Gibson Les Paul Tone & Volume Control / Knob Tutorial / Guitar Lesson
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Tutorial about how to make the best out of your tone and volume control knobs on your electric guitar. Backing track for jamming along available here: / for-you-backing-track
I'm a 60 year old beginner. Got my first Led Paul traditional. Thank you for this video. You sound awesome
I love it. Proof that we can learn anything at any age.
The sound of a LP : tribute to Gary Moore ua-cam.com/video/WgbFKGNfYR0/v-deo.html
Keep rocking dude! 💕
Dennis you better still be practicing
Lest pol**
As a professional player myself, I have to say this is a great tutorial. I see so many modern guitar players with a HUGE board of pedals. It's just not necessary. Watch videos of Gary Moore. He is constantly changing his volume and tone positions, and it's very effective.
Wow, great tutorial. I must admit, I have played guitar many years at home and was/am clueless on really using the tone/volume controls. You have opened a big door of knowledge for me. I am 65 years old...never too late to learn. THANK YOU !
We're in the same boat. :)
I still remember when this video was released. I must admit this video changed my whole life, and it's not a joke!! It REALLY changed the way how I play guitar. I really thank you for this information :)
FerMetalHead1 rhythm and lead tones with just the volume knob :D
I am blown away by this guy. I have been playing, on and off, more so since my mid twenties. Anyway, I have become a pedal junky since I got my 1982 Les Paul xr-1 back in the early nineties. I have always thought this was the only way to go, and my pride wouldn't let me believe anything else. However, this guy in this video has finally opened my eyes wide to all the money I wasted and how lazy I have grown. I am going to change this from now on. Thanks for that and thanks for the video. I am now a subscriber and proud to be so,
Wow. 15 years playing Epiphones and Gibsons, and nobody ever told me anything other than "just crank all of it up". Thank you so much.
Bit of a masterclass with the demo there! Fantastic! This is something that modern players don't really understand sadly. A huge part of the skill with electric guitar, the bit above and beyond touch sensitivity and technique, is managing your controls. In my opinion it is part of learning an instrument, truly getting to know it; as any two Les Pauls will be completely different in each position. The bit about cranking your amp and using your volume especially is how all the great players did it in the 60's and 70's. That 'amazing tone' everyone is chasing with a pedal or a PAF was largely the result of power stage distortion on pre-master volume amps pushing tubes and speakers in to their 'natural habitat'. Its there, just most people never hear it because they're slamming the front end with pedals and throttling their speakers with the master volume knob on 2 or 3. My hero Paul Kossoff was once asked what pedals he used and he just shrugged and said: guitar, lead, amplifier.
By far and away the best information I have found to improve my playing. My wife thought someone else was playing my LP, she was surprised. Thanks for the excellent demonstration!
I don't understand how can anybody click dislike on this video. There are some idiots out there just like to hate on people for no good reason. That was a great video and very informative. Thank you
Guess they lookin at e screens upside down 👍👎 😂
Long time guitar player... and I'm just now learning how to adjust the sound with the knobs. Great video. Very helpful.
I am a beginer, so I've watched a lot of guitar vídeos on UA-cam about Guitars, Amplifiers, Pedals, Presets... and then you show up with this simple setings and BOOM!!!
Thank you for share your knowlodge and experience!!!
Thanks for your feedback. :) Comments like yours are my driving force. ;)
The best tutorial I've seen in 40 yrs of playing.....this guy really knows his stuff...rock on brother.
I am a 52 year old beginner and just bought my first Les Paul. This was really helpful thank you.
Congrats! They are beautiful guitars.
I’m a 58 year old beginner, just bought my first Les Paul Classic with push pull pots. Hard to understand but you made it very easy. Thank you.
This was a very good and understandable presentation, well done!
I have been playing since I was eight years old (I'm 70 now, still hammering out tunes), and have been through just about every guitar from before that and since then, but the Les Paul models and a few Telecasters, and of course the inevitable Gibson SG have that special something you can bring out with what you have shown here very well.
Cranking up an amp has been the standard way of making sure you get noticed good or bad, and learning that this is not the way to do it took me a long time to learn.
You have kindly shared this very good video of how to get your tones and volumes sorted out showed me some things I never knew before this excellent presentation.
Thank you so much for bringing these things out for easy understanding and grasping.
You truly brought out more incredible tones from an already incredible guitar!
Best regards< John.
Finally, someone who explains how tone & volume knobs impact the tone and feel of a guitar... I'm a beginner guitarist and this is explained nowhere. Not in vids, books, .... I started looking for an explanation after seeing Lee Anderton getting a 'sweet' spot on a LP in his store... I kept wondering about the influence of tone & volume on the sound and stumbled on this video. Great stuff & thanks for the clear examples.
I agree Tim...you don't need a whole lot of pedals to achieve the sound you want...this guy sounds great with NO pedals...love it..
The funny thing is that millions of players are buying high end stompboxes to make it sound like this:)
ive played 38 years, and thats a very good video. ive played at those "open mic night" clubs before, and used other people's equipment... i usually bring my les paul, but not my whole rig... very useful information, and done in a correct way, as far as i am concerned... the only people that i can picture not seeing the value in this video, are those that say, "turn it up to ten, and rip the knobs off""..
Holy shit! Finally someone that goes Into full details on these knobs. I’ve watched 24 videos and not a single one explains this in detail like you do! You got a sub! Thank you!!!
After years of thinking about it I just bought my first guitar. People like you make it so much easier for people like me to learn how to play. Thanks. Liked and subscribed.
I'm going to say this is the most important guitar video I've ever watched. I've played electrics for 14 years, and I don't even have a Les Paul. I've been chasing tone with guitars and pedals all that time but my tone was pretty bland. I usually played with my volume on 10 (like an idiot, but no one had ever told me not to), and kept the tone knob pretty high. My very first practice session after watching this video, I was getting really disgusting, thick tones out of both pickups. Again, not with a Les Paul but just my Schecter C-1 with humbuckers. I started picking with my fingers but once I figured out the technique my flatpicking sounded much better too. Thanks so much -- I wished I had watched in 2012 when this was first posted.
For me there's nothing better to know, that my video/s help other guitar players to be happier players with a better understanding of the capabilities of their guitars. :) And yes, what I said in my video applies also for many other guitar models. Just to be on the safe side I also did a volume/tone-control video for Stratocasters. :) ua-cam.com/video/kRJgGfZaUpk/v-deo.html
@@MikeBurn Well, I have a Les Paul and this is the video I needed :-) I think it will solve my problem with getting a good sound using my multieffect - I somehow decided to keep the four knobs at full all the time, but I guess it feeds too much treble to my effect (and amp too) and it is hard to get a good sound this way :-) I will start experimenting with the knobs :-) Thanks a lot!
I've been playing Les Paul's for about 40 years, and yours is the best explanation/demonstration i've seen on how to get a wide range of tones out of your guitar, and to explain WHY you can get those tones. Excellent video!
That technique is not taught or talked about!!
You sounded better than a $400 pedal board!!
Gotta start practicing this!!! Thanks a million!!
My hat is off to the "Tone Meister". If more people would pay attention to what you are teaching, we would have more musicians! Thank you so much for your gifts, music, and abilities to share.
Well Done Sir!! Finally a very clear explanation for the new guys. I am old school and does the same during live. You are a very good guitar player Sir. Thank you for your demo.
I have played guitar since age 14 till today at 53 so almost 40 yrs. I never used volume or tone until maybe the last 5 years. Always rolled to 10. I relied on pick dynamics and how hard I dug in. The only reason I started fiddling with them was I bought a few Strats and Teles and backed off on the treble and volume on rigs set up for humbuckers. A Bonamassa video simular to yours has me experimenting. Never to late.
I'm just a fan of classic tools of the trade. I don't even play but appreciate the Les Paul. Your video demonstrating was amazing how the sound changes without distortion boxes and all I wanted to know was how the knobs worked. Well done.
If people would quit replacing pickups and electronics in their guitars and listen to this guy they would save a lot of money and have more time to practice..
One of the things I learned when I got a les Paul and experimenting with the tone and volume on both pickups is if you roll your tone knobs back to 5 1/2 and the volume knobs back to 8, you will still get the same amount of sustain as if you were to crank all knobs full volume but it rolls of some low end and makes the highs shine more and gives you a sweeter tone that punches through a lot in a mix.
