How many players keep the guitar volume at 10?

[Hendrixlvr]

hi folks. I'm just curious as I've been recently delving into using the volume and tone on my guitar instead of keeping it at 10 at all times...I find, (to my ear) an overdriven amp sounds just a little better if the volume on my guitar isn't set to 10, so for maximum drive, I like to keep it at 7-8 at the most....does anyone else find this is the case?

 

[Brad Pittiful]

mine goes to 11

 

[Bob M]

I keep it close to 10. It just sounds better.

 

[grolan1]

I'd say 90% of the time it's on 10 and I control volume with my pick attack. Certain, low key songs I roll it down a bit for key softer parts, but that's only around 10%.

 

[cntry666]

I'm always on 10 however I have two guitars where I will mess with the volume

 

[adjason]

I'm on 10 on volume usually but never on tone

 

[Southpaw Tele]

When I started playing, I was on 10 all the time. Then I realized I could vary the amount of overdrive by backing it off a little. I play around 7 and up it to 10 if I need more dirt.

 

[Picton]

I don't do any kind of overdrive/distortion, so I use my volume a lot. Tone? Almost never; that sucker is just about always dimed.

 

[raysachs]

I'm usually on 10 but that's because I'm not playing out or in situations where I have to change tone often or quickly. When I was younger and playing in front of people, I used the volume knob a lot as I transitioned from playing rhythm or backing parts into lead mode. I know how it works, but for how I play these days, it just doesn't matter - I just hit a different preset button on my amp and I'm right where I need to be. If I was playing out, I'm not sure if I'd still be using the volume knob a lot or if I'd be changing presets with a footswitch instead of a button on the amp...

I do adjust the tone a fair amount though. I have a strat with non-standard wiring to be able to roll off the bridge pickup though, and I damn straight use it...

-Ray

 

[w3stie]

This should be a poll n'est pas?

 

[Bones]

JD Simo posted a great video about using the tone and volume knobs to control your sound/tone while keeping the amp on 10 . I have pretty much always done this as well. When I'm done, i always turn the controls to 0, that way no nasty surprises next time i plug in.

 

[hemingway]

I usually have volume and tone on full. I use an extra OD pedal for volume boost.

Having said that I'm going to change things around a bit next time and try to use the volume more.

I could never do the thing of amp all the way up and control the volume on the guitar - one wrong nudge and the windows would blow out

 

[brookdalebill]

I keep all the pots all the way on.
I dislike potentiometers on guitars.
Volume swells can be cool, but I rarely do them.

 

[Revv23]

Ive been moving away from my strat and tele lately and playing My les pauls and 335 a lot more lately simply for the dual volume control. I set my rig up so that wide open bridge pickup is full blown lead sound, and set the neck pickup is just on the edge of breakup, playing a song with rhythm and lead parts, i just use the pickup selector instead of jumping in a pedal. Its quite liberating and frees up my brain to focus on playing - rather than hitting a pedal and hoping its set right, and its the right flavor for what im looking for, fuzz or distortion, etc. By making the choice ahead of time and having the controls on the axe I have been having a lot more fun playing with less time tinkering with the sound.

 

[dkmw]

As a certifiable hack, I have no credibility whatsoever on this matter.

But I am proud to announce that in the last few years I've discovered that those knobs down there don't have to dimed all the time.

 

[Knowcaster]

I play in a classic rock cover band so I need a wide variety of tones from song to song. I usually set up my rig so that when my guitar volume is on 10 I have the maximum level of overdrive/distortion that I would possibly want, then I back off to get lighter overdrive (or none if I drop it far enough). Then I control overall sound level with a volume pedal after my dirt pedal, usually an OCD. If I am getting my dirt from my amp I put the volume pedal in the effects loop and control preamp distortion with my guitar volume. For the tone control, depends on the song, but most often I have it on 10 for the neck pickup and at maybe 7 or 8 for the bridge pickup. Works for me.

 

[basher]

I use the controls a lot. I set things up so my default crunchy rhythm tone is with the guitar volume knob at about 75%, then as needed I'll dial back for cleaner tones or open up all the way to let fly the Lawn Darts of Rock. My tone knob is usually wide open, though I'll sometimes roll it back to about 80% or less when the mood strikes. I put a smaller-than-stock tone cap on my #1 tele years ago--I forget the exact value tbh--so I can be pretty subtle with it.

 

[Blue Bill]

These days, I set up with the guitar volume at 7 or so, so that if (when) everyone gets louder, I have some room to turn up as needed. I adjust the volume knob a lot for tone and loudness.

 

[Dave Hicks]

Usually at 9-10. I change pickups for a solo boost/cut (bridge P90 is closer to the strings than neck).

D.H.

 

[zosofan]

Depends on the guitar.
My Tele stays at 10 all the time but my LP and SG I'm always tinkering with.