Riding the Guitar Volume on the Fly

What's Hot
As much as I try, I just cant get the knack of riding the guitar volume on the fly when playing live. Iv got a Gibson SG 61 RE and the volume knob just seems in the wrong position. I seem to have to stop playing to adjust it and then it is such a panic I sometimes miss it all together. Is it just a case of practice or shall I give up and get a volume pedal????? ;-¬
0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom

Comments

  • Check out the Santana volume adjusts on the SG (from 1:10 you can see them)

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • I prefer a volume pedal because then you can have both hands free. Also if you use a noise gate you can place it after the gate so the gate always works off the signal from the guitar so stays consistent
    0reaction image LOL 1reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Mark1960Mark1960 Frets: 326
    I always set my volume at 8 for chords and 10 for lead, so it's easy to turn it up to maximum (full on), and when you swop back to chords if you don't get it exactly right say 8.5, just hit the strings a little softer untill an appropriate moment in the song and adjust accordingly.
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • Mark1960 said:
    I always set my volume at 8 for chords and 10 for lead, so it's easy to turn it up to maximum (full on), and when you swop back to chords if you don't get it exactly right say 8.5, just hit the strings a little softer untill an appropriate moment in the song and adjust accordingly.
    ^ this..

    I used to do this religiously when in my Angus Young role...
    My trading feedback

    is it crazy how saying sentences backwards creates backwards sentences saying how crazy it is?

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Jon Herington mods all his Gibsons to site the volume control nearer the bridge (ie to where the pickup selector switch is on a 336/339) and to make it a master volume. 

    The location of the volume control doesn't really bother me, but I've come to realise I prefer a single volume control and I think I'm going to mod my Gibsons that way. I tend to avoid using the middle position on gigs because I can't control the volume the way I want by quickly adjusting a single control. 

    I prefer using my hands to my feet and don't fancy a volume pedal.
    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • HHwarnerHHwarner Frets: 137
    edited November 2018
    In the past iv used an eq pedal with eq set flat and volume cut for rhythm and switch it off for leads, guitar volume always on 10 but it seems a bit lazy to me
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    Good topic. It’s the reason I play guitars with a single volume knob. Even so it’s not just the one knob to twiddle because sometimes adding more treble increases the apparent volume. 
    Mark1960 said:
    I always set my volume at 8 for chords and 10 for lead, so it's easy to turn it up to maximum (full on), and when you swop back to chords if you don't get it exactly right say 8.5, just hit the strings a little softer untill an appropriate moment in the song and adjust accordingly.
    This. My equipment is set so that, for rhythm playing, my guitar volume is between 5 and 7. That gives me more flexibility in turning up or down. For those moments when there isn’t time to touch the knobs I have a 3dB mid boost pedal.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • HAL9000HAL9000 Frets: 9550

    ...when in my Angus Young role...
    Schoolboy error
    I play guitar because I enjoy it rather than because I’m any good at it
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • stratman3142stratman3142 Frets: 2177
    edited November 2018
    Roland said:
    Good topic. It’s the reason I play guitars with a single volume knob...
    Same here for live use.

    Although I have two levels of post distortion boost (3dB and 6dB) and a post distortion volume, I still like to back off and ride the guitar volume occasionally (pre distortion) to create various shades of distortion/crunch/volume and to control feedback.

    It's not a competition.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • I basically always have the guitar volume pot at 10, use playing technique to strum quietly or loudly and hit my clean boost pedal in the fx loop for solos on the neck pickup so there is more volume and articulation with less shrill.  Sounds awesome. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • vizviz Frets: 10643
    I’ve just examined how I do it. Like many things it’s totally subconcious. But I’ve just been playing along to a song and seen what I do. I normally do it during soloing.  

    What I don’t do is this:

    Attempt to change the volume in the middle of playing something that I’ve planned to play and won’t deviate from; a bit like you see pianists having rapidly to smooth down the page on the sheet music after a poorly-executed page-turn. That’s not really necessary with the style of music I make. 

    What I do do is this:

    - Notice that I would like to change the volume. 

    - Slip into some one-handed hammer-on / pull-off holding pattern to allow me the time to adjust the volume.

    This can be done really quickly, it doesn’t need to be a 30-second noodle. It can be done in half a second, like Santana does in the clip above. It’s a subtle difference but it’s there - the choice of what to play facilitates the action. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.