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When I have my guitar vol high and my amp low, I get nice clean sound, but if I put my vol control on guitar low and crank up my amp, I get lots of unwanted noise. What does this mean about the electronics of the guitar/amp?
The guitar is a ES-175 clone with Gibson Classic 57 pups, and the amp is a Roland Cube 40XL.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

When you up the gain on the amp (i.e., raise the volume) you amplify everything, including any noise in the system. For the cleanest signal, and this applies to practically any system, you always want the highest input signal and the lowest gain you can get away with...up to the point that the input starts to clip and distort because it's too hot. This applies to everything from guitars to mics and on to equipment in an R&D lab. That's generally how you get the best signal to noise ratio.

Makes sense, thank you John!

_________________
A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA