Page 1 of 1

Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 10:46 pm
by rkbsound
So, what would be the best punk guitar and amp set-ups? We might all agree that a Rick 330 and an AC30 could top the list. Other guitar amp combinations?

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 11:39 pm
by paologregorio
LP Junior and Marshall
Mike Snow Special LP and Hiwatt, or AC 30.

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:00 am
by fluffy
60's Mosrite Hi Flyer and a Marshall Super Lead.

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 2:52 am
by antipodean
A solid-body guitar with single coil pups (e.g. LP Junior/Special, Epi Coronet, Mosrite, Tele) or even mini-humbuckers (e.g. Firebird, Epi Wilshire) and a bright tube-amp with accessible break-up (AC15 or 30 comes to mind) are a good formula for an "organic" punk sound. I find my 330 a bit too mid-heavy for punk due to the recent-spec "hot" pups - a vintage-spec higain at the bridge would probably remedy this.

To be a bit heretical, if you're not a purist (and is any punk a purist?), a decent modelling amp/pedal will pretty much get the sound you're after - coupled with a Squier Tele you've got a cheap and cheerful set-up that will do the job nicely (or should that be "nastily"?).

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:38 pm
by DoubleThink
If you're serious about it, then it's whatever you have on hand. That's what it was all about. We used crapulous planks borrowed from neighbours and friends plugged into whatever we could get. Did the trick quite nicely.

That's where my hearing went :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:26 pm
by blueflamerick
Les Paul and Marshall.

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 9:54 am
by sloop_john_b
I play in a shoegaze-y punk band (though we've been on hiatus while we decide how to release the album) and my two favorite live setups since we've been together have been my Mosrite Ventures and '65 SG Junior, both through my Fender Blues Deluxe using a TS-9 for dirt.

But in the studio (we recorded at a beautiful studio called Carriage House in CT; look it up) I got by far the best tone I have ever had in my life - my Les Paul R8 through an Orange AD30.

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 7:16 pm
by whojamfan
paologregorio wrote:LP Junior and Marshall
Mike Snow Special LP and Hiwatt, or AC 30.

Thanks Paulie :D

A Fender Super Reverb with a DOD Preamp/od 250 in front and a Les Paul type humbucking guitar is a great instant Sex Pistols tone. Twins are good for this as well(considering Steve Jones used a modified Twin to record those tunes and NOT a Marshall)

I've seen Steve Diggle of the Buzzcocks use Hiwatts and 330FGs in concert with them and they sounded great.

Ampeg made some real heavy hitters, a V4 with an Ibanez Sonic Distortion pedal through an old Ibanez humbucking Professional is a monsterous wall of sound! A good friend of mine used that setup for years and always had a killer tone. I have a VT-120 combo that I'm using for smaller gigs that sounds wicked!

Peavey Renown and other 212 high power solid state amps they made in the 80s can do everything from Crass to Undertones "Hypnotised" to any hardcore/straightedge/77 style through streetpunk tones with enough power and volume to break windows and knock down doors. Amps are dirt cheap and built like a tank, and any decent tube distortion/od pedal in front of it can give you some surprisingly juicy tones as well. Peavey VTM 60s and 120s will give any marshall a run for it's money in both volume and distortion, but that's pretty much all they do well despite the dipswitch adjustments to the tone and gain structures.

Modeling amps suck at anything but low, miked volumes. Bands like Wheezer do whole tours with just PODs through a PA, but the amps by themselves, or PODs into other amps, just thin out when you crank them up. If you get a good sound with yours, my hat's off to you, I coyuld never gewt a good sound all the times I tried. Modeling is great at home or recording, but for loud live music I find them to be brittle and sterile.

Somewhere in the 90s distorted guitars started sounding like waterfalls instead of chainsaws, so I'd steer clear of Mesas and PRS-haha. Detuned, grunge, and Nu Metal type stuff are more suited with these brands, but nothing says you can't get a great sound out of them.

There are some awesome guitar sounds out there in the "Punk" world, it's not a just get the crappiest tone possible affair so many claim it to be. Play loud!

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 6:51 pm
by harveyrickenbacker
whojamfan wrote:
paologregorio wrote:LP Junior and Marshall
Mike Snow Special LP and Hiwatt, or AC 30.

Thanks Paulie :D

A Fender Super Reverb with a DOD Preamp/od 250 in front and a Les Paul type humbucking guitar is a great instant Sex Pistols tone. Twins are good for this as well(considering Steve Jones used a modified Twin to record those tunes and NOT a Marshall)

loud!
I had an attempt at forming a punk band in tasmania in the late 70's and played an Ibanez SG copy into a DOD Preamp/od250 as mentioned by Mike. Can't remember what the amp was. An aussie fender copy I think. It kept breaking down I know that. But the DOD pedal is a ripper and I just got mine repaired last week after years of if being on the blink.

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 3:23 pm
by pocaloc
DoubleThink wrote:If you're serious about it, then it's whatever you have on hand. That's what it was all about. We used crapulous planks borrowed from neighbours and friends plugged into whatever we could get. Did the trick quite nicely.

That's where my hearing went :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

This is true, a punk guitarist should have minimum knowledge about his/her equipment. Down to not knowing if you play single coils or humbuckers...actually not even knowing what that means might be better. :D

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 5:28 pm
by iamthebassman
For me, back in the late 70s/early 80s, it was a Ric 4001 into a Fender Bassman or a Peavey. A 2-15 cab was a must.
Image

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 5:40 pm
by paologregorio
Similar for me: a jetglo Rick 4001 into a black face Fender Showman, linked to either one, or two 2x15 cabs: Altecs or JBLs. Still have the JBLs-E 130-8s.

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 5:54 pm
by antipodean
You guys make me feel inadequate - back in the early '80s I could only afford a very battered 4000 and a 1x15 cab to go with a late '60s Vox solid state bass head....

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 6:52 pm
by paologregorio
antipodean wrote:You guys make me feel inadequate - back in the early '80s I could only afford a very battered 4000 and a 1x15 cab to go with a late '60s Vox solid state bass head....
I was fortunate to have a good paying job for a teenager, which I made the most of by working extra hours, late nights, and weekends whenever possible. :)

I think living in the Los Angeles/Orange County metropolitan area afforded access to A LOT of quality gear on the second hand market at reasonable prices.