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Anyone else develop "knob anxiety"?

Billyzoom

Billyzoom

Supporting Member
Mar 1, 2011
856
1,313
Bay Area
#1
I'm not sure when this happened, but over time I've developed a distaste for multiple controls on an instrument, effect, or amp.

I'm not saying at all that they're unneeded or not useful or valuable. I just realized that somehow my tastes have changed. If I have two choices in a bass, or amp, etc., I tend to see the one with more controls as a negative, even if it gives more tonal options.

I play guitar through a Jazzamp, and it has like 6 or 7 knobs for the various frequencies. It's cool and I have a setting I like, but I'd prefer to have just "tone", or "bass" and "treble".

This goes even with basses with active/passive switches. I want passive, with simple controls. And it's not that it sounds better...it may even be limiting, I'm sure. But it's like option anxiety...maybe it's the idea that there's a better tone lurking there that I'm missing?

Maybe it's just me getting older...who knows. Anyone else feel the same way?
 
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#2
On the bass all I want is a passive tone control. On the amp three EQ bands minimum although a lo-mid and hi-mid control along with bass and treble is a plus. Since I've gone to in-ears for monitors lots of knobs are even less important.
 
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#3
I guess I never thought about it. However I do feel having too much eq on an active bass is a little too much and I tend to avoid a bunch of knobs on a bass if I can help it. Lately I've been playing more passive P and J style basses, and I haven't missed the myriad of knobs and adjustments some of my active basses have. I guess I'd rather tweak my amp than the bass to get the sound I'm after.

That being said, I've been using a stripped down version of an amp lately, wi h only treble mids and bass for eq controls, and it sounds great.

So I guess my answer is sort of. If I can create the sound I'm looking for with minimal controls then I'm all for that. But it comes down to the fact of having to be able to get the sound I'm after above all else.
 
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#5
secondary to getting older? might be. (i'm "older" and i also seek simpler solutions to common problems/issues.) i'm probably more content with simpler choices than i was 'back when' because i'm not much of a "tone chaser" these days. in every playdown: i search for something i like (or can live with!).... and i'm sure that i am way more relaxed/casual about it than i used to be!

so: yeah... simpler works for me, too!
 
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#7
I've always been a less is more guy. Probably why I've always gravitated toward Telecasters and Precision Basses, Princetons Reverbs, Deluxe Reverbs, etc. I like my Rumble 500 combo because it's layout is straight ahead (as are most bass amps though if we're being honest). Even with effects pedals I go for the less is more approach as far as knobs, and only use exactly what I need (with guitar, dont use any pedals aside from a tuner pedal and DI with bass). I have zero interest or desire to even mess with an active bass, but the music I like to play really doesn't call for or have a need for one, either.

What I've found, at least for myself over the years is once I have too much stuff, or when things start having too many buttons, knobs, etc., I start fixating on the gear and spend more time tweaking stuff instead of actually playing, and while it may make a difference to me in my head, once you turn up and start playing with everyone else in the band, a LOT of the stuff you heard (or thought you heard) when you spent hours tweaking isn't there anymore. It gets to a point where it becomes counter productive and results in diminishing returns. If you have good chops and have half-decent gear and have a basic working knowledge of how to dial in a nice tone, you're going to sound good!

These days I'm very simple to the point where I pretty much sold all my gear aside from one bass (Precision), one acoustic (Gibson AJ) and two electrics (Classic 50's Tele, SG Standard). I have one bass amp (Rumble 500) and one guitar amp (Fender Blues Jr.) Got rid of like 15 guitars and basses last year along with several vintage Fender amps and some other nice vintage gear I just never used. I do miss a few things, but I feel liberated to some degree, less weighted down so to speak, and guess what? I haven't suffered in any way as far as not being able to make the same music I was making before. I spend more time practicing and less time tweaking knobs or deciding which guitar to play, which gear to use, which combination of pedals to use and second-guessing myself and trying different stuff, etc. If anything, I think I've become a better player as a result.
 
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#9
Bass: neck pickup, volume and tone on 10 or controls bypassed or DIYs that never had controls. I never use bridge pickups.

Amp: Gain, Bass, Low Mids, High Mids, Treble, Contour switch. Adjusted to get a basic tone for the room.

Fingers: plucking position and plucking technique determines my tone from there.
 
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#10
I have to agree, multi-band EQs are a fly trap.
Today I looked at my little 3 tone knob amp so I could match the sound on my big 7 band EQ amp. Sounds like all I had to do was pull a couple center sliders down a tweak to match the 3 knob amp.
Add more knobs and sliders and it takes forever to get back to your basic good tone.
Having an overdrive channel is good, but not more EQ sliders.
Multi-band EQ on a bass amp? That's a 1980s fad.
 
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#13
Billyzoom said:
I'm not sure when this happened, but over time I've developed a distaste for multiple controls on an instrument, effect, or amp.

I'm not saying at all that they're unneeded or not useful or valuable. I just realized that somehow my tastes have changed. If I have two choices in a bass, or amp, etc., I tend to see the one with more controls as a negative, even if it gives more tonal options.

I play guitar through a Jazzamp, and it has like 6 or 7 knobs for the various frequencies. It's cool and I have a setting I like, but I'd prefer to have just "tone", or "bass" and "treble".

This goes even with basses with active/passive switches. I want passive, with simple controls. And it's not that it sounds better...it may even be limiting, I'm sure. But it's like option anxiety...maybe it's the idea that there's a better tone lurking there that I'm missing?

Maybe it's just me getting older...who knows. Anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...

I'm with you. I don't like too many knobs or switches. One reason I bought an lh1000 head. Not too many controls, and killer sound.

Same thing with my basses. Volume, Tone, blend (of there's more than one pickup).
 
#14
Yes, I have been wanting to remove my tone knob on my p bass and leave just one knob: the volume. All through the 80's and 90's I had a black p bass with only one volume that controlled active EMG P and J pickups, never missed the tone knob. I don't really play with a lot of finesse, just find a sound I like and leave it. One volume knob has always really appealed to me.
 
#16
I used to own a certain high-end bass with advanced active electronics. One of the reasons I decided to get rid of it was that it wasn't practical. For the stage, the controls and filters were just too sensitive, and their interactions too complex, which made it hard to get through the set without continual tweaking during and between numbers. Many times I'd go 'ah, screw it' and grab my trusty, simple Precision copy that could not but deliver. Yet it took me a while to reach the obvious conclusion.
 
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#17
I don't think it's an age thing, I'm 23 and I like having simple controls on my amps. One of the reasons why I was turned off from the Fender Bassman because it has too many controls for a tube amp. Too many I don't need. If I need to add more EQ or effects I'll use pedals. Could be choice anxiety, I get overwhelmed when I have too many options to choose from.
 
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#18
TjMetalhead said:
I don't think it's an age thing, I'm 23 and I like having simple controls on my amps. One of the reasons why I was turned off from the Fender Bassman because it has too many controls for a tube amp. Too many I don't need. If I need to add more EQ or effects I'll use pedals. Could be choice anxiety, I get overwhelmed when I have too many options to choose from.
Click to expand...
What he said!
 
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