Did you get called up for a punk rock band but don’t know anything about how to get a destructive punk guitar tone? Here, we have the secrets which will give you an incredible tone to surely impress your bandmates!
Besides getting a suitable guitar to complement your playing style, you’ll need the right amp to deliver a destructive punk guitar tone. Set it up with proper sound settings. A cabinet to boost low frequencies, a distortion pedal, and an equalizer is also essential in the technique.
These are the things that you should look out for when you’re in search of the punk tone that tingles your ears the most. So, let’s get into some more details!
Factors For Getting A Punk Tone
You have to consider a few variables when looking for the perfect tone that satisfies your ears. Those are your guitar, amps, and effects pedals. Each one has a vital but different role to play in building your desired tone.
Get A Punk Guitar!
The first thing you’ll need for a punk tone is a guitar that complements your playing. One that you are most comfortable with and that gives you the prime feel.
Set Up The Amp
The most important thing for a punk tone is an amp. Any amp that delivers an aggressive sound is enough for a signature punk sound. Along with that, you’ll need a cabinet that will boost the low frequencies in the mix.
Additional Accessories
Next, you’ll need to dial in the best settings in the effects chain to produce the ideal tone. Finally, you’ll primarily need a distortion pedal and an equalizer.
With these, you can modify your tone in any way you like. You can even tune your guitar to hit that destructive punk guitar tone!
Equipment You’ll Need
Punk is the most straightforward genre of all. That’s because it doesn’t require any unique and costly gadget to get what you’re looking for. So, you can choose from all kinds of stuff from the store and build your signature tone.
Guitar Selection
Traditionally any Les Paul from Gibson or Epiphone should be your go-to guitar. The manufacturers have been delivering the top-notch sound and feel in the genre since the beginning. These are the most trustable of them all. You can even choose from Squire or Fender as they also offer a great sound.
Our picks:
- Epiphone Les Paul Standard
- Gibson Les Paul Special
- Epiphone Firebird
- Fender Telecaster
- Squier Stratocaster
Amp Selection
If you already have your dream guitar selected, the next major thing you should look for is a guitar amplifier.
A guitar amplifier builds the base of your tone. It takes the sturdiness of the guitar body and the intricate movement of your hands and gives it a boost of energy, making it sound magical.
Our picks:
Distortion Setup
The most important part of the punk guitar tone is the sound of the distortion that tears through the arena and makes the crowd go crazy!
Therefore, an overdrive or distortion pedal is an essential part of your assembly as it serves the purpose of shaping the tone of your guitar.
Our picks:
- Boss DS-1
- Circus Freak Pickled Punk
- Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
- Pro Co Rat2
- MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion
Equalizer Settings
After you get your tone selected, it’s time to fix the tone by equalizing it. You should boost up the good or the necessary frequencies and take the unnecessary, unwanted frequencies down. Doing so will make your tone a lot smoother and pleasant to the ears.
You can choose any equalizer you want for your tone as they all do the same thing. You should be careful of dialing in the knobs, as each one has a different effect on your tone.
As you increase your amp’s gain, a large amount of the low frequencies tend to get in the way of your sound. So you should cut off the lower frequencies, which will make your tone a lot clearer.
Also, boost the mids as that is the central part of the tone. Now adjust the highs as per your taste of how you want your sound to be. Make it a bit darker or filled with the presence, making your sound a lot fuller.
Budget-Friendly Destructive Punk Tone
Not everyone has the capability of buying a guitar and the other necessary things as they do cost a lot more than you’d expect. However, there is a simple solution if you just have a guitar but can’t buy all these different accessories.
Included Effects
You can go for multi-effect guitar processors, which include hundreds of built-in effects. These include amp simulator, equalizer, compressor, distortion, overdrive, fuzz, hi-gain, phaser, flanger, tremolo, chorus, harmonizer, reverb, delay, and so many other things.
Other Features
These processors also come with various features. For example, they have an expression pedal, looper, metronome, drum machine, guitar tuner, recording option, and so on.
They also have built-in presets, which you can also choose from. So you can start with any tone near your desired tone and work with it until you get what you need.
Easy On The Money
It allows you to go soft on your wallet and gives you almost the same experience as a hardware model. It imitates every aspect of how a hardware model would sound and tries to deliver the exact sound.
So, if you are short on the budget, try to go for these alternative processors as these would be worth your money.
Conclusion
The guitar tone is what makes a guitarist stand out the most amongst others. Every skilled guitarist has a unique tone, which is the signature sound of that particular player. If you spend enough time with your gadgets, you will surely get the hang of how to get a destructive punk guitar tone.
Try to listen to other punk guitarists and find what makes their tone so great. Imitate them in your tone and see if it sounds good. Keep trying and see if you can guess the trick of making the best sound from your gadgets. Train your ears and hope for the best!
