Knobs

These are the default knobs in my GJ2. They feature these rubber grip  ring as seen above.

 

It's a great idea but these stain the finger tips.

Simple replacement knobs. 

Knobs

Once again, a totally unnecessary mod but a happy one for me. New knobs for my Kiesel Holdsworth. There were red ones in there previously but I prefer these instead as they are more pinkish. 

This was what took place every time knobs are replaced. It's bordering on being OCD but I'll share anyway. I have this shim / wedge that I place before installing the knob. As you can see, it's made from  a trashed warranty card pieced together using sticky tape. Two layers of card material were used to give a certain clearance off the body surface.

Once the knob is in place & sits on the shim, it is locked & the shim duly removed. The reasons for doing this: 1) It provides a uniform clearance for a knob off the guitar body. We do not wish for it to be touching the body surface because it will scratch it when in use. If it sits too high, it affects effective handling. 2) It prevents us from doing a precarious balancing act while locking the knob in place. 

This is, of course, totally unnecessary & a newbie-like approach to a simple task. I'm used to this & it has its benefits. If you are a master knob installer, good for you. I stick to what works for me.

Aid

This is how I prevent myself from grabbing the wrong knob at the wrong time. Sometimes we need such minor help to make our guitar playing time more meaningful but the thing that prevents us from doing so is the concern that we might be desecrating the authenticity of our instruments. I'd rather live with my preferred features in my instruments than become a bumbling fool when it matters most.

Knobs swap

I've just swapped my Gibson Tribute 50s tone knobs from the default 'hat' type ones (left) to the more cylindrical version- I need a more sure grip to pull up those coil-split selectors...

Differentiated knobs

Those of us with a 4-knob guitar can relate to the fact that sometimes we fumble with our controls- we turn the wrong knob for the pickup in current use. As such, I've differentiated the bridge pickup control knobs from the neck ones (the guitar here is my Gibson LP BFG). This idea isn't new though, Joe Bonamassa (among others) did it with his.