Do you really need a tone control Knob?

tucky guy · 06-11-2007, 04:44 AM

On an electric guitar, the tone-contol is nothing more than a capacitor-filter wired in parallel to knock-off the high-end frequencies.

I always turn my tone-control to wide-open which means the filter is completely BYPASSED. Everyone else I know does the same thing.

Does anybody actually use a tone-control to cut out high-end? I could understand using it in certain situations with an overly "bright" sounding guitar like maple-wood.

What5647 · 06-11-2007, 05:05 AM

even with it full open, as i also leave my electric, there's going to be some frequency loss. whether it's a negligeble amount or not someone with more experience than me will have to say.

you have a single-coil or humbucker equipped guitar? it seems the start guys are the ones who i hear about using tone controls more.

WideAwake · 06-11-2007, 06:34 AM

I use mine on my Humbucker sometimes, when I feel it's a bit to harsh. I've got the fender 'greasebucket' system that rolls of the highs without making it muffled, so maybe it's a bit more useful that a standard tone.

nate95366 · 06-11-2007, 08:06 AM

I occasionally use my tone control during songs, the most common use being transitions between points where my guitar should be cutting through the mix and points where my guitar should be in a supporting role. I usually cut the tone just a bit for the supporting role.

Nate

presbystrat · 06-11-2007, 08:20 AM

I occasionally use mine but mostly I just use the EQ on my processor. My Godin SDxt is 100% hardrock maple (very bright).

**thesteve** · 06-11-2007, 08:35 AM

I use it all the time on my Strat.

irtrogdor · 06-11-2007, 10:02 AM

its deffinitly there for a reason. i use it all the time actually. i switch to my neck humbucker and actually cut about 90% of the highs out. it makes it sound very smooth.

Forged by Fire · 06-11-2007, 10:04 AM

It somewhat depends on the musical application. Like alot of jazz guys really depend on the tone knob to get dark buttery tones when the inherent guitar sound isnt dark enough. Some classic rock guitarist use the tone knob to get that smooth womany tone.

Then there's guys like me. Im in a full out metal/progressive band. The first mod I make to a guitar is to pull the tone knob. I like to get the most Djent possible on my palm mutes and I like alot of clarity. The extra frequency gained by pulling the tone knob out of the circuit can give a discernable boost in clarity. Then I use my 9 band amp EQ to cut certain frequency bands in the highs end as needed for the rythm, lead and clean channels. I dont typically need to adjust the amount of highs on the fly. So a tone knob is unneccesary. Although there are a few times that I will use the wah as a sort of tone knob filter but I can completely bypass the wah when not in use of course.

Psalt12 · 06-11-2007, 10:17 AM

Yea, I use mine on my strat...Usually I roll off the treble strings down to about 7 and leave tone knob for the bass strings at 10

RainCaster · 06-11-2007, 10:48 AM

I don't use it at all on my A/Es- I set the EQ for the venue and then leave it alone. My mando doesn't even have tone or vol controls, and I don't miss them- just set up the preamp and leave it alone. Now my electrics are a different story: I use them alot, often switching pups and changing tone between songs.

**DaGeek** · 06-11-2007, 10:53 AM

I use my tone knob a lot on my dual-'bucker guitar to make the sound a bit sharper or smoother. It's quite a useful knob.

CDBongo · 06-11-2007, 11:03 AM

I have a schecter c-1 classic, (dual humbucker) and this gutiar's tone knob seriously doesn't do anything except acting as a sort of "on/off" switch between 1-2 and has no effect between 2-10, I keep it full cranked, unless I'm trying to experiment with something like make it sound like a bass.

Major Tom · 06-11-2007, 02:24 PM

Being a live player, I like a bright cutting tone, one that cuts thru a live mix; no, I don't use tone controls with one exception, I will turn it down just a bit on the bridge pickup of my strat (stock single coil). I've disabled the tone control on a lot of my axes, or used that position for something else, like variable coil splits.

I also don't like how turning down the volume control also cuts highs - I've installed the "keep the highs" cap + resistor mod on almost all of my guitars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psalt12

Yea, I use mine on my strat...Usually I roll off the treble strings down to about 7 and leave tone knob for the bass strings at 10

How do you do that? Does it have splittable "Z" pickups or something?

presbystrat · 06-11-2007, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom

I also don't like how turning down the volume control also cuts highs - I've installed the "keep the highs" cap + resistor mod on almost all of my guitars.

Ooo... tell us how to do that one, please.

MJ_Avalanche · 06-11-2007, 03:33 PM

On most everything I play, I hardly ever touch the tone knob(s). I can think of two times when I do.

1) On my jazzbox, it's not quite "dark" enough with the tone on 10, so I usually cut it down to about 6-7 and it's perfect (at least with the amp I'm using now)
2) If I ever have to play any sort of jazzesque tune on my Strat or SG.

That's pretty much it.