Regarding the Anti-Diming Movement

RVA

RVA

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I recently posted a video (in the recommend video section) about using your tone knob, etc., which inspired a discussion about keeping your controls at less than 10 to allow for additional flexibility, etc. and setting your amp controls to get your favorite playing tone at the reduced volume/tone levels. Let me say, that this seems exceedingly logical, I am on board and have begun to use this in my daily playing...BUT

Don't some guitars have a tone that is very different with the volume rolled off that cannot be duplicated by manipulating the amp's controls. I think that mini hums is a great example, but there are many such pickups with this unique characteristic. What do you do then?

ALSO, the pot you use will be much more relevant here. Since it is not dimed, it will be affecting your tone all the time, which makes tolerances, values, treble loss and degradation of the pot with age much bigger issues.

Thoughts?
 
Depends (as do most things) on what your playing........if its say the Ramones.......OPEN UP EVERY KNOB TO 10.........IF its Joe Pass, well finesse it baby.

I think the real answer is---- there is no ONE answer -----wait what was the question
 
eSGEe said:
Depends (as do most things) on what your playing........if its say the Ramones.......OPEN UP EVERY KNOB TO 10.........IF its Joe Pass, well finesse it baby.

I think the real answer is---- there is no ONE answer -----wait what was the question
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Q: How do you content with those pups that have a very different character when dimed as opposed to the volume rolled off when applying the principle of leaving it at less than 10 as a matter of course? What about the significant issues of introducing an active pot the majority of the time?
 
RVA, as I say it depends on what your playing. If your playing say Megadeath.......or Ramones, or Misfits tunes......WFO....and go.

If your playing Allman Brothers, or Steelers Wheel.......then ---you need to adjust some knobs ;)

And to the pot question ---- well now you have a NEW excuse to buy MORE guitars ;)
 
RVA said:
I recently posted a video (in the recommend video section) about using your tone knob, etc., which inspired a discussion about keeping your controls at less than 10 to allow for additional flexibility, etc. and setting your amp controls to get your favorite playing tone at the reduced volume/tone levels. Let me say, that this seems exceedingly logical, I am on board and have begun to use this in my daily playing...BUT

Don't some guitars have a tone that is very different with the volume rolled off that cannot be duplicated by manipulating the amp's controls. I think that mini hums is a great example, but there are many such pickups with this unique characteristic. What do you do then?

ALSO, the pot you use will be much more relevant here. Since it is not dimed, it will be affecting your tone all the time, which makes tolerances, values, treble loss and degradation of the pot with age much bigger issues.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Yes!!!!

It all depends on the guitar. My Schecter rolls off totally clean...no muddiness. My Squire (with 57 Classics) and single volume/single tone, also rolls off cleanly.....

Now the unfinished Gibson SG...I cannot say...it has K40Y tone caps, a .033uf in the bridge and a .015uf in the neck...with 50's wiring, so it (if I ever finish it) should roll off clean too....
 
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Let me tell you this....

I just swapped JJ EC833's out of my DSL40C in favor of 7025 TAD's and it TOTALLY changed my tone. You should try tubes in your quest. It actually made my tone controls feel more sensitive....
 
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To get really raunchy I have my amp dimed, my dirt pedal dimed, and the guitar around two. Try it. You get some amazing tones. Hard on the ears with some amps though. The key is the volume on the dirt pedal needs to be on full. The gain or distortion on the pedal may be backed off a bit depending on the pedal. If the amp is a tube amp you need the clean channel with the master volume on full and loudness controlled with preamp volume or gain.
 
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RVA said:
Q: How do you content with those pups that have a very different character when dimed as opposed to the volume rolled off when applying the principle of leaving it at less than 10 as a matter of course? What about the significant issues of introducing an active pot the majority of the time?
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This is why I have made the choice to select only amps with effects loops from this point on. I put an active volume pedal (meaning it is powered, not the passive volume pedal that Ernie Ball calls an "active" pedal) in the effects loop. In this fashion I can adjust the volume knobs on the guitar to taste, and just use the volume pedal to ramp my volume as necessary. You can see my volume pedal on the far right in the pic below:

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Honestly, a volume pedal in the loop is my most important pedal. It offers so much flexibility. If I lost all my pedals in a fire, the volume pedal would be the first one I'd replace.

As for an "Anti-Diming Movement", I don't feel obligated to any such trends. I'll always glean good information and I'm open to any good recommendations. But, I really use the guitar's controls to get the sound I want, and go from there. If the sound I want means the controls need to be at 10, I put 'em on 10.
 
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How much does that pedal board weigh and how big is it?
I think I asked this a long time ago over on ETSG but I forgot.
 
I play so loud that I don't need volume knobs to get 'cut' ... when I stop playing for a bit or play a solo the audience is like 'I can hear the bass a bit now instead of just feeling it' ...

I'm like 'I couldn't hear the bass and I could barely hear the drums through the foldback, could you guys hear me?' and they are all like 'yep, you were all we could hear' LOL

The bassist had a friend who came along to our first show and he was like 'that guitarist of yours is too loud, I couldn't hear the vocalist' ... but it's up to the guy behind the desk to put their levels up or tell me to turn my amp down, I can't hear what he hears.
 
Tony M. said:
How much does that pedal board weigh and how big is it?
I think I asked this a long time ago over on ETSG but I forgot.
Click to expand...

Here's an old picture of it, which should give some perspective. I've changed some pedals since this shot. The pic in my post above (#15) is the most current version of it.

It weighs about 38 pounds.

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Basically, since this shot was taken, I replaced the Morley Little Alligator with a Morley Volume Plus, I removed the Metal Muff and the Boss DS-1, I added the channel switch for my amp, I added a TC Electronic Hall of Fame reverb, and I built a new guitar select switch in the upper right corner of the board.
 
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I've never used a "dirt pedal" since about 1980. I've always used the amps overdrive for effect....I use the same pedals I've had since the 80's/90's...all Boss...a CS-3/GR-7/DD-2 and NS-2.
 
^^^^That's the approach I've taken lately, as well. I do like to use a Tubescreamer to add some hair to a clean channel or to saturate my overdrive channel a little more, from time to time. But, for most intents and purposes, I don't use a distortion pedal. I just use the amp's organic gain and overdrive.
 
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