Knobs without numbers

[panchito]

Some owners of S-500, and other guitars with metal knobs, give here precise values for the volumen, treble and bass.
I am always lost with the knobs of my guitar. My question is whether you changed the knobs on your guitars for knobs
like those on the Legacy, provide just a ballpark value or use some form of marking with your knobs. Thanks !

[blargfromouterspace]

I can't help with settings but rather than change the knobs you can put a small dot on the top of the existing knobs so you know where they're set.

[repoman]

Instead of a small dot on the knobs, do what I did. Leave your guitar unattended with a small child in the house.
Within a few minutes you'll have stickers all over your guitar. I still have kitty cat and flower stickers on the knobs of my S500. They've been there for a few years now and I've kind of grown fond of them.

[westsideduck]

Some owners of S-500, and other guitars with metal knobs, give here precise values for the volumen, treble and bass.
I am always lost with the knobs of my guitar. My question is whether you changed the knobs on your guitars for knobs
like those on the Legacy, provide just a ballpark value or use some form of marking with your knobs. Thanks !

I'd say if someone is giving a quote on settings with metal knobs it's ballpark but ballpark can be very accurate, it's just a matter of time spent with your guitar. I do like the metal knobs used on the old F-100s with the line on top so you can eaisly see where your at when picking up your axe. rather then mark your knobs you can find old F-100 knobs on e-bay sometimes.

[Philby]

The other thing you can do is loosen the counter-sunk screw on the knob, and remove the knob. Turn the pot to '10' and then place the knob back on the shaft with the screw facing you as the '10' marker. Re-tighten the screw.

The screw comes into view somewhere around 3-4, and from then on you can estimate where you are relative to 10.

[panchito]

Instead of a small dot on the knobs, do what I did. Leave your guitar unattended with a small child in the house.
Within a few minutes you'll have stickers all over your guitar. I still have kitty cat and flower stickers on the knobs of my S500. They've been there for a few years now and I've kind of grown fond of them.

Well, this is by far the most expensive solution !

[Boogie Bill]

The other thing you can do is loosen the counter-sunk screw on the knob, and remove the knob. Turn the pot to '10' and then place the knob back on the shaft with the screw facing you as the '10' marker. Re-tighten the screw.

The screw comes into view somewhere around 3-4, and from then on you can estimate where you are relative to 10.

This is what I do on my Comanches and S-500s. Very effective.

And then, I "normal" my PTB controls with the Volume at about 7, Treble at 10, and the Bass at 5. Then I set my amp tone controls so I have the treble response I need from the bridge pickup, and good quack from position 2 (bridge + middle); and solid but not overwhelming bass response. Pickups are set with the bridge the highest and the neck the lowest, with the middle in between; again giving good quack in Position 2.

Now, I can go from twang to jazzy just by rolling off the PTB Treble. I can punch up my solos by adding a bit more Bass. Anytime I need a subltle shading of tone, I can adjust the PTB controls by ear.

(With a bright Comanche or S-500, you may want to normal your PTB Treble down to 8. Use your amp's Treble and Prescence controls to find a combination of settings that will work for you. Experiment.)

Bill