Les Paul tone controls?

What is the best way to set a Les Paul tone controls?
I have been told to always have them turned to MAX for "full harmonic frequency". Should they be set to MAX?

Below is from the Gibson manual:
*******************
The tone controls are the “treble roll off” or “cut” variety. The tonal quality of the
i n s t rument is darkened by the reduction of treble rather than the addition of bass. The
tone control turned all the way counterclockwise results in maximum reduction of treble
and produces the “darkest” sound. The tone control turned clockwise to its maximum
position allows the pickup’s full harmonic frequencies to pass through, pro d u cing
the guitar’s brightest sound.

Depends on the situation for me. When playing rythm I use the bridge pickup and have the tone maxed. It seems to work out for me. When I play lead I usually use the neck pickup and I play with the tone knob to exactly what I want. There is no law that states you should always have it dimed. That would be absurd. Why even have a knob if you should always have it at max?

Tone is really a personal preference and will vary I think with each song you play. Some songs require or at least sound better with a hard driving throbbing bass and some sound better with a bit of a trebley(not a word) twang. That's why you have controls. You can't set it and forget it like a RonCo cooker. Try different settings and see what you like, make your own sound.

BC

And your preferences can vary betwee instruments... For instance, my Explorer sounds best with the tone knob (Single knob) on MAX all the time since its got the 496r/500t pickups in them and they already sacrifice brightness for strength and it already has a dark sound to begin with from the mahogany.

However on my Stratocopy (I have the switch wires reversed so the bridge pickup has a tone control, but not the neck), I roll off the tone to about 6 or 7 to keep that overbearing jangle under control (Keep in mind I have a hot-blades in the bridge). I also do this with the Seven-string but thats because the pickups sound like @ss and rolling back on the tone a little helps the sound some... but this is my experience, but when I roll off the tone, I tend to lose a little grind sound at the same time. It probably has as much to do with your amp's settings (I'm pulling this out of my hat) but I usually keep my tone as high as possible (I would have to guess that most of the amp's frequency response is in the mid-treble range, and cutting that frequency with the tone control reduces your overall response at the amp)

I pretty much use these settings for everything I play, though I have been known to mess with the Stratocopy's tone-knob for a little bit of a wah-wah sound.

Yep, I think my view on it is similar to Gargy's.... I tend to use my humbucker loaded guitars with the tone up full, except for volume swirls where I'll have it on 1 or 2...

The single coiled ones I roll the tone off to about 7, because I find the sound too trebly otherwise.

As everyone has offered, it's personal preference. If you want to play with one tone on 1, the other on 10 with the strings on upside down and the guitar the wrong way around... go for it...

I've always left my tone controls at 10 and never touch them.....Should probably have them disconnected. Only knob I use on my Les Paul to change the tone is the volume knob....

It's all personal preference though. If it sounds good, go with it..