Les Paul Knobs Explained: Volume, Tone, and Pickup Selector
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- Опубликовано: 27 апр 2023
- Check out my full article here: www.roundtableaudio.com/les-p...
In this video, I'll explain everything you need to know about the controls on your Les Paul, to help you find a sound that works for you!
Read more in my full article here: www.roundtableaudio.com/les-paul-knobs-explained/
00:00 Intro
00:19 Knobs
01:25 Pickup selector
01:47 Additional controls
02:00 Final thoughts
Thank you for the QUICK video, 2 minutes and no bullshit.
I've been playing guitar for 10 years, and today is the day I finally looked up what knob does what. I'm pretty proud of myself, but also a little ashamed hahaha
same here lol
We’re all the same hahaha
Throw my name in the hat too haha
Thanks. I needed a refresher as I always play it unplugged. And I have an amp beside me. I also have a sensitive neighbour beside me!
I have been playing the electric guitar for almost 45 years, and I always use the controls on the guitar to shape my tone, yet, I really enjoyed this video! Great job it would be very useful for a beginner player. It would have been nice to have this information around, when I first started.
Wow, 45 years! That's awesome! Thank you very much for your comment, I appreciate it! 😁
@@ConorRocksYT keep up the good job!
@@Journey-of-1000-Miles 😊
Had my les Paul for 2 years never knew i could pull up the knobs to change my pick up sound. Mine does have that feature 😂 thanks
Turns out 3 out of 4 of them can be pulled, the 4th one just pulled the knob out lmao
That's great! I wish my guitar had that 😆
The way I remember is the up position works the top row of knobs, the down position works the bottom row of knobs
excellent. Quick. complete. tonal examples.... you should teach often
Thanks Phillip! I appreciate it 😊
Love that pickguard
Thank you! 😊 one of my first DIY projects on this guitar. It's turned a lovely cream color over the years!
Nice vid! Only thing that would have been nice is to explain how the volume and tone work when selector is set to position 2 (both pickups). For example, on my guitar, if i turn the bridge pickup volume to 0, it silences both pickups. But if i turn the bridge pickup down slightly, it just lowers the volume of the bridge pickup slightly. I think the same is true for the tone. It's hard to tell. I have a Les Paul copy (Larry Carlton L7) and wanted to know how it compares to a real Les Paul, since I've never played one. Maybe I should just go to Guitar Center and muck around.
OK, So how do the Volume & Tone Controls work when both pickups are selected? If both pickups are selected and I turn the Volume down on the Neck Pickup, will I still have Volume from the Bridge Pickup?
Hey jw, i have a new 2023 Gibson Les Paul std. 60’s. I loved the Unburst & 60s neck profile, was Not really a fan of stock 61’ Burstbuckers (Alnico 5’s, on multimeter both read approx around 7.5k installed from factory).
I recently had a set of Seymour duncan Slash 2.0 Alnico 2 pro’s installed in my 2023 60’s Gibson les paul standard. (Note i like slash but i got pickups due to what tone i liked best that i felt was what i wanted in my LP to sound like & this set seemed to scatch my itch (loud, little but not overally grittier, rich tone on Slash 2.0’s).
After Slash 2.0’s were installed they read 8.6ish on neck & and 9.36k on bridge (advertised as 8.8 neck/9.38 bridge, but was told the pots eat some of the resistance so id only get that exact reading by testing pickups by themselves/directly to multimeter..also jw if true)?. But Main thing i’ve noticed…overall like tone much better..but it feels like i can work with Vol knob to about 7 then lower then 5 is very very quiet , and same with neck knob pot), the sweep seems to be less then my SG & i think i would have noticed if the 61 BB’s had such a lack of sweep. Would higher outpout of different humbuckers effect vol/tone knobs?? I know i have 50 style wiring and i saw him peel back a braided wire and solder it to like top corner of each Vol Cap , let it dry and was basicslly done (aside from small reset up). Does all that sound nomal or should i look into any trouble shooting…installion or pots wise( all i know is 50s style with orange drop caps and i believe 500k pots). Thanks would love any input on lack of sweep on knobs since swap most lol
Thanks for your question - I have a couple of things that might help:
1) it sounds like the pots you have installed might be a logarithmic taper instead of a linear taper - that would explain the uneven roll off!
