Guitar Tone Controls

[Fretz]

Hey Guys

I used to be a "leave the guitar's tone control on 10" all the time player. But lately I've started messing around with the tone control (and volume control) on my strat and I have to say I have found some really great tones.

It's cool to just do it on the one pickup, say the neck pickup and see what tones you can force from the guitar.

But what I've found really useful is to adjust both tone controls and get a smoother change in tone when changing between pickups. I used to find it very extream to say go from the neck pickup to the bridge, but now that I've started making use of the tone controls it's a much nicer sound (to me).

Also, having both pickups on and adjusting both the guitar's tone controls can get some cool sounds.

Is this something that you guys do, or do you usually just leave the tone on 10?

 

[Jimi75]

Being someone who plays a 1 channel amp without pedals most of the time, I depend on using what the guitar offers. Volume and tone knob is in use all the time. Volume to controle the grade of overdrive, tone to make the switch from neck to bridge pu smooth and of course to get jazzy tones from the neck pu when need be.

 

[wingsdad]

Yes.

Tone controls are there to be played, since the first guitar amps 60 years ago had none. They have a huge influence on the shape of the signal going out of the guitar to the preamp/amp which in turn 'finishes' the job.

 

[Spudman]

You can get even more from your Strat by doing a simple mod. Disconnect the middle pickup lead from the tone pot, and instead connect the bridge pickup lead there instead. It will open up the sound from the middle pickup and take a bit of the ice pick off the bridge pickup. The bridge with the tone rolled down, depending on what you use, can sound like a humbucker or a P90 pickup. Pretty cool. You'll still get tone control for all pickups in positions 2 and 5.

 

[Jimi75]

You can get even more from your Strat by doing a simple mod. Disconnect the middle pickup lead from the tone pot, and instead connect the bridge pickup lead there instead. It will open up the sound from the middle pickup and take a bit of the ice pick off the bridge pickup. The bridge with the tone rolled down, depending on what you use, can sound like a humbucker or a P90 pickup. Pretty cool. You'll still get tone control for all pickups in positions 2 and 5.

We all know, this is a MUST MOD!

 

[Fretz]

We all know, this is a MUST MOD!

Yeah, this makes a BIG difference.

My strat came with one tone control wired to the neck and middle and the other wired to the bridge only! Much more usable than the standard setup (I think)!

 

[Eric]

Hey Guys

I used to be a "leave the guitar's tone control on 10" all the time player. But lately I've started messing around with the tone control (and volume control) on my strat and I have to say I have found some really great tones.

It's cool to just do it on the one pickup, say the neck pickup and see what tones you can force from the guitar.

But what I've found really useful is to adjust both tone controls and get a smoother change in tone when changing between pickups. I used to find it very extream to say go from the neck pickup to the bridge, but now that I've started making use of the tone controls it's a much nicer sound (to me).

Also, having both pickups on and adjusting both the guitar's tone controls can get some cool sounds.

Is this something that you guys do, or do you usually just leave the tone on 10?

Yeah, I'm with you. I always had it at 10 in the past to avoid mud, but I've been using the tone control more these days and have found it to work really well. Takes some getting used to, particularly if you don't have numbers on the knobs, but it's opening some new doors for me.

 

[marnold]

I used to be all-10, all the time. I questioned the need for a tone pot. But then I got my Jet City. I could do so many cool things by fiddling with the volume pot. The problem was that my neck Jazz pup (which I dearly love, except for this particular point) would get muddy very quickly as I rolled off the volume. A treble bleed mod took care of that, but it tended to make the middle position or the bridge somewhat ice-picky. The solution is just to roll back the tone a bit.

When I'm playing rawk, I still tend to leave everything wide open. It's nice to know that the flexibility is there. I don't think I'll ever become like Joe Bonamassa who is forever twiddling with the pots on his Les Paul.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

When I first started, it was too much to deal with tone knobs too. Now I use them all the time. On my strat, it does lots of things. On my Viking, I love to blend the volumes of the bridge and neck, and mix the tones of each to get different amounts of bite and warmth. When I tried out the CV tele I have my eyes on, I was amazed at what the tone knob would do. On that guitar, the tone knob is wired to also control the bridge, which is nice if you want to dial back the bridge just a hair. Fun!

 

[Eric]

I feel like kind of a moron when I say that I just starting using the tone knob. Kind of like, "Hey! There are two dials on here! Huh."

