Best Punk Set-Ups

A journey beyond mainstream to rebel music
Post Reply
User avatar
rkbsound
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 1204
Joined: Fri Apr 19, 2002 3:48 pm
Contact:

Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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?
User avatar
paologregorio
Senior Member
Posts: 6371
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:56 pm
Contact:

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post by paologregorio »

LP Junior and Marshall
Mike Snow Special LP and Hiwatt, or AC 30.
There is no reason to ever be bored.

...why yes, I suppose I do have a double bound guitar fetish...

"Uh, I like the double bounds. . . ."
User avatar
fluffy
Intermediate Member
Posts: 631
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:19 am

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post by fluffy »

60's Mosrite Hi Flyer and a Marshall Super Lead.
♪♫♪♫I need new strings, these ones have a bunch of dang wrong notes on 'em ♫♪♫♪


http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/thesubtleties
User avatar
antipodean
Senior Member
Posts: 3182
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:27 am

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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"?).
"I don't want to sound incredulous but I can't believe it" Rex Mossop
User avatar
DoubleThink
Junior Member
Posts: 141
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2009 10:37 pm

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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:
Rics ... and some other stuff....
blueflamerick
Advanced Member
Posts: 1943
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 1:43 pm
Contact:

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post by blueflamerick »

Les Paul and Marshall.
User avatar
sloop_john_b
Rick-a-holic
Posts: 13835
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:00 am

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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.
User avatar
whojamfan
RRF Consultant
Posts: 2552
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:50 am
Contact:

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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!
harveyrickenbacker
New member
Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2011 2:19 am
Contact:

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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.
1958 M-8 Amp, 1960 360 Capri FG, 1966 335FG, 1967 360JG, 1973 360MG, 1999 360-12JG, 2002 660-12FG, 2003 360MB
User avatar
pocaloc
Junior Member
Posts: 134
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 7:42 pm

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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
User avatar
iamthebassman
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 2415
Joined: Tue May 28, 2002 5:00 am
Contact:

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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
Last edited by iamthebassman on Mon Feb 27, 2012 6:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Top 10 Best Bass Players" Austin Music Poll 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010
User avatar
paologregorio
Senior Member
Posts: 6371
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:56 pm
Contact:

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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.
There is no reason to ever be bored.

...why yes, I suppose I do have a double bound guitar fetish...

"Uh, I like the double bounds. . . ."
User avatar
antipodean
Senior Member
Posts: 3182
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:27 am

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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....
"I don't want to sound incredulous but I can't believe it" Rex Mossop
User avatar
paologregorio
Senior Member
Posts: 6371
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:56 pm
Contact:

Re: Best Punk Set-Ups

Post 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.
There is no reason to ever be bored.

...why yes, I suppose I do have a double bound guitar fetish...

"Uh, I like the double bounds. . . ."
Post Reply

Return to “Light My Garage, Torch My Fire!: by Sheena Colvin”