How Do You Set Your Controls On Your Les Paul

bobc · #1 07-19-2009, 12:17 PM

I have a Les Paul and am not sure how to set the controls (volume tone). I have been setting them all in the middle to this point, but am now wondering if I should just set them all wide open.

Does tone mean simply more or less with electric guitars?
Does tone change with volume on electric guitars?

Does cranking both volume and tone controls all the way give me the (most) best possible tone?

coreybox · #2 07-19-2009, 12:44 PM

Tone controls roll of high end -- 10 has the most. I'd start with them at ten, and if it is too bright roll them down some.

Volume controls are useful for controlling the amount of overdrive, not so much for controlling your actual volume. If you have a bit too much overdrive, you can roll the volume down some to clean the sound up.

Most people run all controls at 10.

muscmp · #3 07-19-2009, 01:25 PM

that's a very subjective decision depending upon the song and what tone you are trying to achieve for that song. you also have to factor in the amp or soundcard/speaker setup as well as any pedals you may be using.

GAD · #4 07-19-2009, 03:50 PM

Twiddle with them and put them where they sound good. It's not rocket science.

I agree with the above re: tone and volume. I like to set the amp to a point where I can get an almost clean sound on 5-6 then I can roll it up to 10 for some drive.

GAD

Bob Womack · #5 07-19-2009, 04:19 PM

Here's something that hasn't been covered: When the pickup selector is in the middle position, the two controls act as a blend control that produces sounds very different from the two individual settings. Whichever pickup is set louder has more effect on the sound. You can go from something near the neck pickup to something near the bridge pickup, but it never sounds exactly like either one.

Some useful tidbits:
You can pre-set one pickup low for rhythm and the other full-tilt to quickly switch between the two. Warren Haynes uses this quite a bit.
The volume pots have one taper when you switch to an individual pickup and quite another when you set the selector in the middle, open the bridge pickup, and roll from closed to open on the *edit*neck pickup with your pinkie.*edit* Either taper can be useful for the "pick and pinky" volume control swell trick while you are picking lead. The middle selector switch taper yields a quicker fade up from silent and a very bright sound on the way.

Bob

kak1154 · #6 07-20-2009, 02:23 PM

I think the folks so far have covered it, but I'll add my two cents to the mix. I run them all wide open, occasionally rolling off the volume to clean up or play softer. I find that anything less than 10 on the tone controls sounds muddy to me. This of course depends highly on your pickups and the rest of your signal chain.

dthumb · #7 07-20-2009, 02:51 PM

My inclination is to set everything wide open at the guitar and change pickups as needed..use a volume pedal and set my amp to just before breakup at around 2/3 of my pedal volume. That allows it to break up nicely at full volume and be "sweet" at half+ .
I also set some of my effects to drive a bit beyond natural and some just below ...just makes the transitions easier for me.
I like low wattage amps for just this reason,,set 'em up wide open along with the guitar..EQ set wide open and then back off the mids to taste. High wattage amps require more finesse and with my Twin, an overdrive pedal if I wish to stay welcome in my neighborhood..

yardism · #8 07-20-2009, 03:16 PM

Set the controls for the heart of the sun...

Bob Womack · #9 07-20-2009, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yardism

Set the controls for the heart of the sun...

Pink Floyd..

AnthemBassMan · #10 07-20-2009, 07:52 PM

-I set mine usually with the volumes on 10, the bridge tone on 6 or so, and the neck tone roughly on 8. But the volumes get adjusted to either clean up or dirty the sound whenever needed.

L8R,
Matt

erivel · #11 07-20-2009, 11:50 PM

Usually I set everything to 10, except when in the middle pickup selection, where I usually turn the neck pickup down to about 6.

yardism · #12 07-21-2009, 01:11 AM

I don't play mine that much anymore, but i usually changed the settings as needed. There was no one setting for me.

Not to compare myself in any way, but you should watch Warren Haynes play, he spends a LOT of time during any given song adjusting his pots. The guy is amazing to watch on top of being really fun to listen to.

Bob Womack · #13 07-22-2009, 06:21 AM

Oh by the way, HERE is a clip of Warren playing Black Hearted Woman with the Allman Brothers. Try counting the number of times he switches pickups when hopping between rhythm, fills, and lead. What a hoot!

Bob

bobc · #14 07-22-2009, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Oh by the way, HERE is a clip of Warren playing Black Hearted Woman with the Allman Brothers. Try counting the number of times he switches pickups when hopping between rhythm, fills, and lead. What a hoot!

Bob

WOW Bob. That was great!

The selector switch is defiantly something to take into account.

Let me know if you think I got this right...

I should start with everything wide open and roll off to get my tone where I want it.

Volume and tone on an electric guitar is not like EQ on an acoustic guitar in that... there is just more or less... not cut or boost.

kinda like the difference between a potentiometer and a rheostat?

Wide open on the tone is not tone loss and as you turn it down you roll off the treble.

The volume effects the tone to an extent.

The selector switch effects the tone in that it changes the pickup combination.

Wide open would be the equivalent to starting with everything flat on an acoustic guitar (or a mixing board).

Is this the general idea?

Bob Womack · #15 07-22-2009, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobc

WOW Bob. That was great!
The selector switch is defiantly something to take into account.
Let me know if you think I got this right...
I should start with everything wide open and roll off to get my tone where I want it.

The tone control is only a cut control, it can't add anything, so the native position for it is open, unless you want to... cut.

Quote:

Volume and tone on an electric guitar is not like EQ on an acoustic guitar in that... there is just more or less... not cut or boost. Same with the volume. It can only attenuate from full volume.
kinda like the difference between a potentiometer and a rheostat?

Mmmm... errr.. uhhh... Yes, on a passive design, which accounts for about 99% of electric guitars out there. If there's a battery in the guitar, there's a chance that it has an EQ boost circuit.

Quote:

Wide open on the tone is not tone loss and as you turn it down you roll off the treble.

Exactly!

Quote:

The volume effects the tone to an extent.

Yup. Typically, as you drop the volume at the guitar, you loose high-end. Modern designs take care of that with a treble-bleed cap design that allows treble through at lowered volume settings. Classic designs do not. Use your ears...

Quote:

The selector switch effects the tone in that it changes the pickup combination.
Wide open would be the equivalent to starting with everything flat on an acoustic guitar (or a mixing board).
Is this the general idea?

Yep. Have fun!

Bob