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Volume and Tone Knob Observation - Your thoughts

herb

Active member
Joined
Jan 13, 2002
Messages
981
Since I started playing you had to crank your amp to it's sweet spot (or louder) and use the volume control on your guitar to get your volume and gain and the tone for taste. This was before OD pedals and was pretty much common knowledge back then. You could get a ton of tones that way. I still prefer to play that way although it's nice to get even more different tones using pedals.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that I just sold a guy one of my LPs. He says that the volume works like an on/off switch and the difference using the tone control is minimal. He's very concerned and I am thinking he wants to send the guitar back. When I had the guitar there was absolutely no issues.

Now I'm thinking he's probably playing at bedroom levels with his amp hardly turned up. I just tried that through one of my rigs and sure enough if you use it that way there is minimal difference in the controls.

Am I full of it or could there be something wrong with the controls? I had the guitar just three days ago.
 

Dimitri92

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
48
Since I started playing you had to crank your amp to it's sweet spot (or louder) and use the volume control on your guitar to get your volume and gain and the tone for taste. This was before OD pedals and was pretty much common knowledge back then. You could get a ton of tones that way. I still prefer to play that way although it's nice to get even more different tones using pedals.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that I just sold a guy one of my LPs. He says that the volume works like an on/off switch and the difference using the tone control is minimal. He's very concerned and I am thinking he wants to send the guitar back. When I had the guitar there was absolutely no issues.

Now I'm thinking he's probably playing at bedroom levels with his amp hardly turned up. I just tried that through one of my rigs and sure enough if you use it that way there is minimal difference in the controls.

Am I full of it or could there be something wrong with the controls? I had the guitar just three days ago.

Sounds like somebody who doesn't get that style of playing. With the wrong amp the whole 50s wiring volume thing can act as on/off. Im sure nothing is wrong with the guitar.

No idea what to do now, because getting him to 'get it' might not be easy. Some people just don't get that whole style of playing, or just can't because of volume. Crankin' the amp up and doing it with the controls is very out of fashion nowadays..
 

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
Ask him how he's using it. Tell him it was made to be played with a loud amp and works best that way.. When I sell stuff it's always sold "As Is" & No Returns.
 

Uncle Gary

Active member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Messages
2,431
I wish I knew how many Gibson guitars I've rewired with "old style" audio taper pots just so I can use the volume controls to control my gain and drive with a single channel amp. This is the way I learned how to do it when I started playing a half century ago. Linear pots work fine if you're playing clean and using pedals for your overdrive/distorted tones, but that's not how Uncle G. rolls.
 

brandtkronholm

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
2,737
I wish I knew how many Gibson guitars I've rewired with "old style" audio taper pots just so I can use the volume controls to control my gain and drive with a single channel amp. This is the way I learned how to do it when I started playing a half century ago. Linear pots work fine if you're playing clean and using pedals for your overdrive/distorted tones, but that's not how Uncle G. rolls.

...it can be done with linear taper pots, though one must have a very delicate touch...
 

metropolis

Active member
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
390
Ignoring what makes the controls work that way for him for a moment, was the guitar you sold him modified from standard, and did he play it before buying it?

If it's stock and he just doesn't like the way the guitar he bought works then no way is he entitled to return it. If he didn't play it first then that's his risk.

FWIW I use linear volume pots with 50s wiring in one of my Les Pauls and find them absolutely fine whether I play with a cranked amp (and use the controls to manage the tone) or through a clean amp with pedals. The only issue I have is when you roll off the tone and the taper of the volume pots changes to become more severe, but I have learnt to get used to that.
 

El Gringo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,657
Ask him how he's using it. Tell him it was made to be played with a loud amp and works best that way.. When I sell stuff it's always sold "As Is" & No Returns.
I love how you said that a guitar is made to be played with a loud amp.
 
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