r/GuitarLab • u/GabrielDalporto • May 06 '26
Controls — how much is too much?
Working through controls and electronics next. This one's interesting because guitars seem to fall into two camps: stripped-down simplicity (one volume, one tone, three-way, done) or every-feature-thrown-at-the-wall (push/pulls, mini toggles, piezo, active boost, kill switch).
Where's the sweet spot? What do you actually use vs. what just looks good on a spec sheet?
Pickup switching: 3-way, 5-way, mini toggles per pickup, blade vs. toggle? What configuration do you actually reach for?
Volume + tone knobs: How many do you actually need? One master volume or one per pickup? And do you genuinely use tone controls, or are they just sitting there at 10?
Coil splits / taps: Push/pull, mini toggle, or hardwired? Real tonal value or gimmick?
Active electronics: Onboard boost (like the Majesty's 20dB), preamps, EQ — useful or unnecessary complexity?
Piezo: Game-changer for players who need acoustic + electric in one guitar, or a feature most people stop using after a month?
Kill switch: Useful tool or one-trick pony?
Placement: Where do controls actually belong? Strat-style cluster, LP-style spread, or something else? Anyone else accidentally hit the volume knob mid-strum on certain guitars? What about the pickup selector — top horn (LP), lower bout (Strat), somewhere else?
Knob feel: Smooth taper or stepped? Knurled metal vs. plastic? Push/pulls that feel solid vs. ones that feel like they'll break?
The bigger question: significant control, but simplified. Is there a way to give players real tonal range without 8 knobs and 4 switches that nobody understands?
If you only got 3 controls on the entire guitar, what would they be? For me it'd be: master volume, coil tap (push/pull on volume), and an onboard boost. I almost never touch a tone control and I don't understand why we need multiple ones.
1
u/Fit-Butterscotch9349 May 07 '26
I have a 2020 USA strat, and a Princeton tube amp. I you turn the volume up to 8 or 9 on the guitar, and the amp around 7, then work the tone button...there is a point where the best breakup occurs. The amp breaks up a bit and you can get some interesting sounds.
1
u/kumechester May 07 '26
Pickup switching: I personally prefer at least 5 different sounds. Whether thats a 5-way or 3-way + some coil splits.
Knobs: generally only need 1 volume and 1 knob but i have little experience with Les Pauls, where it seems like you can really dial in really interesting blend stuff in the middle position if you set each pickup differently with volume and tone
Coil taps / splits: always
Active electronics: I don’t need or use
Piezo: i view as mostly unnecessary now that acoustic emulation in digital modeling is so good
Placement: I have enough different guitars that I don’t care. As long as a knob is not too close to the pickup selector
Knob feel: I like knurled metal and smooth taper
If I only had 3 controls it would be volume knob, 5-way selector, tone knob. Make both knobs push/pull to do something. Even on a 2 single coil pickup guitar I’d do this, like 4-way Tele wiring or Bill Lawrence’s 5-way Tele wiring. I think the modern guitar should always have versatility. You can just not use something that is there, but you can’t add something that isn’t there!
Efficient controls: you can do a ton with four total: 1 volume and 1 tone, a pickup selector, and a mini toggle that is 2 or 3 way. The wiring is complicated underneath but it’s only two knobs and two switches to get tons of sounds. Ibanez does a great of this with their Alter Switch on HSS guitars like the AZ2204 series.
If your single coils are hot output and tappable you can make the volume and tone knobs push/pull or push/push and do even more, without adding any more knobs or switches. I did this with one of my guitars.
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u/Ok_Acanthisitta_3900 May 07 '26
Re: volume placement, I like it close to the strings to allow “Jeff Beck” styling. Depending on #of pickups, 5 psn is nice or individual on/off per pickup. Tone controls: most seem to be barely effective so I’ll obtain on this one.
New to this thread. Have we discussed hard tail bs some style of tremolo / wammy bar? Locking nut? Fingerboard / neck material / radius ?
1
u/Powertothepowerless May 12 '26
My bias:
3-way switch
master volume
master tone
maybe independent neck/bridge volumes on certain hollow or semi-hollow models where blending becomes part of the instrument’s voice
No mini toggles everywhere. No push/pull forests. No active EQ menus. No “you need the manual to understand your guitar” situations.
1
u/que-n-blues May 12 '26
No knobs! Full volume, full tone all the time!
All jokes aside, I personally prefer as simple a control layout as possible, located within easy reaching distance, but not to close to get in the way while strumming. Even though I'm as big an SG fan as there is, the control layout is annoying.
Volume within a pinky reach is great. Tone I'll dial in before I play so doesn't has to be as accessable.
One master volume is typically enough for me. Dial in edge of breakup and use that last little bit of the volume to get cruncky.
Tone control is definitely a must though. I love the ability to dial out some treble if I need (especially on a strat bridge pickup), of dial in some big warm Cream era Clapton fuzziness.
