One knob downsides?

I was thinking about building an esquire or some other one pickup guitar sometime in the future and was just wondering if not having a tone control would be detrimental to the sound of the guitar. I never mess with the tone knob too much on my guitars so I figured there wasn't much need for one if i'm building a guitar for myself. In other words is having the tone knob all the way up all the time the same as not having a tone knob at all or does just having the guitar wired with a tone control noticeably improve the overall sound?

if not having a tone control would be detrimental to the sound of the guitar

Yes, IMO it's a bit bright. I usually keep mine at 8 tops.

In other words is having the tone knob all the way up all the time the same as not having a tone knob at all or does just having the guitar wired with a tone control noticeably improve the overall sound?

Yes, it would be the same sound.

I put in just a volume control on a 2 pickup guitar and don't miss the tone knob on it at all.

You can put in a "fixed tone circuit" and no knob if its to bright.

My favorite guitar's my one-pickup Squier Japan strat, just a volume knob. Don't miss having a tone control at all.

Most days, the tone rolloff from just turning the volume knob down is all I ever need. Anything more and I'll just bust out guitar #2 or #3.

In other words is having the tone knob all the way up all the time the same as not having a tone knob at all

Yep, you got it right.

No downsides whatsoever from my perspective. And having a tone knob that is always turned up full is NOT the same as having no tone knob. Unless you're talking about the no-load pots then with a tone pot you will always have some of the treble leaking to ground. Which, if you like the sound is not necessarily a bad thing.

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I think it depends on the pickups. I have a vintage 58 tele. I think without a tone knob, it would kill you dead if you tried to play it witout a tone knob, but it is one of the brightest tele's I've ever played(bridge pickup anyway).

On the other hand, I put a couple Seymour Duncan single space humbuckers in a Strat to contend with a very noisy venue I play at a couple times a month. When I put them in, I didn't have any 500k pots laying around. So, I figured that a single 250k volume would darken up the sound about as much as two 500k pots (a volume and a tone). Thus, I have only a volume(no tone) for the HB's in neck and bridge, and a stock single in the middle. The single is really bright, but the neck and bridge HB's are AWESOME. I am now a believer in the single 250k volume pot for HB's without a tone circuit. CAVEAT: I haven't tried this yet with other pickups or full size HB's, but I certainly do think it is worth trying.

It really depends on personal taste and the guitar in use. I have a '79 Strat which I bought new and I reckon the tone pots must still be as new; I never touch them, same on my Tele but on my LP Junior I use the tone quite often. The original EBMM Van Halens only had one pot, for volume but marked 'Tone' if I remember correctly.
Maybe you could test the pickup you intend using in another (similar) guitar and decide from there before you commit to the build.

The downside is there is NO tone control.... I can't imagine playing a 4 hour gig and wanting to sound the same for 4 hours. Some songs need the tone rolled off, some need to be brighter, You can't be turning around and messing with the amp all the time. My main gig guitar has a wide variety of tones available with 3 pickups, vol & tone and a 5 way varitone switch. I have an esquire and it is wired cocked wah 2 vol & tone 3 volume only tone circuit bypassed... the one I pretty much never use is #3 and I can't imagine wanting a guitar with no other option. If you want the appearance of simplicity use stacked concentric pots for volume and tone.

For me, I play a lot of metal, and one volume knob is all I need. I think in the cover band I play in I touch the tone knob twice in the set on my strat and that's about it. It's more about application really. If you don't need it, don't install it. If you might need it, leave enough room to add one in the future.

I just built a thinline with a single P-90 and only a volume knob and I don't miss the tone knob at all. But it's not a very bright pickup to begin with. As others have said, I think it depends on the pickup. I think a typical Tele or Strat bridge pup would need a tone knob more than a P-90 or humbucker. I also only play at home, so if I get tired of this tone I can just grab another guitar off the wall. As Mike Simpson said, if you're gigging, you probably don't want to sound the same all night (unless you're in a ZZ Top cover Band).

You can put in a "fixed tone circuit" and no knob if its to bright.

Yes

If you might need it, leave enough room to add one in the future.

What he said.

I seldom, if ever, use my tone knob, but I like having it. If you don't need it, don't put it in. You can always add one later if you change your mind.

I gig all the time. At least two to three times a month. I ride my volume knob constantly, but I never touch my tone knob(s). The exception is my Tele. The neck pickup needs to have the tone full up. The bridge needs to have the tone rolled off a little. My Strat and Les Paul, I set and forget. I vary the brightness by where I pick, closer or further from the bridge.

Unless you regularly incorporate a "woman" tone into your playing, I think the tone knob is optional. If you like it use it. My Strat which has the tone circuit taken out has much better tone than it did with same pickups and a tone circuit. Like night and day really.