2) I think the discrepancy between the advertised output and the reading your getting is within a normal range - I personally wouldn't be too concerned about it!
thanks, im less concerned about the multimeter reading being a little less than advertised because its close enough & tone sounds good…but its my 1st time swapping pups and i do have “50s style wiring” with 500k pots , orange drop caps and audio tapered pots; the sweep difference is whats most concerning since i feel like when i had the stock 61 BB’s it felt like their was more available tones before it went quiet, where as now its basically way too quiet around 5…even 6 is pretty quiet. That being said, 10 - 7 is a big difference…seems like the sweep/range was more even on the knob with the lower output stock 61 burstbuckers in my les paul standard
Thanks for the reply btw!
@@user-cd2cz3tv3u no worries! In which case, a linear pot might be what you're looking for as it'll be a smoother roll from max to min 😊
@@ConorRocksYT lol ive spent enough $ on this new les paul and was pissed to spend even more on a set of new SD slash 2.0’s…as long as everything is installed and working as it should im happy lol. Although ive always wondered why audio taper even are a thing…linear just makes more sense that 10 is max and 5 is half and so on lol. But i am 99% sure my new Les paul 60s standard has audio tapered pots..i just thought from memory of playing (prior to swapping the stock 61 BBs) that their was more of a sweep on volume..seems like with these hotter Slash 2.0’s most of the usuable sweep in the volume pots is from 10-6.5 on volume pots. Makes sense that depending on how hot the pups are would effect the volume knob sweep to a degree. Thanks and sorry for over-explaining or asking silly questions lol 1st time swapping stock pups (dig my SG’s (490r/498t) & PRS hollowbody II (58/15 ‘S’) stock pups)…but wasnt a fan of dream guitar’s *Gibson Les Paul standard burst..60s unburst* stock pups..the 61 Burstbuckers just sounded kinda thin and tinny and just lacked some of that fat warmness on the neck and growl on the bridge..which i feel the SD slash 2.0’s do a good job of sounding like what i wanted my les paul to sound like lol, just never factored in the pots or wasnt sure whats normal or not since this was my 1st go about in swapping & the tech knew im niave in that area lol wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or just didnt want to trouble shoot/admit he made some sort of mistake lol. But sounds like everything adds up as far as the little difference in vol. knob sweep lol. Thanks for your time/help. Much appreciated!
@@user-cd2cz3tv3u no worries! Always happy to talk guitars 😊 enjoy your new LP and pups!
My Gibson LP weighs 9 pounds. I can tell by the way you picked up your guitar that I was light and couldn't possibly be a Gibson.
Good educational video . thanks
Depends when it was made. I can't remember when but at some point, they stopped doing solid body construction on most (if not all) of their models. A lot of em have hollow spots throughout the body.
Is the "tone" a low pass filter?
Exactly that! 😊
Is it okay to buy a les paul electric guitar if there's only 3 knobs?
I've been thinking of buying a symfonia les paul and saw one but it has only 3 knobs unlike other les paul😅
@@matsuu3433 I can't vouch for Symfonia as a brand - as I don't know what the build quality will be like - but having 3 knobs shouldn't be a problem!
It's most likely that it'll have 2 knobs for volume and one tone knob that controls both pickups! But it should say on the specs.
I'd recommend reading around though, as some cheaper guitar brands can come with their own set of problems. If possible, I'd recommend picking up a second hand epiphone if you're on a budget! Just my thoughts though!
Whatever you choose, good luck with your new guitar! 😊
@@ConorRocksYT thanks! This is a big help since I've been struggling to find a answer if its okay to buy a les paul with only 3 knobs😄 really appreciate!❤️
@@matsuu3433 I believe lp specials have three knobs
He didn't even talk about the know pull
I mention it at 1:48!