The Tone Knob(s)

[SnoSkiDrew]

Hey friends--

I'm just now seriously getting into buying an electric guitar and amp (I've inherited an old 60s Gibson, but it's got more sentimental value than I'd like to bring to a dorm room), and in the process, I've learned something: I have no clue what the tone knobs on an amp or guitar do.

I know that some guitars and amps have multiple "tone" knobs.. that said, what do they do?

It just seemed so odd to me that they have numbers and stuff, as if "tone" was a quantifiable value, like volume level (and maybe it is, in a roundabout way). To put it more bluntly, having the numbers on the knobs make it seem like the lower the number, the worse the sound of you guitar (less tone)!

Thanks for your helping me understand the tone knob's purpose.

[go7]

If you have a friend who`s well versed in electric guitar amps sit down and have him go over the basics. After that your ear will tell you. Good luck!

[Bob1131]

Originally Posted by SnoSkiDrew

Hey friends--

I'm just now seriously getting into buying an electric guitar and amp (I've inherited an old 60s Gibson, but it's got more sentimental value than I'd like to bring to a dorm room), and in the process, I've learned something: I have no clue what the tone knobs on an amp or guitar do.

I know that some guitars and amps have multiple "tone" knobs.. that said, what do they do?

It just seemed so odd to me that they have numbers and stuff, as if "tone" was a quantifiable value, like volume level (and maybe it is, in a roundabout way). To put it more bluntly, having the numbers on the knobs make it seem like the lower the number, the worse the sound of you guitar (less tone)!

Thanks for your helping me understand the tone knob's purpose.

You're kidding, right?

They are the same as on a car or home radio or stereo amp. The numbers allow you to reproduce settings. They work similarly to the volume controls where a number increase or decrease results in a corresponding increase or decrease in loudness. Tone adjustments are critical to compensate for room acoustics, personal preference, and mix when playing with other instruments.

[SnoSkiDrew]

Maybe I wasn't clear enough:

What difference does it make if the tone knob is at "2" versus "10?" I know obviously in a car stereo, where "bass +/-" or "treble +/-" signify that the bass or treble increase or lower.. but when the knob is simply marked "tone" it's not very clear. Sorry if I'm just a total moron here... according to the responses, it seems I am.

[raulb]

Originally Posted by SnoSkiDrew

Maybe I wasn't clear enough:

What difference does it make if the tone knob is at "2" versus "10?"

You should be able to hear the difference. If you don't then it makes no difference. If you do, it may make a lot of difference. It is all up to your ears.

No one can tell you what the difference between a 2 and a 10 setting is if they can't hear it. My advice, play it and fiddle with the tone knob yourself. As i said, you should hear the difference yourself.

The numbers themselves are simply markers. If you find that you like the tone set at, say, 3 but not at 8, the numbers allow you to replicate that 3 every time. It is no different than just having a line on the knob, like on the Taylor ES system knobs (yes, I know there is no knob that says "Tone" on a Taylor ES) except that the number allows a little more exact duplication.

[Bob Womack]

On the majority of Gibsons (passive electronics - no battery) the tone control is simply a treble roll-off. 10 is fully open (ie. as much treble as is possible) and 0 is treble fully rolled back.

Bob

[JimLin]

Most electric guitars have volume and tone controlled by way of Potentiometers (the knob that you turn -- a "Pot"). Tone is controlled by a capacitor attached to a "Pot". Here's a manual from the Gibson site:

http://www.gibson.com/Files/Download...ers_Manual.pdf

As mentioned above, amplifier volume and "tone" controls usually function somewhat like your stereo using potentiometers, capacitors, etc. Other things such as "Gain", "master volume", "effects", etc. controls also operate by way of potentiometers. Gibson and Fender have online manuals describing how things work. Here's a popular one:

http://www.fender.com/support/manual...Rod_Deluxe.pdf