volume and tone controls

We had a discussion about that recently in the Guitar Players section. https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=43586 Lots of good input and opinions in there.

Volume and tone controls are an additional way to coax different tones out of your guitar. someone posted a video of someone doing just this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGpr-Zy_wRs He shows off how technique, knobs and switches can do anything starting about 2 1/2 minutes in.

Thanks Roy, I guess I must of not taken too much notice at the time but having got the new strat I'm playing alot of electric at the moment and I just started questioning why do I always turn them all up. I've got the strat going into the gt10 then straight into my little Peavey escort pa and although you could get plenty of noise out its also good for playing quieter and this lead me to think about getting cleaner tones by backing up the input. I own the pa for other uses but it works really well the gt10.

It's all about what you want to play and hear. You guitar's strength may very well be up there near 10, but you can do other things with it too. I'm only scratching the surface on mine, I think. I know my MIM is very lack-luster when not turned up much. Some others that I have put out some nice low volume tone and sound good opened up.

From what I understand, a PA is the way to go for the GT-10. I've got mine through a 30 watt Fender Solid State. Pretty vanilla, but it does still add tone. No way to bypass it either. I heard a GT-6 through a PA once with an accoustic being played. Just used it for a bit of delay and chorus he said. I was really shocked at how good it sounded.

I've been playing around with the guitar controls today and haven't found that the tone controls change very much but the volume definately does. I'm going to keep it around 6 or 7 for cleans
From what I understand, a PA is the way to go for the GT-10.

The general consensus seems to be that to get just the tone of the GT10 then PA or powered monitors work best. I suppose if your looking for a say a Messa Boogie sound from the GT10 then its probally better to run it to something that isnt going to colour the sound after the proccessor. Theres so many different methods to run the GT10 that I guess its individual sound preference at the end of the day. The PA also lets you use the option of using different amps and effects on left and right channels.

I am sorta like you. the vol is always full up. it has ended up that way because of plugging into pedals. I believe that a full signal into a pedal gives the pedal something to work with. habit now, even if I am not using a pedal. I half the time plug into a digital interface for recording or play clean; plugging right into my amp.
I used to use the volume knob to go from clean to overdrive. that was when I could turn my amp up. the guitar vol knob was integral to tone and output.
tones knobs are all together different for me. I tweak all the time. my strat can get pretty bright using the bridge pickup. I find I get a nicer tone by backing off the treble knob. my strat, which is a strat plus, has that knob with a little mid point notch I can feel subtly. tone knobs matter for me.

.....tone knobs matter for me.

I had to add one to a guitar that didn't come with it. I put some GFS P90s at the same time, so not a really good A/B test. Still, gotta have a tone knob.

I'm more apt to mess with the tone knobs on cleaner sounds. I'm full open with my humbucker guitars but if I'm playing a 3 single coil Strat type guitar I like to play dirty with the bridge and middle pickup and the tone backed off on the middle pickup. It's all personal preferance thats why there are so many different guitars and controll options.