You rock sir! The information you present is just eye opening and refreshing. I feel you have provided me with a good dose of "Less is More", and "learn to use your electric guitar, not just play it" - I have never heard such insights from any one else. Thank you - much appreciated.
Mike, you play beautifully. Nice lead. Very soulful and emotive. Good vibrato.
Spot on, it's amazing how many guitarists overlook these simple things, lost in a sea of midi preamps, digital pedalboards, rack effects and stompboxes and whatnot. Also, this is a good method to test for a good preamp (crappy ones will not allow to get a totally clean sound by just lowering the volume on the guitar from a gainy setting) and the reason one should always play with quality gear, and develop right hand dynamics with practice.
You just opened a whole new world excellent video
At age 56, I am an amateur guitar player (mostly at home bugging my wife with my music) since years. I never heard anybody explained how to create cool tones from a guitar this way. Everybody says, you've gotta buy this pedal, that pedal, that pickup and so on... Great advice, great explanation in layman's terms. Much appreciated...
This is one of the best videos I've seen in many days. So knowledgeable, cheers.
Before seeing this video, I played around with a friends LP for the first time tonight. (usually only Strats here) I had no idea which knobs were what on the LP. After a few hours I figured that out, but also how an LP has so many cool variations from the guitar itself. Came home and googled LP and tone knob vids. Yours came up first. You hit my suspecting nail on the head. I'm now an LP convert. Playing 'Brothers In Arms' and 'Still Got the Blues' ... all these years on a Strat just hasn't felt right. Cool video. Thanks.
Thank you SO much, Mike! I am new to guitar. I have been learning on acoustic and have always wanted an SG. So, I got one. And I had (past tense) NO CLUE what to do with the switch and the knobs! This video is exactly what I've been looking for for quite a while! Thank you so much!
I'm a beginner to the world of electric guitars and this is a fantastic video has opened a whole new world of sound for me and my Gibson lespaul
And new guitar players like me would like to thank you very much for it.....
walthamstowman Feedback like yours is the reason why I did the knob-tutorial. The earlier you discover how to form sensible nuances with your fingers and the powerful on-board-tools of your electric guitar, the more articulate your playing will be.
Just an outstanding overview---really well done, super informative, awesome!
Well said & I agree!
It's true what you say about young guitarists... I was taught to turn "everything" up on my guitar and leave it there. Only recently did I start utilizing the different tones. What I needed was a better understanding of how & when to use them. Your demonstration did just that so thank you.
Hell yeah man! I’ve been playing acoustic for years, and am starting to learn electric. I just got a really nice Les Paul as a gift but I’m stuck with a shitty amp. I’ve always wanted to learn what effect the knobs can have and this changes everything!
Mike, I just bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard Light 120TH anniversary. Your video is just fantastic. Really speed-ed up my learning curve. Should have bought a Gibson years ago. What a great guitar!! Many thanks for your video.
i am to dumb to understand this knobs until now.. i always think its just a volume and pick up tone. learn a lot from you sir, i use Gibson Les Paul for 7 years now. quite demos you've got there.. the way you play, its deep.
Still very much an amateur who plays small gigs, church groups, etc. but I keep in mind something a player said who I was playing along and learning from who was considerably better. Paraphrasing but the gist is this: Whether a volume knob, tone knob, pre amp knob, or pedal, it can be a bit like cooking. Even small changes can adjust the flavor of a dish quite significantly while large changes drastically so; too much and the dish is inedible, but not enough and the dish is bland. Every dish is different in the kind of salt, spice, texture, etc that create a beautiful blend of all those characteristics, and the best chefs are the ones who learn where “just right” is for each dish. That was his analogy on how to use those controls, and I’ve learned that learning first how to control volume and tone through my fretting/picking hands and through the guitar volume/tone knobs, then the preamp controls, can pay dividends and often may be the only thing you need, particularly for the typical before-preamp type pedals like boost and distortion.
