Les Paul Knobs Explained: Volume, Tone, and Pickup Selector

Рет қаралды 86,236

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 54

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

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

@marrow94 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the QUICK video, 2 minutes and no bullshit.

@loganwilcox4037 Жыл бұрын

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

@wojtyla92 9 ай бұрын

same here lol

@andrewperez6162 7 ай бұрын

We’re all the same hahaha

@yaboyrella 6 ай бұрын

Throw my name in the hat too haha

@Doowopsid Ай бұрын

Kudos to you for owning up to it😊 We all eventually have lots to learn

@DeadpoolXI1 Ай бұрын

6 years here, but yeah haha!

@Doowopsid Ай бұрын

Thank you for a brief yet detailed explanation of what the 4 knobs are for and how the pick up switch works. Nice job!

@Journey-of-1000-Miles Жыл бұрын

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.

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

Wow, 45 years! That's awesome! Thank you very much for your comment, I appreciate it! 😁

@Journey-of-1000-Miles Жыл бұрын

@@ConorRocksYT keep up the good job!

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

@@Journey-of-1000-Miles 😊

@heckensteiner4713 Ай бұрын

Perfect and quick explanation! People always told me to use the rhythm for strumming and treble for leads, but I LOVE the way my leads sound on the rhythm setting, and I like to use the treble setting for my rhythms for a more biting sound. To each his own!

@ConorRocksYT Ай бұрын

I'm right there with you! Something special about the neck sound for leads 😄

@marcd1981 Ай бұрын

Thank you for the explanation. I started playing with a Les Paul copy back in the '70s, but did not continue playing after high school. Now, over 40 years later, I'm picking up the guitar again. I never learned much about Les Pauls back then, but I am trying to learn everything I can this time around.

@ConorRocksYT Ай бұрын

That's awesome! Good luck with your guitar journey! 😄

@ZeeCapp 11 ай бұрын

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

@ZeeCapp 11 ай бұрын

Turns out 3 out of 4 of them can be pulled, the 4th one just pulled the knob out lmao

@ConorRocksYT 11 ай бұрын

That's great! I wish my guitar had that 😆

@Doowopsid Ай бұрын

What model is your guitar?

@argopunk 7 ай бұрын

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!

@POLARIS2 7 ай бұрын

The way I remember is the up position works the top row of knobs, the down position works the bottom row of knobs

@PhillipKravetz Жыл бұрын

excellent. Quick. complete. tonal examples.... you should teach often

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

Thanks Phillip! I appreciate it 😊

@user-cd2cz3tv3u Жыл бұрын

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

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

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!

@user-cd2cz3tv3u Жыл бұрын

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!

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

@@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 😊

@user-cd2cz3tv3u Жыл бұрын

@@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!

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

@@user-cd2cz3tv3u no worries! Always happy to talk guitars 😊 enjoy your new LP and pups!

@jonathanbrennermusic 23 күн бұрын

As a longtime Fender player, I’ve always found the placement of these knobs confusing. I came up with this to help me remember: Bottom = Bridge, Tail = Tone

@fr3ak1shh 6 ай бұрын

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.

@Celticsaint777 Жыл бұрын

Love that pickguard

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😊 one of my first DIY projects on this guitar. It's turned a lovely cream color over the years!

@Frank-in-NY 6 ай бұрын

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?

@Lordofmrak 4 ай бұрын

How big of a downside is if the guitar has just 2 knobs instead of 4 knobs? Like Yamaha Revstar, for example, or telecaster.

@ConorRocksYT 4 ай бұрын

It's not a big deal! While having a tone and volume knob for each pickup is handy, it's not the be all and end all! 😊 As long as you can get a sound you like, that's all that matters!

@matsuu3433 Жыл бұрын

Is it okay to buy a les paul electric guitar if there's only 3 knobs?

@matsuu3433 Жыл бұрын

I've been thinking of buying a symfonia les paul and saw one but it has only 3 knobs unlike other les paul😅

@ConorRocksYT Жыл бұрын

@@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! 😊

@matsuu3433 Жыл бұрын

@@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!❤️

@JeremyHillary-kw4ms 8 ай бұрын

@@matsuu3433 I believe lp specials have three knobs

@gordongarrett6229 9 ай бұрын

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

@JustWhyFFS 8 ай бұрын

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.