Life Realization - I've never touched my Tone knob...

[0000]

In the 15 years I've been playing guitar, I just realized I've never ONCE used the Tone knob on any of the guitars I've owned. It's always set on 10. Occasionally it may accidentally get turned and I'll question why my guitar sounds all muddy and flat, then I'll realize... God damn tone knob!

Maybe I'm just unadventurous or really set in my ways of my guitar tone always being clear, bright and sharp. Regardless, I've never found the Tone knob useful for anything. If a darker tone was desired... the neck pickup is always there (but sometimes that rarely gets used).

I think this will be my next custom built EGC guitar... Might as well do away with the Volume too while I'm at it, because even that rarely get used.

[Ronnie Robinson]

Sounds like that guitar will suit you very well.....but I must admit I would not buy a guitar with no tone knob I like a flutey neck pick up sound too much ...even on my tele and a Strat bridge is too trebly, even harsh (imo) without one

[0000]

I can certainly see Tone control being most useful on a Fender, having the longer scale neck and brighter pickups, then on say a Gibson with humbuckers.

[Les Paul Lover]

I only use my volume knob to cut the sound off. Otherwise, it'll all always set to full.

[0000]

I only use my volume knob to cut the sound off. Otherwise, it'll all always set to full.

Exactly... and I have two pedals (tuners and ABY box) which will basically do that when engaged... thus realizing maybe I don't even need a volume knob. Occasionally do volume swells with an echo pedal, but that gets gimmicky fast.

Lots of people say they used the volume knob to roll it back for a cleaner sound when there amp is really crunchy. Having played several single channel amps, I've attempted this several times for a pseudo-cleanish tone... but there's always a very tiny window of useable tone that's like a hairpin of a turn on the knob. In a live setting, nailing that EXACT spot on the volume knob is impossible, especially when the knobs have no markings. My old Junior has numbers and the metal pointer "thumb cutter", so it's possible with that. Maybe the volume pots on my guitars have never been smooth enough of a taper. Doesn't matter anyway when you have multiple amp settings and pedals.

[jesperbc]

My Deluxe Big Muff cleans up nicely when I roll off the volume, so I tend to use my volume knob a bit more than just turning of the guitar between songs.

[msmith4432]

everybody has there own way of doing it but there is so much fine tuning and tweaking that you can do with both tone and volume. I play with mine a lot and set them different sometimes right in the middle of playing live I'm able to tweak it and make it sound better to my ears. I really like rolling off the tone know while using the neck pickup.

[Jondog]

I recently rebuilt an old strat, putting two humbuckers in and two volume controls. left the tone knobs out for the same reason.

[MikeD]

I'm a Gibson man, SG and lp, and like you say...why tone knobs? But when reading this post I've decided to do a little expertiment. I'm gunna role both tone knobs back to 5 and then set up my amps eq afterwards....never tried it that way before. Who knows, might put me in some kind of "tone nirvana"

[Boy_Narf]

Never used the tone knob here. Just recently started using the volume knob however. I sold off the overdrive/distortion pedals and started treating the R30 as a single channel amp. It has worked out pretty well TBH. Quite strange at first to adjust the volume knob while playing after some 20 years of never using it.

[fiveightandten]

Lots of people say they used the volume knob to roll it back for a cleaner sound when there amp is really crunchy. Having played several single channel amps, I've attempted this several times for a pseudo-cleanish tone... but there's always a very tiny window of useable tone that's like a hairpin of a turn on the knob. In a live setting, nailing that EXACT spot on the volume knob is impossible, especially when the knobs have no markings. My old Junior has numbers and the metal pointer "thumb cutter", so it's possible with that. Maybe the volume pots on my guitars have never been smooth enough of a taper. Doesn't matter anyway when you have multiple amp settings and pedals.

You're thinking about it too much. There is no exact point that you're shooting for. You're not looking at the knob, you're using year ear.

After a while, it becomes instinctual. I don't even think about it anymore. My hand is constantly varying my level of breakup through pick attack and riding the volume knob. After playing like this for a while, I don't know how I ever did things differently. I cater my dynamics to the band. I don't want to step on a pedal or footswitch and toggle between volume/gain/breakup levels that may or may not sit in properly at that particular moment.

Every venue and room is different. Maybe the drummer is hitting a little harder in a larger room. Maybe he's laying back at a more low key club. By riding the volume knob, I have the ability to dial in the perfect amount of volume and breakup at any given moment. I'm never stuck stepping on a footswitching and having my volume a little too high or low, or wanting a little more or less saturation. You control everything in real time, as you need it. It's as simple as that.

As someone who plays a Matchless, i'm actually astounded that you don't use your volume knob, or at least a volume pedal. A huge strong point of an amp like that is how responsive it is. Personally, i'd want to take advantage of that. But we all have our own ways of doing things.

I use the tone knobs on my brighter guitars, just to shave a little top end off with most amps, but not all. My Tele, Rickenbackers, and SG '61 RI. The Les Pauls stay wide open all the time.

Sweet guitar, by the way.

-Nick

[Moon]

There is a bit of theme in this thread...if it's a humbucker equipped guitar leave the tone alone but if it's something else maybe a little turn here or there. That's definitely true for me...the tone stays wide open on my LP but with my Tele's the tone knob is vital!

[jojo68]

Woman tone ftw !!!

[OrangeBoy]

Using the tone and volume controls is equivalent to varying the angle of pencils and paintbrushes when drawing and painting; achieving varying shades and effects. Art would be pretty boring if the tools weren’t manipulated in this way.

Same goes for guitar. Manipulating controls and varying picking dynamics enhances the finished product.

I constantly ride my tone and volume controls to achieve different shades. After a while it becomes instinctive.

[Randy Bass]

I touch my tone knob all the time. I always have to turn down the tone control on bridge pickups, even with humbucklers.