It's kind of good to know that a few others have had similar epiphanies in the relatively recent past.

 

[Heywood Jablomie]

One of my guitars is an Epiphone with the original pots, so the tone "control" is more like a tone switch. One of these days , I'll replace them with CTS units.

 

[Fretz]

I feel like kind of a moron when I say that I just starting using the tone knob. Kind of like, "Hey! There are two dials on here! Huh."

It's kind of good to know that a few others have had similar epiphanies in the relatively recent past.

Yeah, I think it depends on the guitar also. I've got 2 strats. On one I get a lot from playing with the tone/vol controls. On the other I always leave the tone on 10. Think I might change the pickups in that one actually

 

[Ch0jin]

I feel like kind of a moron when I say that I just starting using the tone knob. Kind of like, "Hey! There are two dials on here! Huh."

It's kind of good to know that a few others have had similar epiphanies in the relatively recent past.

Dude, your so not alone there.. I blame it on my crappy guitars. It wasn't until I got myself a decent one that I noticed the tone and volume controls did something musical when fiddled with.

 

[NWBasser]

I've always been a keep it cranked sort of player.

I'm experimenting with the tone knob right now and seems to get some cool sounds. And yeah, it's a stock Epi and likely needs the pot/cap changeout.

 

[markb]

I ride the controls all the time on my tele. To a lesser extent on Gibsons but I like to knock the tones back for chimier cleans. Not so much on my strat, I think I need a treble bleed circuit on there.

 

[marnold]

Dude, your so not alone there.. I blame it on my crappy guitars. It wasn't until I got myself a decent one that I noticed the tone and volume controls did something musical when fiddled with.

I think you may be on to something. Unfortunately, pots can vary wildly in their quality and in how close they are to the targeted spec. Also, one thing I've noticed with the cheaper pups that I've had is that they don't seem to be as dynamic (for the lack of a better term) as the Duncans and Dimarzios that I've had. Of course, that might be due to the fact that the cheaper ones that I've had have been wound pretty hot.

 

[omegadot]

If I go about 45 seconds without adjusting it I'm impressed. I love tailoring it to exactly what I want then.

 

[FrankenFretter]

Are the knobs those round turny things?

Seriously, I do play with my knobs sometimes. Mostly after everyone goes to bed.

 

[Tig]

I guess I was lucky early on to read about how Clapton got the "Woman Tone", which opened up the tone knob experimentation door.
"switched to the neck pick-up, tone control rolled all the way down, and the volume all the way up, with distortion turned all the way up, and the treble, mid and bass on the amp were maxed out"

I think I just created a band name, "The Tone Knob Experimentation Door"!

 

[oldguy]

I don't adjust anything. It was all set at the factory.

 

[kiteman]

I find some tone caps too dark so I changed 'em to lighter caps and get more range. It's amazing that they get so boomy from such dark caps.

 

[Ch0jin]

I don't adjust anything. It was all set at the factory.

HAHAHAHAHA thats gold.

I do have one guitar with a dummy knob actually. I'm always making up stuff about what it does to stir people up, but in reality it's simply a result of rewiring the dual volume, single tone setup to a single volume and tone for both pickups. The third knob is now just on a rotary switch thats not connected to anything.

 

[DeanEVO_Dude]

I find some tone caps too dark so I changed 'em to lighter caps and get more range. It's amazing that they get so boomy from such dark caps.

Hey, what kind and size do you usually use? Strat (singles) Les Paul (hummers)?

I have done a little experimenting, used to just buy caps from the local Radio Shack, but recently ordered some Orange Drops, and put them in my Dean (single volume, single tone), along with some Alpha pots, very nice... I also did my strat with full-size Alphas, with a .015 tied to the bridge and middle, and a .033 (I think) for the neck, though I didn't get much time to play with it, sold it (darn those strats, just can't find one that sounds good in my hands!). At any rate, I was going to do the same thing with my Stagg (Les Paul control layot), put new Alphas with Oranges, .015 bridge and a .033 neck, in the middle positon on the switch, you would get just over a .047 value (caps in parallel, you add the values). Pots, by the way are ubiquitous 500k for hummers, and 250k for singles.

