Punk, Punk, Punk!!

[VintageTone]

hi im playing a punk band right now
got a marshall mg30dfx
with a epiphone les paul standard
fitted with seymour duncans p-ups
im looking for a decent punk tone
in particular Steve Jones from the sex pistols

anything settings or extra stuff i can do to improve
my sound, im going to buy a Marshall Valvestate 2000
50watt head soon (when i can afford it)

anyhelp would be good cheerz!

 

[Vintager12]

hi im playing a punk band right now
got a marshall mg30dfx
with a epiphone les paul standard
fitted with seymour duncans p-ups
im looking for a decent punk tone
in particular Steve Jones from the sex pistols

anything settings or extra stuff i can do to improve
my sound, im going to bye a Marshall Valvestate 2000
50watt head soon (when i can afford it)

anyhelp would be good cheerz!

Get a Tube amp !

 

[VintageTone]

Vintager how did i know you was going to say that?

 

[Vintager12]

Vintager how did i know you was going to say that?

Because i allways do, a 50w valvestate head is'nt much better then an MG.
Get a Vox Nightrain, Tiny Terror or Haze if you can't afort a bigger tube amp.

 

[crossroadsnyc]

Steve Jones used a Fender Twin Reverb.

 

[Vintager12]

Steve Jones used a Fender Twin Reverb.

That's why his tone was shitty
Fenders have bad distortion channels, but the cleans are awsome !
Or it was horible Rotten's voice

 

[riffdrive]

Punk bands were not concerned about their tone, or their musicianship. They used whatever gear they could afford (or steal), played it ridiculously loud, and quite badly at that. The whole idea of punk was to thumb your nose at the rest of the musical establishment, so it doesn't really matter what kind of amp you use. Just crank it up to 10, shoot enough heroin, and you're bound to sound as good (or better) than any punk band out there And I say that as a fan of punk music from back in the day.

 

[crossroadsnyc]

Punk bands were not concerned about their tone, or their musicianship. They used whatever gear they could afford (or steal), played it ridiculously loud, and quite badly at that. The whole idea of punk was to thumb your nose at the rest of the musical establishment, so it doesn't really matter what kind of amp you use. Just crank it up to 10, shoot enough heroin, and you're bound to sound as good (or better) than any punk band out there And I say that as a fan of punk music from back in the day.

+1

Very well said.

 

[Vintager12]

Well i was a punk rocker too when i was 13 LOL

 

[crossroadsnyc]

Well i was a punk rocker too when i was 13 LOL

you were a P.I.N.O. at 13

 

[steelhorse]

hi im playing a punk band right now
got a marshall mg30dfx
with a epiphone les paul standard
fitted with seymour duncans p-ups
im looking for a decent punk tone
in particular Steve Jones from the sex pistols

anything settings or extra stuff i can do to improve
my sound, im going to buy a Marshall Valvestate 2000
50watt head soon (when i can afford it)

anyhelp would be good cheerz!

I think you'll like the valvestate more but I recommend all tube too because when you grow out of punk or if you want to explore other genre's you'll have the gear to do it.

 

[Rizzo]

I would say definitely go for an all tube amp. A classic punk tone like Jonesey's comes from backing off the gain, boosting the mids, and cranking that motherf***er till the glory that is power tube distortion/speaker breakup arises.

People often say that "punks didn't care about tone" or "punk tone comes from being cheap". Not true. Remember, the original punks were just rock n rollers ala the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls. If you approach punk guitar as Rock n Roll dirtied up and sped up, you'll be able to find your tone and niche rather quickly.

 

[Mike_j]

Punk bands were not concerned about their tone, or their musicianship. They used whatever gear they could afford (or steal), played it ridiculously loud, and quite badly at that.

A ridiculous generalization. "The Never Mind The Bollocks" album is one of the great guitar albums. Well produced, loud, tight playing....
They could do it live as well.

 

[crossroadsnyc]

A ridiculous generalization. "The Never Mind The Bollocks" album is one of the great guitar albums. Well produced, loud, tight playing....
They could do it live as well.

Please, sir ... step slowly away from the crack pipe :Ohno:

Steve Jones had good tone due to having played his LP through a nice Fender ... but one of the great guitar albums? I think that's a bit of a stretch to say the least. Jones just started playing guitar 3 months before their first gig, and had only been playing a year before they recorded their album ... really, it's music that any punk loving kid learning the guitar generally learns how to play in the first 6 months. Also, his guitars (prior to getting the LP), as well as his Fender amp, were in fact stolen (he readily admits to this) ... so not too much of a generalization there either.

