Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

[Lazarus1140]

What is your preferences for a two humbucker guitar, and what do you see as an advantage or disadvantage of one or the other system?

[Ayrton]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

With as many options that exist today to shape one's tone, the need for two separate volumes and tones is moot for most players.

My Gibsons have them sure, but I would never go looking for such a setup. Single volume, and single tone unless it is a strat works just fine for me. I wire T2 on a strat to the bridge.

[Clint 55]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

Having 4 pots can be an advantage. You can put a spin a split or bass cut in in addition to volume and tone. For my main guitar, a Hhh Strat, I have volume, tone, and neck/bridge blender.

[AlexR]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

2 tones and 2 volumes offer methods of tone shaping available nowhere else.

Nowhere else in the chain can you change the whole pickup resonant peak the way you can with volume pot values.
Nowhere else can you easily swap in different caps to make your tone controls more tuned toward pickup position.
Nowhere else can you slip in a tone circuit lift for 1 pickup only (no load).

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

The thing that always frustrated me when I played a 335 is that in the middle position (both pickups activated) turning the volume up or down changes the tone.

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

I wire T2 on a strat to the bridge.

I do, too.

[AlexR]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

The thing that always frustrated me when I played a 335 is that in the middle position (both pickups activated) turning the volume up or down changes the tone.

Well, any pickup turned up and down changes the tone. Of course in the 2V type you do have extra controls to manipulate for volume control its true......a matter of course if you look at it objectively.

[Nickmag01]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

I like to blend my bridge and neck pickup with the 2 volume setup. I can get a really creamy yet fuzzy tone when i run my neck at 10 and bridge at 5. I rarely use tone knobs for my setup and find them to be a nuisance as i keep having to check if they are turned up.

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[BleedingFingertips]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

2x2 is useless for br00talz. If I had money for custom shop guitars, I would have all my guitars with 1 volume and no tone, regardless of whether it'd be a 1h or 2h guitar. Tone controls make the sound very intransparent and stifled, IMO. At most, I can live with 1 vol and 1 tone with no-load function.

[Mincer]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

I like master volume & tone. I am constantly fiddling with them, so the location is just as important to me. I never really could get the right balance easily with 2x2 controls.

[Jacew]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

Two volumes and no load master volume for me.

I don't really care for tone control. I can do that by blending pickups if I need it, but mostly I use foot controls for tone adjustment.

No load master volume has an added benefit of smoothing out the output when you turn down volume (because you also add that load), so you get better cleans.

[Jackson Distortion]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

I definitely prefer one volume, one tone for it's ease of use. But, my axes of choice seem to have at least two volume controls, no less.

[Jackson Distortion]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

I've really come to appreciate the Tone knob. It doesn't only change tone, but also playing dynamics.

I don't rely on pedals really, so getting a different sound without them makes you tweak the guitar and amp controls more.

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

I like having a single master volume within easy reach. I also like having two volumes; it gives such a great spectrum of options when both pickups are on. After years playing various Fenders and Gibsons and PRSs, I'm at home with either arrangement. And I have an appreciation for both.

Jimmy Herring runs two volumes/one tone on his HH Strat, an option I hadn't really considered. I've always taken the single volume on Strats as sort of a given, never really thought about using two vols on one.

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Two Volume w/ Two Tone vs Master Volume and Master Tone

For years I looked at volume controls as actually being “on/off“ switches and tone controls as being nothing more than a nuisance that I needed to check to make sure it was still on 10.

I still feel the same about tone controls. Honestly, I just feel like they do nothing but deaden the tone and make it into something that I don’t want to hear.

In recent months I’ve learned to appreciate my volume control for adjusting gain when playing with dirt, but two volume controls just confuse me when I try to adjust on the fly. I really prefer just one.