 

[deeaa]

Methinks it's entirely dependant on the type of guitar. Stuff like a Strat is so piercing and thin I would use tone controls on it, yeah...most often, when I play a Strat I almost only use the 2nd position i.e. neck and middle pup together...those singles are so feeble alone, or if I used a bridge pup, it'd certainly need some toning down too. Teles probably too, but I haven't really ever played a real tele much at all amplified.

But, my own guitars I tweak to sound like I want them to, and after that I can just rip off the tone controls entirely, and usually also the pickups I don't need. I think I only have two guitars left with actually working tone controls, and that's just because I haven't opened them up in ages. Although I think on my V I'll keep both pickups and tones, just to keep it 'traditional'.

 

[ZMAN]

When Ifirst watched professional players I usually tried to see what settings they were using and how they get different riffs and tones while playing. I always thought that the constant movement of the picking hand to the control knobs was a nervous habit. I figured "why the heck would he be constantly changing his settings while playing the same song" The more I learned about playing the guitar, the more I understood what they were doing. It also helped that the quality of my guitars and amps became more and more sophisticated (along with my ears) that I noticed how much these changes can influence the tone. Now I "get it". Not to mention guys like Jeff Beck and Walter Trout constantly using volume swells as well.

 

[deeaa]

When Ifirst watched professional players I usually tried to see what settings they were using and how they get different riffs and tones while playing. I always thought that the constant movement of the picking hand to the control knobs was a nervous habit. I figured "why the heck would he be constantly changing his settings while playing the same song" The more I learned about playing the guitar, the more I understood what they were doing. It also helped that the quality of my guitars and amps became more and more sophisticated (along with my ears) that I noticed how much these changes can influence the tone. Now I "get it". Not to mention guys like Jeff Beck and Walter Trout constantly using volume swells as well.

Ayuh! Now, but, there's more than one way to change sounds. Doesn't have to be tone controls. I much prefer using my feet for sound changes. I can change the gain level of the same sound six different ways with my feet.

You can also just change the picking technique and attack for a completely different sound. Some people use wahs for tone control, not rocking it but using more fixed positions. Surprisingly many players have their sounds and effects controlled entirely off-stage by some guitar tech, while they play.

I might use the guitar controls more if I ever had time...but I hardly have a few milliseconds free time for my pickin' hand most of the time I play. I find it hard to manage super-quick and accurate sound changes while playing even with the C.Martin octaswitch, let alone start reaching with my hand.

 

[omegadot]

I frequently use a Wah in a fixed position. It sounds cool sometimes.

 

[ZMAN]

Ayuh! Now, but, there's more than one way to change sounds. Doesn't have to be tone controls. I much prefer using my feet for sound changes. I can change the gain level of the same sound six different ways with my feet.

Maybe you should clarify what you mean by using your feet! Do you mean you stomp on a pedal or do you change the setting on the amp with your toes. LOL. I am not sure what you mean.

 

[deeaa]

Maybe you should clarify what you mean by using your feet! Do you mean you stomp on a pedal or do you change the setting on the amp with your toes. LOL. I am not sure what you mean.

I alter the perception of reality among the listeners by removing my footwear and letting the odor modulate their thought processes...

Seriously speaking, simply make a bunch of presets I can switch to with one button click on the pedalboard.

I really don't change the sound I've found I like much...the last time I changed my amp settings about two years back, I ripped off the knobs and put them back showing 12 o'clock at those settings...a few times I've slightly added treble over that, or gain, but always gone back to the way I set it back then.

Besides that, I just change the guitar according to the sound I want, or turn pedals on or off. And all my guitars sound very much the same except when I want really soft stuff I pick the strat with an EMG SA singlecoil at neck, and when I want evil biting metal I pick the one with an EMG81 instead of 85. Besides that, the sounds are very similar. My regular-use-axes go as follows:

- light trem-equipped Yamaha, 85, 009 ultralights - for recording
- light squire-based Strat, 85, 009 to 49 - great lively rock guitar
- a bit beefier strat, 85+SA, 009 to 49 - less lively and sturdier all-round user
- a light 24,5 scale strat/hardtail 'Davette', 85, 85+SA - superb player and a really tight SG-style sound, preserved for recording mostly
- a sturdy Flying-V-knockoff, 81 + 89, .10 set, for metal & hard stuff

That's enough tone control for my use!

 

[ZMAN]

That is what I thought. When I first read it, it brought some funny thoughts to mind.