Knobs..... tone/volume knobs on my bass

Gear
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I’m a beginner and just learning to play but one of my pet peeves is unmarked knobs. I think it would be helpful to be able to glance down and see exactly where my settings are at.
Is my only solution to replace the factory knobs?

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Or just mark them by drawing a short line on top of the knob?

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That did cross my mind, but they are smooth chrome… didn’t think it would last very long.

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If you can’t or don’t want to mark your knobs in any way, replacing them is pretty much your only option. Fortunately, it’s easy and relatively cheap.

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I used a label maker to make triangle labels, and stuck them to my knobs as a temporary option.

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A small round sticker might do the trick too. :smile:

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A trip to Hobby Lobby may be in my future. :nauseated_face:

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Nail polish would last a while and you get a large selection of colours.

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9

Yea drill a small hole and raid your wife’s nail polishes!

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10

Soon you won’t care about them. As you expand your gears like amps, preamps and pedals they are all have volume and / or gain control.

I usually turn it full up and back off about a quarter for emergency only, lol. The rest are controlled by another devices.

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Or 50+ basses :relieved:

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12

Oh! Well, I have no comeback for that :joy:

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13

Just put a strip of colored tape on there.

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I do think this is an issue that will go away over time. You will get to the point that it sounds right and you won’t care what the setting is. I don’t hardly touch tone anymore. I love the MDB5, which has the tone knob on the control play cover on the back (it’s flat and you need a screwdriver). I have balance and volume on the front, really what I need. The tone is dialed in

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it never even occurred to me to be bothered by this

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16

I guess it’s different for everyone… Back when I still had my Cort Action PJ, I replaced the original, unmarked knobs with marked ones. My Squier Classic Vibe jazz bass has the classic black knobs with the white lines on them. I really like to be able to see at a glance what they are set at, and I do mess with the tone knob from time to time.

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Yeah I definitely turn my knobs a lot, it’s just that I don’t mind the lack of visual queues.

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Me neither, just fiddle around til it sounds good :joy:

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I don’t touch the tone much, but I usually turn the volume(s) down when turning the amp on/off and I like the bridge on full and the neck pickup ‘about halfway’. Getting the ‘about halfway’ is a pain without the visual.

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I played on a gig that I could barely see the frets forget side dots so I marked the dots with glow in the dark powder and keep the keychain UV flashlight handy the next time. Fiddling with knob markers never entered my thoughts.

Outside your practice room you don’t have total control of your tone especially without a decent direct box