Another “is this possible” question

[metropolis_4]

I would love to have a master volume on my LP. This doesn’t seem too crazy to me, would this be possible?

 

[laxu]

Sure. Here's a schematic from Gretsch that should work:

https://assets.ctfassets.net/3xaxfhpie9jb/n8lS5HPynICogkOSCkKom/198aaf0bf2b01238e3e05210c3965eb1/TonePotRev.pdf

 

[sleewell]

seems like a good idea tbh

 

[bucephalus]

I wouldn't like to lose the separate tone controls myself but no reason it wouldn't work.

 

[metropolis_4]

Thanks for the info!

I figured I’d rather lose the separate tone controls than drill and route the guitar for a 5th knob. A master volume is a lot more useful to me than separate tones

 

[State of Epicicity]

You could always use a dual concentric so you don't have to lose anything.

 

[Baba]

I imagine you still want separate control for either pickup? If that is the case, my next comment won't help you, but, I actually bypassed 2 of the 4 knobs on my Tremonti SE, and just have a volume and tone, so, you could do that.

Honestly, having 2 "different" settings for neck and bridge is just a flick of the pickup selector and a quick roll of the master volume . . .

 

[newholland]

it took me a minute to think about it, but i can kinda see the value in it with radically different output pickups... but id think having to pass through two complete pots might get lossy with passives.

i think its a solution.. but you could also use a volume pedal too and effectively have a similar setup?

 

[metropolis_4]

I imagine you still want separate control for either pickup? If that is the case, my next comment won't help you, but, I actually bypassed 2 of the 4 knobs on my Tremonti SE, and just have a volume and tone, so, you could do that.

Honestly, having 2 "different" settings for neck and bridge is just a flick of the pickup selector and a quick roll of the master volume . . .

it took me a minute to think about it, but i can kinda see the value in it with radically different output pickups... but id think having to pass through two complete pots might get lossy with passives.

i think its a solution.. but you could also use a volume pedal too and effectively have a similar setup?

The idea here is that I spend a lot of time in the middle position with the neck volume rolled off just a bit and I want a way to have that sound but pull it back to clean up the amp.

I use a volume pedal now, but I’d rather be able to use a knob on the guitar for this

 

[newholland]

The idea here is that I spend a lot of time in the middle position with the neck volume rolled off just a bit and I want a way to have that sound but pull it back to clean up the amp.

I use a volume pedal now, but I’d rather be able to use a knob on the guitar for this

mm. my last band i did that alot too with a les paul special... my solution was a telecaster

 

[metropolis_4]

mm. my last band i did that alot too with a les paul special... my solution was a telecaster

Interesting, one of the main reasons I’ve shifted from Telecasters to LPs is because I can’t do that on a Tele since it doesn’t have separate volume controls for the pickups.

Every time I play a Tele I miss it

 

[newholland]

Interesting, one of the main reasons I’ve shifted from Telecasters to LPs is because I can’t do that on a Tele since it doesn’t have separate volume controls for the pickups.

Every time I play a Tele I miss it

i dunno that its a BETTER solution, tbh- i like both, i just think about it less with the tele and the whole master tone/volume scenario. i figured less options just has its appeal, and by and large, it worked for me. i like lesters so i can set the neck pickup volume low and swap in clean sound with the switch- but really volume knob on the tele works for all three positions with the roll off, and a treble bleed just makes it that much easier. : lots of ways to do it though!

 

[CakeEater]

Coming from Strats, I can definitely see the appeal of this. I like to play my Les Paul in the middle position, with the neck pickup down ~3 from the bridge. Having a master volume once the humbucker-specific volumes are set would be great. Except instead of having a master tone, I'd just have it on the bridge. I don't think I've ever had need for a tone pot on a neck humbucker.

 

[State of Epicicity]

Now that I think about it, I'd go with two regular pots controlling master volume and tone, then two dual concentrics to control individual master and tone each.

 

[metropolis_4]

Now that I think about it, I'd go with two regular pots controlling master volume and tone, then two dual concentrics to control individual master and tone each.

The problem with dual concentric is that it’s so hard to do a quick grab with your pinky during a performance

 

[State of Epicicity]

The problem with dual concentric is that it’s so hard to do a quick grab with your pinky during a performance

There are two sizes I've found for those. The larger ones are easy to manipulate, in my experience. The big trick I've found is in the installation, to get the top and bottom knobs to move freely without affecting one another. I spent a lot of time moving the knobs up or down just a hair to get the perfect set up so the bottom was just clear of the face the guitar and the top was just clear of the bottom, rotating fully over and over while testing.

Here's one of the big kind, which I bought at Thompson Guitar and Thrift:

And here's a link to it:
https://www.thompsonguitarandthrift...et-with-set-screw?_pos=7&_sid=02d96735b&_ss=r