I use the tone pots on mine all the time, usually start around 7-9 and see what's working.
Actually, there's a big difference due to how they control high frequencies. The amp's tone control can be used to balance frequencies without killing them, but the guitar's tone control kills all high frequencies above the cutoff point.
Amp tone controls operate around a single turnover frequency, and affect other nearby frequencies depending on how wide their 'Q' is. So an amp's frequency cutoff point stays the same and the particular frequencies affected are set by the designer of the circuit. The turnover frequency doesn't change. And with the amp you can reduce frequencies without completely removing them. The amp's tone controls can be less drastic.
A guitar's tone control works a little differently, more like a lowpass filter. In other words, the cutoff point at which the high end rolls off changes as control is lowered, and nothing is heard above that cutoff point.
In addition, lowering the treble control on your amp will cut high frequencies at different points than the tone control on your guitar and doesn't necessarily kill all high frequencies above the turnover point. This allows quite a bit of shaping if you use both controls in conjunction with one another.
For example, let's say you want to hear a crisp upper midrange, but want to cut a bit of whatever frequency sounds shrill through your speaker cab (or because of the way the acoustics in a room sound). You'd use the amp's tone control to adjust that, and still have the option to cut different frequencies with the guitar.
So if the amp's high frequency tone control is centered at around 2 kHz; you could cut at that frequency a little, but it will still leave high frequencies in the 'Q' around that tone control alone, simply reduce frequency balance a bit.
If you cut off the frequencies above 2 kHz with your guitar's control, you will hear no (or more significantly reduced) high frequencies above 2 kHz. They disappear.
Thus the frequency response you hear can vary quite a bit with amp tone controls plus guitar tone controls, more so than using only one or the other. It's great to have the option to make subtle changes this way.
What's the difference between using the knobs on your guitar or using gain/bass/treble on your amp?
Actually, there's a big difference due to how they control high frequencies. The amp's tone control can be used to balance frequencies without killing them, but the guitar's tone control kills all high frequencies above the cutoff point.
Amp tone controls operate around a single turnover frequency, and affect other nearby frequencies depending on how wide their 'Q' is. So an amp's frequency cutoff point stays the same and the particular frequencies affected are set by the designer of the circuit. The turnover frequency doesn't change. And with the amp you can reduce frequencies without completely removing them. The amp's tone controls can be less drastic.
A guitar's tone control works a little differently, more like a lowpass filter. In other words, the cutoff point at which the high end rolls off changes as control is lowered, and nothing is heard above that cutoff point.
In addition, lowering the treble control on your amp will cut high frequencies at different points than the tone control on your guitar and doesn't necessarily kill all high frequencies above the turnover point. This allows quite a bit of shaping if you use both controls in conjunction with one another.
For example, let's say you want to hear a crisp upper midrange, but want to cut a bit of whatever frequency sounds shrill through your speaker cab (or because of the way the acoustics in a room sound). You'd use the amp's tone control to adjust that, and still have the option to cut different frequencies with the guitar.
So if the amp's high frequency tone control is centered at around 2 kHz; you could cut at that frequency a little, but it will still leave high frequencies in the 'Q' around that tone control alone, simply reduce frequency balance a bit.
If you cut off the frequencies above 2 kHz with your guitar's control, you will hear no (or more significantly reduced) high frequencies above 2 kHz. They disappear.
Thus the frequency response you hear can vary quite a bit with amp tone controls plus guitar tone controls, more so than using only one or the other. It's great to have the option to make subtle changes this way.