Southpa Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I'm just curious. I usually crank the volume on my guitar and just control the overall output with the amp. I recently did some mods to a friend's guitar and realized that he has a very strange way of doing things. He cranks the volume , yes right up to 10, on his little National practice amp and turns the volume way down on the guitar. I listened to him play his guitar and realized that he wasn't getting the full benefit of the pickups' output and tone not to mention hearing the changes I made. I tried setting him up the way I do but hes stubborn and refuses because he likes to use the vol pot for a 'wow' effect with his little finger. I dunno, I feel like it was wasted work. old dog, new tricks scenario, to each his own. Its no wonder why he was complaining about his guitar's tone before I worked on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samba Pa Ti Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 i do it like you, but i use the master volume on the amp so Guitar = 10 overdrive/level/gain = 10 master vol = 3 (this is loud enough anyway) i alter the level depening if i want distorted/clean tones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prs man Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I do it like that also this way you control your volume with your guitar and not the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samba Pa Ti Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 you can still do it with the guitar, i dont see a point in putting the amp on full volume :S (unless it only has 1 volume control) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazed Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 you can still do it with the guitar, i dont see a point in putting the amp on full volume :S (unless it only has 1 volume control) It sounds lke he was a big fan of spinal tap. does his amp go to 11? Truthfully if I did that my sound would suck. Dialing in your amp is an art. He is not getting the full benefit of guitar or amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Guitar volume at 10 at all times(all I really need is an on/off switch to be honest). I also turn my preamp to 10 and control the amp volume with the master volume.I really don't like the sound of power tube soak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 My bass is usually full volume, mainly because the pot is broken there right now (must replace!). Before I would have mine at half volume for some songs so I could turn it up during the louder parts during band practice. If I ever get a volume pedal, I would always have the bass at full volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Guitar 10, master volume 10 (it's a tube amp) and I control the overdrive with the gain (ie preamp volume) control. Thats the beauty of having a 2 watt amp. You can set the volumes for your ideal tone and not have to worry about volume, because even all the way up it's only 114 db. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I crank the guitar volume all the way up most of the time, and control volume with the amp. Occasionally I use the guitar volume to control the amount of fuzz, if I'm playing just at the point between clean and starting to break up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 4-input old-school tube amp: Normal + Brilliant channels linked, volumes usually @ 9-10 Master volume @ 9-10 Guitar volume @ 10 for lead work, backed off for cleaner stuff, or just play lighter (or both, that's the beauty of a good tube amp) If I was playing clean only I might set the input channel volumes @ 5 and turn up the guitar volume. If that old National is a tube amp, I'd probably do like your friend does - amp on 10, guitar volume controls the gain (it worked for Hendrix ). If the guitar's electronics are set up right you shouldn't be losing any tone. I added a treble bleed circuit to mine so it doesn't get muddy when I roll the volume down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sand Paper Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Guitar @ 10 Distortion channel max gain, max volume, with high input (boost) selected. Clean channel at 5 volume/gain Master 1 set to 3 Master 2 set to 3.75 for solo boosting. Clean channel gives a nice slight crunch, distortion sounds raw and open. Master 2 brings up the mids even with that little volume increase. Amp is a 100 watt running at 50w with hot bias for power tube goodness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radrobgray Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Guitar: 10 or lower to slightly clean things up Preamp Master: from 7 to 9ish for volume boosts for solos preamp Output: 7 Power Amp A Channel (low power mode, 60watts): 7 the power amp has to channels (60watts/90watts power side) but i dont have a stereo cab yet so i just use "A". it sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Amp turned WAAAY up, guitar on 1 or 2, depending on if I want it clean or dirty. If you have decent pickups, you won't need them turned all the way up to get a good sound. Anyways, that's how Clapton does it, and it works for me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 I dont touch the amp, settings stay the same, and overall volume is controlled by the amp. Guitar volume goes from 2/3 to 5/6 to 7/8 to 10, depending purely on how much gain i want. A good pickup, and correct value pot, will still give you a nice tone down low. A good amp will have enough compression that the volume virtually doesnt change, but the gain saturation does, when riding the volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joobsauce Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 For metal/rock, overdrive at max, guitar at 10, and amp volums at whatever loudness I feel like playing. For blues, I keep the same sttings, just switch from bridge to neck pickup and turn the guitar volume to 2-4. Gives it that dirty tone you really like, especially with single coils. So, when I need to do a solo, just turn the guitar vol back up and you're good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 I dont touch the amp, settings stay the same, and overall volume is controlled by the amp. Guitar volume goes from 2/3 to 5/6 to 7/8 to 10, depending purely on how much gain i want. A good pickup, and correct value pot, will still give you a nice tone down low. A good amp will have enough compression that the volume virtually doesnt change, but the gain saturation does, when riding the volume. +10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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