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'''A guitar does not require, but often has <u>Knobs</u> or other electronic <u>Controls</u> to alter the electric signal produced by the pickups.''' There are usually 2-4 knobs on the front of a guitar, and they function as either ''Volume'' or ''Tone'' knobs.
The knobs connect to ''pots'', or ''potentiometers'' (aka ''audio tapers''), which add or decrease resistance to certain circuit paths inside the guitar. A ''volume knob'' <u>Volume Knob</u> functions as expected, reducing electrical output. A ''tone knob'' <u>Tone Knob</u> filters higher pitched frequencies, which allows the player to adjust the "darkness" or "brightness" of the tone. If the guitar has 4 knobs, this typically indicates that each pickup has its own set of volume and tone controls.
A guitar may additionally include mini-switches, push-pull switches (often built into pots), buttons, or other electronic controls, which can be used for a variety of purposes, often to change the phase or serial/parallel operation of pickups, or different types of pickups when it has more than just magnetic pickups. However, it could also control some form of specialized electronics in the guitar, such as sustainer devices.