Guitar volume knobs-how do you use them?

[chu2]

Lately I realized that even if I'm playing clean, I still throw on an overdrive to beef up any solos I do, even though I could just turn the volume knob down a bit and crank it for the solo without using effects.

 

So I started playing around with the volume control more, and it really made me question the way I have my overdrives and distortions set, volume-wise. I ended up dropping the volume on my gain pedals quite a bit to almost unity with my clean amp setting.

 

Anyone else find that they don't use the volume control as much as they should/had this kind of revelation?

[Dissentience]

I use mine all the time

[hot_karl]

i don't use mine often, but sometimes to get some weird sounds outta my octafuzz

[chu2]

I use mine all the time

Idk, it was just one of those things where you don't realize you're not doing something, and when you do, it opens up different musical possibilities.

[relva3]

When playing with others/live I use it constantly. Practicing at home I find myself using it somewhat, but not nearly as much because I'm not worried about hanging correctly in the mix.

[IamBurnout]

Always twistin' 'em.

[Frankenstrat86]

I usually keep them at 8 or 9 and move them up when needed or use them for swells/violining etc.

[Rawkkitten]

I recently got that volume pot mod where a capacitor keeps the treble from getting lost when you roll off. It's great! I used to always play on 10 because it sounded dead when turned volume down. But now I can use most of the volume knob range and it sounds good. A lot more possibilities now.

[Amiller1121]

I always use mine, but I always use a Fuzz Face too, so it's kinda necessary

[MojoFilter]

Depends on the rig, the guitar in question, and the type of music that I'm playing.

 

On my Teles, I'm constantly adjusting them, though.

 

I am NOT a fan of the school of thought that says "Put your volume on 10 for solos and high gain, roll it back for your cleans". I've found the clean channel always suffers, no matter the circumstance.

 

Hence my 3 overdrives and a separate boost pedal on my main board.

[MojoFilter]

I recently got that volume pot mod where a capacitor keeps the treble from getting lost when you roll off.

 

 

It's called a Treble Bleed.

[boytbpc]

I set my single-channel NMV amp to the distortion I use the most and roll of the guitar volume to clean it up.

[musikerochan]

i use it a lot when my fuzz is on. turn it down, it gets clean_ish, on 10 it's all fuzzy.

[Faldoe]

yes

[Dr.Pain-MD]

I use my volume knob all the time because I play a lot of really dynamic music on a non-master volume amp, so I kind of have to.
It really pays off though if you know what you're doing.

[Poltergeist]

i use the basicly to make a smooth transition from bridge to middle to neck. once i find the sweetspot i never really touch them for a while really.

[Bee_Gee]

well first i grab the knob, and then i give a little twist. repeat step 2 to taste

[alteredsounds]

Use it all the time, can prob have the worst amp and pedals in the world but still get away with it by using the inbetween tones from the guitar volume pot.

[sfarfsky]

I'm constantly on the volume if I'm playing a Strat.

 

[Dr. Goldenglove]

I usually have the volume on max and adjust my picking strength. I really only use it for big swells and when playing cleaner stuff through a hi-gain channel/pedal.

[Let It Burn...]

I use it for gain control

[Urinate Forever]

none of my guitars have an actual knob. It broke off my beloved kramer and it always get loose on my tele. so I only use it when i'm with people, chillin in my basement and i need to turn it down temporarily.

[Cirrus]

I'm using mine more than I used to. It took me a while to get past the idea that valve amps sound best when they're being pushed hard, and appreciate the warm, soft cleans you can get. But now I do, I often roll down the volume to increase the dynamic contrast between sections, or even just clean up really fuzzy sounds a little. Because of the compressing nature of most distortions/boosts, I often find the volume stays more or less the same, but the tone gets a bit smoother and that can be just the ticket. I find I'm more likely to play the volume/tone knobs live or when recording when I really get into the guitar playing.

[Liberty Belle]

Guitar volume knobs are pretty damn useless, its either full on or full off for me and anything in between sounds like {censored}!

[Mind_Riot89]

I use it to clean up distortion for chords then full blast for riffs and solos.