Best way to acheive 'Punk' sondz?

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:09 am

i am not a huge punk fan, by any means, but i do love pennywise, minor threat, bad brains (silverface!), and all the typical OG bands of that genre. even post-punk/hardcore stuff too (Rise Against, etc).

problem is i have not the foggiest idea of how to imitate the sounds. only recently have i accepted that the only way to better myself is to learn songs i enjoy.

this is where i started:

vista jagmaster > ds1 > peavey xxx 2x12

i've since removed the ds1 (and put it on the shelf, nay the bin, assholes), and i'm basically just using the 'crunch' channel on the XXX. it sounds good, but not with the jagmaster. too wooly, or something. then i borked some strangs on it.

so i've been trying to use my LP gothika, and it's just not ballsy enough. however, the brostang in neck/both/bridge position just fucking slays, but alas, i should've shipped her to richard two weeks ago, and i'm on borrowed time.

do i need to STFU and get a MT2 (HZE?

) or is there any easier way to acheive these clear, high gain sondz with what i has already? i'm not looking to spend any dough, 'cept on possibly a saltbooster, which i should've done by meow.

thanks all in advance.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:16 am

for punk tones I usually just try to sound, well, bad and loud.

Leisureclub · Post by **Leisureclub** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:09 am

Most all of those skate punk dudes use Mesa amps.

Depending on how much you really want to capture the sound, the most authentic way will be with a humbucker in the bridge into a dual or triple rectifier. SG or Les Paul into a dual rectifier was the holy grail of everybody I grew up playing music with. 5150 will get you close.

If you find a pedal that does a good job of making skate punk sounds with a single coil'd guitar and a fender amp, I'd buy it.

edit: I know I'm not much help here, but I've seen dudes spend tons of money on their set ups, trying everything and not getting very close. I don't think it's impossible, I'd wager that the right effects combo to get dang close is out there, I'm just not very knowledgeable about the current state of guitar effects.

aen · Post by **aen** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:21 am

remove as much bass as possible from the recordings.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:36 am

Leisureclub wrote:Most all of those skate punk dudes use Mesa amps.

Depending on how much you really want to capture the sound, the most authentic way will be with a humbucker in the bridge into a dual or triple rectifier. SG or Les Paul into a dual rectifier was the holy grail of everybody I grew up playing music with. 5150 will get you close.

XXX 2x12 is as close to a mesa dual rec as i care to get. it's basically a rip-off.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:57 am

pm me your info again

foll · Post by **foll** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:07 am

cut the bass on your amp all the way to zero. and play it loud. bridge PU.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:14 am

fuck all these suggestions, i'll send you a metal zone, i just did an demos recently

► Show Spoiler

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:32 am

punk sounds?
punk has a sound?

treb = dimed, mids = 3 - 5 bass = 4 - 6

add big muff. play with tone control

or just get a head you like.

but that is my setup above..

plesiosaurus · Post by **plesiosaurus** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:54 am

in my punk band i turn my amp up almost all the way and cut the bass to about 2. seems to do the trick

suede · Post by **suede** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:06 am

also, dry as hell...no reverb or anything...

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:54 am

Boost the mids and treble, lose some bass, use your bridge pick up only, plenty of palm muting, dig in with your pick etc. A lot of this is actually part of your technique believe it or not.
DS-1s are'nt very tight, you may get a Black Flag sound with one but something more compressed will achieve Bad Brains better like a Marshall Guvnor, Jackhammer or yeah, the MT-2.
Concerning Bad Brains they may use Mesa now but they used Marshall for years, imo a lot of them bands had that typical sound and earlier recordings were'nt really that high gain.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 2:33 pm

Fran wrote:Boost the mids and treble, lose some bass, use your bridge pick up only, plenty of palm muting, dig in with your pick etc. A lot of this is actually part of your technique believe it or not.

Yus.

Or, instead of boosting the mids, buy a Marshall and dime everything. Play the guitar so that your strumming hand bleeds. Your nails should be broken and your fingers skinless.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 2:41 pm

This is how I do classic punk toens:
Single coil bridge running into a RAT with conservative gain setting, "filter" at dead noon, into an already mildly overdriven, mid boosted amp.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:33 pm

BacchusPaul wrote:
Fran wrote:Boost the mids and treble, lose some bass, use your bridge pick up only, plenty of palm muting, dig in with your pick etc. A lot of this is actually part of your technique believe it or not.
Yus.

Or, instead of boosting the mids, buy a Marshall and dime everything. Play the guitar so that your strumming hand bleeds. Your nails should be broken and your fingers skinless.

In all seriousness, its not as easy as people think to play Punk well. You need a fair amount of urgency and aggression in your playing for it to sound spot on, not everyone naturally has this.

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:45 pm

You might want a hotter pickup in your Jagmaster. Super Distortion could work well.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:11 pm

timhulio wrote:You might want a hotter pickup in your Jagmaster. Super Distortion could work well.

this is the plan. sd in the bridge. i love the stock neck pup.

thanks all for the advice!

HZEMS: text'd.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:13 pm

Fran wrote:
BacchusPaul wrote:
Fran wrote:Boost the mids and treble, lose some bass, use your bridge pick up only, plenty of palm muting, dig in with your pick etc. A lot of this is actually part of your technique believe it or not.
Yus.

Or, instead of boosting the mids, buy a Marshall and dime everything. Play the guitar so that your strumming hand bleeds. Your nails should be broken and your fingers skinless.
In all seriousness, its not as easy as people think to play Punk well. You need a fair amount of urgency and aggression in your playing for it to sound spot on, not everyone naturally has this.

This is true, and you can always spot a 'taught' player, like, someone who doesn't listen to punk or anything, but has decided to 'study' the music and read a few tabs.

I wouldn't have thought that hot pickups are entirely necessary. I always think of Les Pauls or Teles for punk.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:44 pm

tbh, paul, i assumed my les paul would penetrate. i don't play it as much as i should (really a nice guitar, and i only have $80 in it), but it was really underwhelming. perhaps i just need a bit more ear time with my setup.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:04 pm

You sold the ultimate Punk guitar in that Epi LP Junior with the P90. Johnny Thunders would never forgive you.

I see Punk as split into two groups; old school and second wave, they are both different too. Old School bands like The Clash, The Adverts, NYDs, Ramones, Pistols are not as heavy sounding as second wave Punk. Stuff like Discharge, GBH, Exploited and US hardcore was more or less the beginning of Thrash Metal.

Post an video of your sound.