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OK, who's willing to explain all the knobs to me, LOL?

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 mmdm
(@mmdm)
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Joined: 17 years ago
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Topic starter  

Now that the Squier '51 has come to live here, I need to learn about ELECTRIC stuff. :shock: There's 2 knobs on the guitar. One seems to just be a volume knob. The other turns to 2 or 3 different settings and will also pull out. I don't know what these are called, or what they are for. Help?

I'd also like a simple explanation of the Tone and Gain controls on the amp, if anyone is willing?

And if anyone knows a good website explaining the basics of electric guitars and their parts, please share it with me. Apparently, these things are not as self-explanatory as a good old accoustic. :wink:

Melisa


   
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(@dagwood)
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Joined: 19 years ago
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Ahh yes the "K"nobs... lol

On the '51 that upper knob is indeed the volume.
The lower knob is the Pick Up Selector switch. If you listen carefully when switching it and the tone smooths out.. not so much bite/twang/tin to it then your on the neck pickup. Switch it the other way and you hear more bite.... then your on the Humbucka (Bridge pickup).

The Push Pull on the Volume Knob is, if I'm not mistaken, a Coil Tap. That's for the Humbucker.. you essentially switch it to a single coil pickup then back to a humbucker.

Here's the Diagram from Squier's Web Site.
http://www.squierguitars.com/pdf/diagrams/0325100-switching.pdf

Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)


   
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(@ricochet)
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Tone and Gain on the amp?

Tone controls whether you hear more or less of the high frequencies, mainly. Turn it up and you get a "brighter" sound. Turn it down and it sounds mellower. Experiment with it.

"Gain" is the same thing as a volume control, but on an earlier stage of the amp with another volume control on a later stage. Turn up the gain and an intermediate stage of the amp will start being overdriven, clipping off the sound waves and making it sound fuzzy. Don't overdo it. Experiment with that, too.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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 mmdm
(@mmdm)
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Joined: 17 years ago
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Topic starter  

Thanks, guys. You'd think these things would come with a manual or something, LOL. One more question. How do you know whether you should use the neck pickup, humbucker, or single coil humbucker, for a given type of music or song? And don't say whichever you like, whenever you like, because I know that. But I'd like some kind of guidelines as to what is usual. Somewhere to start. There is too much to play with on this thing. I think I'll go get Frankenbaby (my Taylor Big Baby with NO knobs and NO cables) and take a little break.

Melisa


   
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(@ignar-hillstrom)
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You need to listen to the part. In general, for screaming high leads you'll use the bridge, for mellow and smooth leads you take the neck. Agressive punk rhythms go with the bridge, jazz comping with the neck. Then again, it really is up to your taste. You can also mix the pickups, use the bridge pickup with the tone down or all kind of such variations. Remember: the bridge pickup 'cuts' much better in the mix, the neck is more inclined to blend in.


   
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(@greybeard)
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Listen to the song and set your guitar and amp to make a similar sound.
Experimenting is a good way to learn what sounds different setting produce.
Start with the guitar's neck pickup and the amp with the tone set to 0 and the volume set to something that won't have the police knocking on your front door. See what sounds you can out of it. Then move the tone to 1 and try again. Then 2, then 3, etc.
Then switch to the bridge humbucker and repeat the process.
Make a note of which settings sound like which songs, so that you can reproduce them later.

It is very difficult to tell you what settings will sound like, because there are many factors involved in a "sound", including the cable, the pick, your hands and several other things.

I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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My Articles & Reviews on GN


   
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(@artlutherie)
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Just remember anbody can sound just like" put your Uber-Guitar God here" . Don't forget to make your own tone. It's a lot harder to sound different than anyone else so start now!

Chuck Norris invented Kentucky Fried Chicken's famous secret recipe, with eleven herbs and spices. But nobody ever mentions the twelfth ingredient: Fear!
ChuckNorrisFactsdotCom


   
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(@urbancowgirl)
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Joined: 18 years ago
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It took me a while to figure out the knobs on the 51 as well. I didn't realize the volume knob pulled out. :oops:
Half the fun of an amp is playing with all the buttons and seeing what sounds you can make. If you do it near an open window your neighbors will love you...not.
You will know it when you hear one and you go "Hey, that's just like (insert song with similar sound here)!!!"

All my life I wanted to be somebody. Now I see I should have been more specific.


   
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(@eirraca)
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Thanks for asking these questions Melisa...I'd be asking them also after I got my 51 in. Hope its soon... :shock:


   
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 mmdm
(@mmdm)
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Topic starter  

Thanks for asking these questions Melisa...I'd be asking them also after I got my 51 in. Hope its soon... :shock:

Oh, I'm very good at asking questions. Anything I don't know, there is always someone who does know it and I've been very fortunate to find people who are willing to help me most of the time. I really do appreciate everyone's help!


   
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(@ignar-hillstrom)
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If you do it near an open window your neighbors will love you...not.

heh, that made me remember an incident from a few years ago. I was over at a friend's place playing guitar, and neither of us knew more then four chords at the time. We were just banging away ("What to do with these knobs? "just put them all to 10, sounds best") when I noticed the neighbour was frantically knocking on the windows. Realising there might have been a volume issue we opened the door. Much to our surprise he said:"Could you turn the amp up a bit please, I can't hear it very well like this." This totally confused the heck out of us so we sat there thinking about what to play. After five minutes we gave up and called it a day.

Totally off-topic, sorry. :D


   
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 mmdm
(@mmdm)
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Joined: 17 years ago
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Topic starter  

If you do it near an open window your neighbors will love you...not.

heh, that made me remember an incident from a few years ago. I was over at a friend's place playing guitar, and neither of us knew more then four chords at the time. We were just banging away ("What to do with these knobs? "just put them all to 10, sounds best") when I noticed the neighbour was frantically knocking on the windows. Realising there might have been a volume issue we opened the door. Much to our surprise he said:"Could you turn the amp up a bit please, I can't hear it very well like this." This totally confused the heck out of us so we sat there thinking about what to play. After five minutes we gave up and called it a day.

Totally off-topic, sorry. :D

LOL, I think that's exactly what I would have done! Too funny!


   
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(@ricochet)
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You got played, you know that, don't you? :lol:

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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 mmdm
(@mmdm)
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Topic starter  

That's ok, its my thread. I can be blonde if I want to. :lol:


   
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(@ricochet)
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No, I meant Sleutelbos. :lol:

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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