I've had and still have a crap load of guitars, but FINALLY found a Les Paul I love. After 45 years of playing, I've just never fell head over heels for a Les Paul until about 3 years ago. Fell absolutely in love with a custom shop VOS R8. But didn't have the disposable cash for it at the time. Well,another one just found its way into my local guitar shop, it was gorgeous, played just as the first one I wanted did, and the money was right this time, so its now mine. BUT, I had a hard time figuring the middle position on the switch. On all my other guitars, ( especially my Gretsch's ) the middle switch gives you both pickups, and full control on each. On the R8, it works so.... weird to me. Turn either one volume down, you loose both pick ups. I thought the darn thing was broke..LOL. just alittle getting used to. Thanks for the vid.
Thanks my friend! I have never understood how to properly use the push / pull pots on my Les Paul correctly to achieve the tones you describe here. It makes so much more sense now and really helps me see I can save my cash on gear if I just better understand how to use what I already have. Thanks so much! 👍🏿
I couldn't agree more! :-)
One of the more educational and easy way to play videos on the youtube channel. He was direct, clear and assertive. my Respect
Thanks I usually play a Fender strat. Not tonight wasnt planing on it.but Les paul fill into my lap at good price so i purchase my 1st Les Paul about an hour.ago been playing it for 30mins... knobs had me scratching my head. Google sent you over...Crazy isnt it .😎😁..Only in 21st centruy..
Thanks you for show me.. My 1st set of tricks..I'll keep them close by and up my sleeves..🎸🎼🎶🎶 Nice Touch Thats really nice sound you have. from the Grand Canyon state of Arizona Thanks Again ✌ .
Nice job Mike! It was not boring. I always felt too that the middle position was a gold mine for balance of tone. I used to, in the early days do more with volume and tone, then got into the habit of dining everything, playing with volume only to rythm or solo. When I started seeing people like Warren Haynes who I admire so much as a guitarist, at least at some point he seemed almost obsessively making small or medium adjustments while playing, even during solo (as you did) for sections, or even single notes in a solo. It made me realize how much it matters.
Then too, I always played around with guitars and as a new guitarist found out how much you can affect tone by where your right hand hits the strings. Down by the bridge you can get a sitar like sound, middle is normal, way up around the 14th fret or so a “bubbly” tone. On any guitar, even acoustic.
I think though these adjustments have to become second nature. I mean most of us have our hands (or minds) full just trying to play well, with our hands, so it has to be integrated into our playing, as you mention, by practice to make it “natural” and not take out heads and minds out of the phrasing and notes we are playing.
One of the several helpful videos along other pretty commercial and useless videos on UA-cam now ! Thank you !
Even after all these years I still think about this video. Thank you for the well worn practical knowledge 🙏❤
Thank you for this explanation 👏 I just bought my 1st les paul and figure it out what the knobs diference,now one of my favorite guitar
thanks, just got my first les paul specifically for its ability to produce such a wide spectrum of tones. Awesome, a true fan!
Thanks what a great video, beautiful guitar, excellent playing and good as gold advice.
Thank you for this most informative video. I have always played with the volume controls at max and set the amp to my desired volume which was ok but following your recommendations made my Les Paul sound dramatically better. This video really opened up my eyes and ears.
Most useful Les Paul tone tutorial out there
Unbelievably helpful, man. I just got a Les Paul and this makes my life so much easier. Been a lifelong Fender guy so it's like learning guitar all over again. Great video.
I want to get someday a Les Paul. I didn't know it has so many sound variations. Thank you very much.
me neither
Danke Mike- this is a perfect explanation and demonstration of how to use of volume and tone pots on a Les Paul-outstanding!
Good video! All the old school players use their tone and volume controls!
Mike, what an absolutely terrific video. This helped me tremendously with my Les Paul settings. I had no idea that the individual settings could be so sensitive and what you can achieve with just a little help from someone that knows what he's doing.
Thank you very much for this video.
Hello Mike. I have a replica (Antoria) Les Paul Gibson Sunburst. Neck pickup is as yours, bridge pickup is a double, cream/black. Three people have done something with the electronics but what you showed us does not work on mine. Thank you for the information. It was very helpful. P.S..I didn’t hear a bad note!
Stuart Humphries Not mike, but may I ask what kind of amp you have? I think his trick works better on tube amplifiers where a loud volume distorts your guitar :)
My first guitar was an old Gibson Melody Maker, double cutaway with a single bridge pickup, along with an old Haynes Jazz King Amp I learned early on about tone by using the tone and volume knobs. But more importantly, learning that you can get all kinds of different tone depending on where you strummed, strumming agressively closer to the bridge etc.
