 1 to Position 6 the center frequency of the filter shifts
from higher to lower frequencies. Figure 1 demonstrates in

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general the type of frequency response that is created by the

varitone.

The specific characteristics are:

Position 1: Bypass (no effect)

Position 2: -8.5dB at 1875 Hz

Position 3: -12dB at 1090 Hz

Position 4: -15dB at 650 Hz

Position 5: -16dB at 350 Hz

Position 6: -20dB at 130 Hz

Mono/Stereo Output Jacks

When using "Mono" Output Jack-1, both pickups are operational.
If you want "Stereo", you MUST use both "Mono" Output Jack-1
and "Stereo" Jack-2 together.

"Stereo" Output Jack-2

When using output Jack-2 alone only the treble pickup is
functional. When using both jacks together Jack-2 carries the
treble pickup signal.

"Mono" Output Jack-1

When using output Jack-1 alone both pickups are functional.
When using both jacks together Jack-1 carries the rhythm
pickup signal.

Gibson's former R&D Guru, J.T. Riboloff, who won an award

from the Music Trades magazine in 1993 for his design of the
Nighthawk, went a step further by implementing a Varitone
circuit in the Blueshawk. The Varitone filters out specific,
Archives: fundamental frequencies. Combined with two volume, two push-
1995-1998 pull tone, three-way switch frequencies in it's five settings, the

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Varitone gives the Blueshawk enough sounds to satisfy a session

player. Click here to hear the Blueshawk sing.

"The Varitone opened up the spectrum of the tone paths of that

instrument quite a bit,"
Riboloff said.

"The other nice thing with that Varitone is the push/pull tone pot
which bypasses the circuit. The Varitone selector is a rotary
switch, and somebody might want to change his tone in the middle
of the song, but he's also thinking about keeping his timing. He
doesn't want to count how many times he's clicked his Varitone
knob. What this allows him to do is, for example, leave the circuit
in bypass and preset his Varitone at the beginning of the song. So
if you want to locate position 5 on the Varitone, for example,
preset the knob so that all you have to do is push that pot down."

VARITONE CIRCUIT

The Varitone circuit is a notch filter that utilizes a variety

of capacitors to achieve a reduction in frequencies at set points
within the overall bandwidth. As the varitone is rotated from
Position 1 to Position 6 the center frequency(f0)of the filter
shifts from higher to lower frequencies. Figure 1 demonstrates in
general the type of frequency response that is created by the
varitone.

*The specific characteristics are:

Position 1: Bypass (no effect)

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Position 2: -5dB at 1875 Hz

Position 3: -6dB at 1090 Hz

Position 4: -7dB at 650 Hz

Position 5: -10dB at 350 Hz

Position 6: -14dB at 130 Hz

Push Pull Tone Control:

- With the push pull tone control in the down position the
varitone is operational.
- With the push pull tone control in the up position the varitone is
removed from from the circuit.

*Decibel levels based on 1000Hz : 1 Volt sinusoidal test signal

Brought to you by Gibson Internet Services | 1999 Gibson Musical Instruments

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