How often do you actually use your volume knob?...

[HardNHeavy]

whoa Clay, thats a nice looking bass!....

but i use the volume all the time, if i didn't i might as well play an acoustic....sometimes i noodle around unplugged...I'd say at home the volume would be up 40-70%....in a band setting it'd be bout 80-100%

 

[foolforthecity]

100% vol knob, passive Dunlop volume pedal at end of chain

 

[el murdoque]

I must make a difference between my active and passive basses, because the Volume knobs work differently on them. On my active basses, the volume knob works like on a Hifi. You just set how much volume exits the instrument. On the passive ones, when you dial back, the sound gets dulled.
So on my passive basses, it's more or less 100% or 0%, so I use the volume knob as on/off switch.

On my active basses I use it all the time.

 

[Seashore]

I have dual volume setups on both basses right now and I use them to adjust the balance between the pickups. I could make do without them; I had the bridge pickup on the six string wired to the jack for a while and I think I preferred it that way. I'm happier making my adjustments with pedals and the amp.

 

[MisterFabulous]

The two guitarists in my band must use it every time we play. By the end of the practice/gig, they are both at screeching levels of volume. I do not try to keep up with that kind of nonsense. I just make sure I'm heard--or felt--at gigs.

 

[Geri O]

Simply as an on/off switch.

Its either all the way off or 100% on.

 

[since197three]

The volume knob on all my basses is always all the way up. I never touch it.

 

[growlypants]

It varies with the bass. On my Fender, volume's up all the way, all the time, due to tone changes upon roll-off. On active basses, volume can be adjusted without affecting tone.

 

[Ric5]

How often do you actually use your volume knob?

I only adjust knobs while I am playing my basses ... when they sit idle for hours they do not get adjusted at all

 

[lokikallas]

Never. I have a tuner to mute.

 

[bikeplate]

On when playing the song, off when the song is over

 

[MonetBass]

Usually to mute when not playing it, but sometimes live when the person running the board has the volume incorrectly set. But not much, really.

 

[iiipopes]

(Gratuitous shot of my P that has no volume) View attachment 4076031 I was wondering how many of you actually use their volume and if so, how often and in what context. I realized that I had never touched the volume on this particular instrument and that seemed like a waste of knob. So, what was the volume is now the tone with a push/pull killswitch and sitting in the former tone location is a Bill Lawrence Q-filter. I could have left the tone where it was but it felt better moved to the volume spot. Overall, I do not miss the volume at all and would do the same thing if I ever get another P (unless it's vintage). How often do you use your volume? Do you start off around 75%... That way you can adjust your level on the fly mid-song? Or maybe use it to tame really hot pickups? I know it depends on the bass but let me know your thoughts.

I have that same Warmoth pickguard on a custom black Strat-style fanned fret guitar. Looks great on the bass.

But I digress: since I run direct most of the time, I keep my volume knob for those occasions of rehearsal, jamming, small gigs, or home practice where I occasionally still use an amplifier, but on stage I keep the volume dimed and let the sound man take care of it.

Here's a picture of my black guitar to go with your white bass:

 

[HolmeBass]

Used to be all the way up and I’d roll it off some for a ballad or a quite section, and I have long used a clean boost pedal for louder sections or places I want to stand out more.

Now I have a volume pedal and most of the time I use it, but sometimes for ballads I’ll still use the volume knob.

 

[thanos k]

i set a slightly overdiven tone on my aguilar tone hammer preamp and then i pull back a little the volume on my bass for a cleaner tone. when i want an overdriven sound i max the volume, when i need a clean tone i pull it back a little bit.

 

[ZedLepp]

It could easily be replaced with an on/off switch for me. That's all I ever use it for.

 

[Groove Finder]

I'm a father of two, including a 14-month old son so I only turn those volume knobs up when I get some alone time and want feel "rebellious" hahaha. #DadLife

 

[Jack Butler]

On guitar - I use an amp with no master volume so I control a lot by riding the volume knob on the guitar, sometimes adjusting multiple times within a song for different sounds/dynamics. And on guitar I never touch the tone knobs, always wide open. Bass is the exact opposite, never use volume except as on/off, but especially on a P, the tone knob is essential for me. In the bedroom, tone knob rolled most of the way off. In a mix, tone knob 60-80% open, depending on the room/situation. Sometimes even wide open depending on how the mix is or whatever.

 

[LBS-bass]

Every time but I'm an oddball that wants headroom.

 

[LBS-bass]

I'm surprised to see so many of you lowering the volume THAT much during soundcheck to have a bit of "secret" boost available for the show. Raising the volume from 65-70% to 100% mid show seems like a recipe for a poor FOH mix and a sure way to make the FOH engineer hate you (unless you've discussed this with him/her in advance). I would NEVER mess this much with anything going to FOH during the show. This is what soundchecks are for IMO.

(EDIT: And no, I never use the volume knob except as an on/off switch for breaks or sometimes between songs).

I'm wondering how many players have the outputs of all their pedals dialed in precisely to keep those dynamics changes in check?

Personally I rarely touch the volume knob after soundcheck, but I like to know i have a little headroom. I'd also never tweak it by even 10%, much less 20-40. But I'm generally the kind of player that likes to sit more quietly in the mix, so sound engineers are generally asking me to turn up, not down.