This video is gold , you are a great guitar player !
Thank you for sharing this. I'm a 60 year old newbie with a 1996 Les Paul Studio hanging on a wall(looking pretty). You have answered dozens of questions I had about learning to play this electric guitar. I only have a used Fender Frontman 25R amp but it's a start. Very grateful for this instruction.
A secret handshake along with great playing.
Excellent demonstration! I have been preaching to guitarists for years that they have volume & tone controls for a reason, so learn how to use them!
13/10/2019 - 1st time watch this video & this is so so so good explanation about how all the 4 knob works.. Nice video Sir :-)
I watched this video a few times.
That's just great tutorial to work out!
Thanks for a great lessons and playing!
Rock on!
Great video ! Great instructor !
This guys use of the toggle switch, tone and volume controls is masterly.
Hi Mike ..and congrat for your useful video. Great tone and nice playing! 👏🏻👌🏻
This is great. I’m a beginner and was getting very frustrated on how to tune and use all of the controls including the amp. The manuals are useless. I appreciate your videos and look forward to more.
DUDE!!!! Make some videos of you simply playing!! I love your style. SUBSCRIBED!!
love my Les Paul.... the tone/volume knobs add so much more than most know...this video had me stripped down to my guitar, cord and amp and loving it....
Mike.... Danke, Danke, Danke.... I came across your UA-cam presentation on using the Tone and Volume knobs while searching why my 1996 Guild/DeArmond Les Paul model was acting strange when the selector switch was set in the middle and I wasn't getting any sound. Turns out I did not know that if you had one of the volume knobs either the neck of the bridge set to zero, all sound was turned off. (well I figured that out) But what I really appreciated in this video of yours was how to fine tune my Les Paul for a warm jazz sound using both pickups.
I'm hearing searching for basic info using the exact same year model. 96 Les Paul Standard. How bout that lol.
Very informative, common sense presentation. You've been able to sum up in about 15 minutes what a lot of guitarists spend years trying to figure out. Some of the very best guitarist use very little in the way of pedals. Job well done!
Excellent video and explanations. Just what I needed. Thank you sir!
You don't have to apologize mike, even mistaking one note or two (as anybody can do) you are an amazing guitar player!
This is a gem of a video!
Thanks for stopping by! :)
Have been playing acoustics, strats, tele's, and Hamer's with simple layouts (HSS) my whole life and finally could afford a LP and honestly didn't fully understand the controls. Search for explanation landed me here and must say you are too humble. You're possibly a better teacher than you are a player.. and that's saying a lot. I learned a lot and better understand my LP now.. THANK YOU. I plan to play with the ideas you gave as I think they are extremely well laid out and as someone else here said... I've got 'new eyes' or 'new ears' as to what to do now... thanks amigo!!
PS: Greets from DFW Texas
Holy crap this is the best video I've ever seen, for real. Thankyou I'm going to have to rewatch and subscribe. Have you done similar video with stratocaster? Just a great straightforward explanation
Thanks for stopping by. :) Indeed I did a video for Stratocaster-players too! :) ---> ua-cam.com/video/kRJgGfZaUpk/v-deo.html
@@MikeBurn oh man thanks buddy, you don't mind if I call you buddy? Or friend?
WOW !!!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH !!! I searched & searched for someone to break this down for me. Don’t know why u didn’t come up 6 months ago when I bought the Less Paul special. I put it back in the box & in the closet it has sat. I definitely will subscribe. Thank you again for this video & for clearly showing examples each time !!❤️
Beautiful playing !
That was a great video!! Thanks!! I actually came here because I've just gotten my first Les Paul guitar and I was having problems using the knobs. This video helped me a lot.
Congrats and have fun exploring the sonic capabilities of a Les Paul! ;) :)
I really like this. Will certainly start trying this more. I’m guilty of rolling it all on to 10, and ..well…that’s it. I need more of this!
Here is the question: when turning the volume down to effect the tone, are you not also dropping your volume…so..people can’t hear you over the other band members?
Feels like I’m missing something here.?