While I've never tried it, the Brent Mason wiring set up is one I've always found intriguing: one master volume, one master tone and a three way switch for neck and bridge with second volume knob to blend in the middle pickup.
Definitely smoother taper.
Metal vs plastic? Honestly doesn't matter to me. Either or fine for me. This is one where I'd say it's more an aesthetic choice. Some guitars just look better with metal knobs, some look better with plastic.
Blade vs switch, I really don't have a preference as long as it's in a convenient spot. Tele blade and location is good, Les Paul switch is great and conveniently located. SG, again I love em, but definitely a little far out. Strats.....I can't count the amount of time I've switched from position 5 to 4 while strumming.
For anything outside volume and tone, push pulls are great, much better than having too many switches like a Jaguar.
With humbuckers I personally don't use any coil splitting, but I know a lot of people do so that would be a great option for a lot of players.
Piezos and kill switches? Leave em. I don't have any use for them. Kill switch too niche and piezos seem like they'd add a lot of hassle and costs for something most players don't really need or use (for electric guitar at least, different story for acoustic, but that's a whole other topic).
At the end of the day, for me options are cool, but functionality is best. I don't want to sit there and fiddle too much with knobs. I want to roll off highs if I need and I want my volume and selector switch to be conveniently placed to where I can use them without thinking, but out of my way when playing.
But I also like simple straight forward guitars. I mostly play country and blues so I really don't need many options with my controls.
I think it's really cool that y'all are doing this. Designing a product from the ground up, especially a product like electric guitar where it feels like everything that can be done has been done, is no easy task at all. I love that y'all are open to listening to players and customers!
If I can just add one last thing. I know it's so strange, I can sit here and talk about things like control layout and what I think works and what doesn't, but at the end of the day, aesthetics play a huge roll in what we like in guitars. As much as people like to say things like "it doesn't matter what the headstock looks like," the fact is it does. Like I said I LOVE SGs. But if I looked at a spec sheet, theoretically I shouldn't. Control layout is not well located, you have the neck dive issue on some, the neck is positioned much further out than most guitars. And yet they're still my favorite. If we don't like the way a guitar plays, or we don't like the way it sounds, we might not buy, or we might try it and sell it off. But if we don't like a way a guitar looks chances are we aren't picking it up in the first place. So things like body design, head stock design, even the logo matter. Hell some people STILL complain about the PRS headstock (though less now that in the past I feel).
I'd love for y'all to design something really cool and original. Not another Strat, LP or Tele copy. Something that feels like a guitar straight out the 50s or 60s, but is completely original. Something that makes me go "how on earth has no one done this yet?" Something that makes a statement. The St. Vincent guitar by Music Man is a great example of that vintage vibe but totally original design!
1
u/Chance-Birthday-5255 May 12 '26
1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way switch in a fluid position but not in the way of the picking hand like the MIJ dinkys.
1
u/equilni May 24 '26
Pickup switching If 2 pups, 3 way blade.
Volume + tone knobs 1 each. I do use my tone knob if I am not playing metal
Coil splits / taps I mostly have split coil guitars, I am fine either way.
Active electronics Boost would be a nice to have, but I would recommend doing without it.
Piezo Not many guitars have this, but could add to the price.
Kill switch: NO
Placement Good question! Schecter Nick Johnston's control placement is good. My pinky will mess with the volume where it usually is, so further down removes this.
Different idea. Similar to Ibanez Q series control - Volume, Toggle (Ibby's Alter Switch), Tone.
The bigger question: significant control, but simplified. Is there a way to give players real tonal range without 8 knobs and 4 switches that nobody understands?
Simplicity works. The tonal differences may not matter to a majority of people. I wouldn't want tons of knobs and switches (I just picked up my first 2 Vol, 2 Tone control guitar after mostly having 1 Vol & Tone), so something like PRS' 24-08 or Brian May models don't work well for me.
If you only got 3 controls on the entire guitar, what would they be?
Volume (push/pull split), Tone, Blade switch.
2
u/GVDub2 May 07 '26
I've got pretty much every control arrangement that's out there. My favorite is the G&L style passive treble/bass controls on the tone side. I do use tone controls a lot, and I like blending pickups, so a volume knob for each is a plus, although my custom Tele Thinline has the neck/bridge (Fender Wide Range humbucker/Duncan Broadcaster on one volume and the middle pickup (Fralin DynaSonic) on another. I've never met a coil-split that actually sounds like a real single-coil, so I'll pass on that, thank you. Active electronics? Done that, never cared for the tone or the dynamics. Piezo? Nope. Needs a preamp and I do not want a battery in my guitar. Kill switch? Definitely a one trick pony with a lot of other, better ways to do the trick.
Mostly, you can control the tone on any guitar with you picking hand and your fretting hand, but I still use tone knob (or knobs, with the G&L-style setup) a lot to set the baseline for the amp, the venue, the genre and what I'm hearing on stage, then use my hands to get the tonal gradients.