Not the OP, but I developed a way of playing dynamically that included moves to a neck pickup with the volume rolled down into a saturated amp/overdrive pedal. Not unlike how Mr. Mackaye got so many tones on stage without pedals in Fugazi.VaticanShotglass wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:33 pm EQ pedal is probably the way to go, but is the problem with using the tone knob the volume loss or the need for instant switching? If the latter, you could probably add a capacitor toggle or push/pull switch.
I had a guitar with an atypically placed pickup selector that I could flick in half a beat without looking down while singing. When the bastards stole that guitar I found some neat replacements, but was always very awkward performing the switch during busy parts so I put it at my feet in an EQ.
Anyhow, there's nothing quite like the sound of rolled off volume into something gained up. It has this semi dirty sound that you can't get by adding just a little gain to a clean signal- working the opposite direction. I saw a video of J Mascis explaining how what everyone notices about the limited volume of a Big Muff is solved for him by starting with an overdrive pedal turned really low so the signal audibly blooms when he engages the muff (double entendres abound). Since he plays into a dimed Marshall it makes sense that he found dynamics by being subtractive instead of additive with a boost.
