Punk rock sound

Anyone want to take a stab at what makes a guitar sound like some of the punk rock guitarists from the 80s?  Sex pistols etc.  I have heard flange and chorus, but I still cannot get the "attack" that I want.  Also, any recommendations for some good "punk rock" foot petals would be appreciated.

Lots of compression on distorted guitar with a relatively slow attack so that the initial transients get through?

There are no foot petals that will give you punk rock sound. That sound comes form your guitar and performance. go to a ramones web site and look at what they used as far as guitar and amps and strings. A chorus or flanger isnt going to get you anywhere.
The sound starts with your fingers, not a pedal or effect.
Cj

Any guitar.  You can tune it if you want to.

Any amp.  Everything on 10.

Staying out past curfew.  Stickin' it to the man.

Thanks to one and all for your responses.  I was amused by some, entertained by others and learned from some too.

punk rock...

has always been considered 'an attitude'.

that said, the attitude comes out in your playing.

that means, brain, fingers.

the equipment is irrelevent.

"* Use a guitar with a boost in its mid-range. Most punk rock guitarists create a good tone starting from the instruments they own. Fenders and other "strat" style guitars supply a boost in their mid-range as opposed to Les Paul type guitars that boost the bass range."

Les Pauls boost the bass range? How come so many punk rock guitarists played a Les Paul then. Humbucker do as a stereotype sound a bit duller than their singlecoil counterparts.... but it aint cause the midrange is "boosted".

This is gonna  be good.



"* Play on amplifiers that supply less distortion.
Most of the time, punk rock guitar amplifiers are pretty modest with their distortion. How to get guitar tone you want may not be answered with a high-distortion Marshall amplifier. Check out the distortions on Fender or Mesa Boogie amplifiers for something smoother.

Like ah, compared to what?

Metal?

It's more likely that any misplaced stereotype regarding amp of choice was greatly influenced by the cartage logistics of early punk bands. One van for everything made it hard to cart the Marshall Stack around.


* Keep your distortion pure without the use of pedals to beef it up.
Punk rock players do not use a lot of pedals to alter their sound most of the time. Stay away from overdrive, delays, and metal-zone pedals to really keep your guitar tone authentic and thick."

The guy is just making stuff up... or he plays a Crate with a distortion pedal built in.


"* On your amplifier, boost the mid-level knob.
A lot of the tone for punk music is in how the mid-level is set on the amplifier. Keep your highs and lows floating around 50% and your mid-level closer to 75%."

None of my Fenders have a mid knob. :-) Ok Ok, a bunch of other peoples Fenders do... I hope they didn't read the article.... because I begrudgingly admit that most punk tones are "thick"... but it seems a shame to stereotype it and discourage sonic experimentation... you know like that wicked tone Kurt Cobain used to get... but I guess he was a post punk... or something?


* Try your sound with a compressor.
Although an overuse of pedals can alter a punk guitar sound a little too much, a good compressor can give it just the right amount of bite. Try hooking your guitar up to a compressor pedal or rack piece to give your guitar more attack on stage.

Good thing I have a pedal board... I've got 2 compressors on that thing... and neither of them give your guitar more attack... quite the opposite.

Was this article written by a keys player?


Figuring how to get guitar tone that you want should come easily when you really explore the spectrum of sounds that electric guitars and their gear have to offer. The main goal however, is to arrive at a guitar style that suits your personality and helps create your signature sound."

Finally... some good advice.

Was able to hear some of your stuff from "Bats Brew" sounded great.  How do you have your guitar set up? 

thanks lawn-


quick note on my stuff, i use a vintage tube amp, a mesa boogie mark IIb, 60 watts, and i run it into one of (3) 1x12 cabs, with greenbacks and/or Celestion Heritage G12H speakers.
i mic them with several different mics, just depends on what i'm going for..
i also use a direct micing device made by Palmer, called a PDI-09, takes the speaker out and puts it at Line level, with a cabinet filter eq on it, for direct recording.
i sometimes use ONLY this, sometimes i blend it with mics, and sometimes i just mic.



my point about the GEAR tho, in reference to the OP: 

i would bet, if you took a poll of all your favorite punk references, that the gear they used is all over the map.

thing to do, if you're on a TONE HUNT: 
get the best you can afford. but do your homework first.
if you really don't have a solid reference, or don't know what you like, just try to play thru everything.

what you ultimately want to do, is to find a unique sound, that does not emulate ANYONE else.


otherwise, you're just lost in the crowd.

the true PUNK ethic, i think has always been the idea that you're saying PHUCK THE STATUS QUO


what better way, than to find an unconventional sound, using unconventional gear, and play it in an unconventional way, that your intended audience can relate to.

the NEW punk, may mean doing something that's so off the wall NOW, that you've gone full circle.

why can't you punk out, with a strat and a marshall stack?


why can't you punk out, with a pod and a Kramer Pacer?

there are no rules.

i think the last great visionary of a PUNK ethic, that ended up mainstream was Cobain.

look at what kind of gear HE was using when nirvana came out, referenced against what was considered THE NORM at that time (big hair rock)

i'm not saying COPY what he did, only, get the gist of it, and maybe follow a similar path.

with a locked wrist.


;-)

Punk, to me, has always been about making what you can out of what you got both skill and gear wise. Punk lost it's appeal somewhere when arts stundents hijacked it from the bedrooms and cheap studios so if you want to make it sound punk just play it like you mean it through whatever you've got. If the old punk band would have had access to high end gear they wouldn't have said no, only reason they didn't use it was they couldnt afford it. In some ways, even if what I do is considered "Urban" I still think of it as more punk than most contemporaty so called punk records because it's made from people who basically aint got nothing (everything I've bought has been a sacrifice and not just a hobby) but still want to do something.

Ya know that sound was what it was because it didn't care if it was right or not.  In fact it was gloriously defiant of all 'right'.  To try and mimic it will get you maybe to the guitar sound as in tone but the spirit will always be second hand unless you don't give a crap if it's right or not and just bash your angst and solidarity out against the machines in life.
That can happen on a harp if it's what you've got to work with.

Exactly! Somebody making their anger felt on a harp will be incredibly more punk than, for example, Avril Lavigne or other rockish pop that seem to be called punk today just because the performers sometimes wear safety pins or stud belts.