I currently have my guitarist's Epi SG on loan. It has a pick-up selector, yet also has individual volume and tone controls for each pickup. Why is this? All it does is make it damn confusing to get a tone I like from it!

I mean, a Jazz has no pickup selector and only one tone control. Easy. Even a Telecaster has only a pickup switch and a master volume. Likewise for MM Sterlings I guess.

For me, the best tone on a Les Paul when using both pickups, for rhythm, was bridge pickup on full volume, neck pickup on about 7 on volume, anything more would become "sludgy" - bear in mind I`m talking for rock music here. then, switch to just the neck for more biting passages. For really soulful soloing, a blend of bridge pickups volume and tome on full, with neck pickup volume on about 7, with tone fully off, sounds great - think Slash sortof tones.

T-40 basses also have a volume and tone control for each pickup. Rather than see this as a challenge, try to see it as a way of dialling up a wider variety of tones At least, this is the case for the T-40 (which also has a phase switch) - I can't vouch for the efficacy it may have for the SG

I used to wonder the same thing, but if you are running into a dirty amp then you have the ability to set your neck pickup to a chimey clean or bluesy sizzle and bridge pickup to roaring crunch and to easily switch between the two with the toggle switch. Clean and dirty sounds without a dirt pedal - et voila! Without that combination of vols AND selectors you can't do that.

Another one is to set the neck volume to 'off', bridge to 'full' then get a faux stuttering trem 'cut-off' sound by toggling the switch back and forth. Loads of famous records with that on (brain isn't giving me any names right now tho!).

If you were so inclined you could also put a treble bleed on just one of the pickup's volume controls to retain high end on one of them and still toggle between them easily if you like. Not possible with single volume control setups.

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I guess the benefit is that the knobs allow you to blend the pickups, but the pickup selector then allows you to toggle quickly between pickups mid song. Personally I just set everything on the Ric to full and leave well alone!

I've used one pickup backed off to switch from dirty to clean (well, to 'a bit less dirty'!) on a single channel amp. A lot of overdrive/distortion boxes for guitar will also clean up nicely and give a range of useable tones with adjustment to the volume knob, so it's worth having that versatility.

Of course, you can just put everything on 11 and forget about it, that works just fine too!

Another one is to set the neck volume to 'off', bridge to 'full' then get a faux stuttering trem 'cut-off' sound by toggling the switch back and forth. Loads of famous records with that on (brain isn't giving me any names right now tho!).

The neck pickup sounds better for clean tones whereas the bridge gives you a better distortion sound I find. It's good to be able to switch between the 2 and keep your volume settings for each pickup. I don't find it confusing at all, in fact I think it's easier that way. Having said that, I am not so keen on tone controls, I never really use them.

The other advantage of this type of setup is you can have one pickup turned all the way down on the volume and you've got an instant killswitch

Of course, plenty of guitarists share your point of view, and I've seen a good few Les Paul style guitars where the owner has whipped out everything except one volume pot and wired it all through that - could always give it a go!

Another one is to set the neck volume to 'off', bridge to 'full' then get a faux stuttering trem 'cut-off' sound by toggling the switch back and forth. Loads of famous records with that on (brain isn't giving me any names right now tho!).

Tom Morello and Jonny Greenwood also.
My guitarist has a doorbell on his for the same effect as a killswitch

The neck pickup sounds better for clean tones whereas the bridge gives you a better distortion sound I find. It's good to be able to switch between the 2 and keep your volume settings for each pickup. I don't find it confusing at all, in fact I think it's easier that way. Having said that, I am not so keen on tone controls, I never really use them.

Ah, this makes a lot of sense, but also assumes a certain style of playing - i.e. having two separate tones set for each pickup and switching between the two. What I'm finding difficult to do on the SG is to use the volume as an overdrive gain control, gets a bit confusing with two volume controls and a few tone controls in the way!

Ah, this makes a lot of sense, but also assumes a certain style of playing - i.e. having two separate tones set for each pickup and switching between the two. What I'm finding difficult to do on the SG is to use the volume as an overdrive gain control, gets a bit confusing with two volume controls and a few tone controls in the way!

I see what you mean, I guess it's one of those things. Maybe you could think about getting a volume pedal?

My '86 Fodera Monarch has volume control for each pickup and master bass/treble controls.

I use it in a soul / disco band set up to simply flick the switch forward for neck pickup only on the old solu/funk stuff for a P bass sound & then to both pickups, with the bridge pulled back a shade for the more 'modern' disco material.

Works really well for me

Partner at www.bassgear.co.uk where I work 1-2 days a week if anyone wants to pop in and say hi in person

My '86 Fodera Monarch has volume control for each pickup and master bass/treble controls.

I use it in a soul / disco band set up to simply flick the switch forward for neck pickup only on the old solu/funk stuff for a P bass sound & then to both pickups, with the bridge pulled back a shade for the more 'modern' disco material.

Works really well for me

Well that has convinced me I need a Fodera, if only to be able to do that.

Are you a music teacher trying to build your business? I provide consultation services to help music teachers or those trying to build a business in music services. I've got some packages designed specifically to help you build your business, all in simple, practical and easy to implement ways.

She's been saying since day one 'Mark, your basses are nice but they are not anywhere near as well made as the new Fodera that Matt Garrison plays on his Shapeshifter album - you should get one of them... definitely spring for the horse chestnut top'

Clearly she has no idea what she's talking about. Vintage Fodera is where it's at.

Are you a music teacher trying to build your business? I provide consultation services to help music teachers or those trying to build a business in music services. I've got some packages designed specifically to help you build your business, all in simple, practical and easy to implement ways.

Are you a music teacher trying to build your business? I provide consultation services to help music teachers or those trying to build a business in music services. I've got some packages designed specifically to help you build your business, all in simple, practical and easy to implement ways.

I remember asking this question in reverse on here (why doesn't the Jazz have a pickup switch) and being told that bass players find one tone and use it all night.

It's not just for clean & dirty, but for tonal variety between different songs and within the same song. I like the neck pickup for big fat clean lead tones and sometimes for picked arpeggios, and the bridge works well for either strumming or more complex chords. The in between setting can be good for some twang/quack sounds (not very quacky by strat standards, but even so) or for a more hollow tone with sparkle and depth.

Conversely I owned a Godin Radiator for a while, and that has the same control arrangement as a 3 knob jazz: frankly it was frustrating, because often a different song would need a different tone and it would require fiddling during the first verse or so to get the right settings. Much easier to think "bright tone for this, so use bridge PU, dark tone for this, so neck PU" etc.

Another fun thing to do is to turn the neck tone right down with the bridge tone full on and use the switch as a kind of wah effect.
As previously mentioned though, setting a rhythm and lead sound on a non-master volume valve amp, it's totally the way to go.
I'd have the amp (WEM Dominator) on 8, neck pickup on 3ish for rhythm and bridge on 10. No pedals or boxes. Lush.

IMO the best results with Gibbo-type controls are had when you dial in the soloing sound you want with the front (neck) pickup on full bore (nice fat sound), then you roll off the back (bridge) pickup for a non-muddy-still-cutting-through rhythm sound. You might find that because the front pickup is often quite dark, your back pickup might require a little tone rolloff as well to avoid it slicing like a cut-throat razor.

Then there's the mix of the two: blend the back pickup (with the tone rolled right off) with the front pickup (with the tone all the way up), use a fair bit of overdrive. You get that sustained flute-y Andrew Latimer Camel-y sound that's smooth but it's still got some treble in it.

I find Gibbo type controls on a guitar are so useful (and so much second nature to use) that I find operating things like Strats is just, well, inconvenient.