Think about your right hand to compensate through dynamics! The harder you hit the string, the louder the volume, isn't it? Sometimes, depending on the amp's setting, only a small increase in force when hitting the strings can make a dramatic difference.
@@MikeBurn Thank you ! You are awesome.
I keep coming back to watch this video to remind me to find all of the different tones that my guitar is capable of and to remember to experiment.
Beautiful music , Mike. Thank you.
Excellent video! You changed the way I looked at the guitar knobs, at first I just turned them all the way up and that's it...
Now I'll try to improvise without using any pedal. Thanks for the lesson!
Subscribed.. because of the content of cause, but he’s patient’s with his explanation, he’s not talking at 100mph.. like most of them do on UA-cam, I think it’s a disease or perhaps a fad because there all doing it ?
I understood everything this guy said, because he took the time to explain in detail the objective of each move.. some beautiful tones he got there, just buy the touch of a knob, great guitar and great playing.. best video I’ve seen in a long time. !
Well done 👍
And that's why I love a Les Paul
I bought a used SC, the former owner did the wiring by himsel. I finished all the necessary maintenance work today and when I tryed to start playing it I didn't understood exactly how the knobs really work. I have written it up as good as I could and now I know what I have to do tomorrow. :-) Thanks for the informations, you play very well!
*ucking Hell !!!! Not something I would normally say.. I have had my Gibson Les Paul since 1981 and until this day , I have not achieved these tones or sounds..... thank you.
Comments like yours are the reason I do videos like this. Have fun exploring the wonders of your LP tone and volume controls. :) ;) ;)
Nice points! So easy to forget the basic truth that our sound and tone are first in our hands and what is between our ears. You made me think of the times a friend of mine used to take me to the Krone in Darmstadt and shame into playing with the house band. I had my own guitar that I traveled with but working with the limited equipment at the Krone required me to do the things you demonstrated here. Nice job!
Two important things to pull from the video, the Les Paul guitar works best with a decent quality valve amp with some gain. Valve amps are typically more powerful so a 30 watt and up should work well. I use a Marshall DSL 40 Vintage which aims towards providing 60s style tone, accepted with modern components ( although I've replaced the valves for better ones). The second point made so well here is that the tone and volume change the shape of the sound dependent on their position and in relationship to each other I.e. It doesnt just raise the volume like on some guitars, it takes the LP towards a more raucous overdrive. Going the other way you can get a mellow almost 335 jazz tone ala Larry Carlton. On top of this you can blend the two pickups by rolling off the volume on one or other, toggle in the middle. I am learning that this guitar is quite incredible and need I say it the pedals are going. I add a little reverb ( the DSLs is fine) and then have a TSDX set to TS9 on the mode and use the level control to pre- amp a little ( drive / crunch off, tone neutral) and a Dunlop Wah for certain songs. That's it. All you need to gig and light to travel. Thanks again for the video. Appreciated.
Great explanation I’m ready to experiment with my new Les Paul now. Side note I’ve spent 6 years total in Germany. Absolutely love the people and culture there. Danke schön
That's awesome!
Hello!
My pots were scratchy and old so I had them changed. However after the
change I can't quite control the distortion level with them anymore.
Before the change the distortion would go down together with the volume (as you demonstrated),
whereas now only the volume goes down and the distortion stays the
same. What happened?
I have one humbucker and a p90. I believe both volume pots are 500 and
tone pots 250.
When I open up to look at them they are made in Japan. Could they be low
quality?
Also the volume doesn't change as much betweeen 7-10 anymore, but that
might be due to pots being linear?
Indeed the symptoms match low quality pots. Sometimes you know for sure that you have a linear pot by checking for marks like 'B' or 'LIN', i.e. B250K or 500Lin. Use some extra bucks and get CTS pots, solid affordable quality.
Thank you for your answer! I'm willing to put more money into them if there are better ones out there. Any other tips?
That was very very educational, I've been going through different youtube sites and there some really great players that show how to play this song or that song , but don't talk about how to get the tone with just the plain basics of guitar, cable, amp and of course how to use the hands when playing. I greatly appreciate your instruction thank you.
Useful, in a world where most things are not.
I'm a 58 year old rookie...thanks so much for this lesson!