Don't get me wrong ... I liked the Sex Pistols when I was a kid, and they were (and still are) a great introduction to punk music for a lot of kids ... but I'd hardly call their album one of the great guitar albums.

 

[Vintager12]

Please, sir ... step slowly away from the crack pipe :Ohno:

Steve Jones had good tone due to having played his LP through a nice Fender ... but one of the great guitar albums? I think that's a bit of a stretch to say the least. Jones just started playing guitar 3 months before their first gig, and had only been playing a year before they recorded their album ... really, it's music that any punk loving kid learning the guitar generally learns how to play in the first 6 months. Also, his guitars (prior to getting the LP), as well as his Fender amp, were in fact stolen (he readily admits to this) ... so not too much of a generalization there either.

Don't get me wrong ... I liked the Sex Pistols when I was a kid, and they were (and still are) a great introduction to punk music for a lot of kids ... but I'd hardly call their album one of the great guitar albums.

Well I don't think a band with all the band members on crack and a bass player (Sid) who committed suiside when the band stoped, by takeing an overdose of drugs is verry good for kids, so let's talk about beginner Punk Rock, and not about music for punk loveing kids...

 

[zeusecho]

I had a Valvestate- it sounded like shrill ass...on a good day. Do yourself a favor and stay away from that amp.

 

[crossroadsnyc]

Well I don't think a band with all the band members on crack and a bass player (Sid) who committed suiside when the band stoped, by takeing an overdose of drugs is verry good for kids, so let's talk about beginner Punk Rock, and not about music for punk loveing kids...

Sid is the only band member that I really couldn't stomach. It wasn't so much his act, but the fact that his act was in fact an act. If he wasn't posing on stage pretending to play (his amp was usually off), then he was always searching for the camera so he could pose for that with his ever ready tilt of the head, twist of the face, wink one eye, and try to look tough garbage ... really, I think he could have in fact been the world's foremost expert on being a poser in every aspect.

As for the band being good for introducing kids to punk, I stand by that. A lot of artists have problems w/booze & drugs, so I don't hold that against anyone ... life is what it is. What I was really trying to get at though is that their music is a good starting point for punk. High energy, strikes the right rebellion note, easy to identify with, etc. After a while, and you start digging deeper into the punk scene, it seems a bit poppy ... but there aren't many of us who got into punk w/out them being one of the first punk bands we were introduced to.

 

[riffdrive]

A ridiculous generalization. "The Never Mind The Bollocks" album is one of the great guitar albums. Well produced, loud, tight playing....
They could do it live as well.

Wow, you can't really be serious. The only part of your statement that's verifiable is that they played loud. Well produced? That's subjective, so I won't bother arguing that. Tight playing?

Punk was/is about attitude, not music. Music (and I use that term loosely) is simply used as a vehicle to deliver the attitude. I'm not saying that's wrong or right, that's just the way it is. I too liked listening to punk music back in the day, but I sure didn't listen for the tight guitar playing and excellent production.

 

[RiverRatt]

A ridiculous generalization. "The Never Mind The Bollocks" album is one of the great guitar albums. Well produced, loud, tight playing....
They could do it live as well.

Right on, Mike_j. Steve Jones and Glen Matlock were tight, and I thought Steve's tone was fine - just the right bit of edge without turning into a muddy thrash-fest like so many other punk bands. It was when Glen left the band for good and Sid starting actually trying to play the bass that their sound sucked. "Bollocks" will always be one of my favorite albums. I remember reading in an interview with Eddie Van Halen where he said he loved "Never Mind the Bollocks" because it was a good rock and roll album.

 

[Mike_j]

Well I don't think a band with all the band members on crack and a bass player (Sid) who committed suiside when the band stoped, by takeing an overdose of drugs is verry good for kids, so let's talk about beginner Punk Rock, and not about music for punk loveing kids...

Dude, where do you get your shit from? The Pistols levelled the field and got more kids picking up instruments and playing in bands than anything else around at the time. It was a well needed industry clean out of some of the dreadful dinosaur bands around at the time.

Crack? Wasn't around at the time.

Sid? Who cares. Jonsey played most of the bass on the album anyway.
I know there are players who define skill on solos alone. I don't. I still stand by my statement that Jones had one of the best guitar tones ever. It's probably why a whole generation of shitty MTV bands are still trying to emulate it (and failing).

Yes, Jonsey was a well known thief. To attribute it to all punk bands is a bit off the mark. Read the post propoerly.