I play punk. What guitar should I get?

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scottn5388

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Hey Everyone,

I'm lookin' to buy a new guitar. I play a lot of punk type stuff and my old Affinity Strat just isn't pleasing me. I record through a J-Station and I am not thrilled with the tone; it's a bit fuzzy and thin, not the full distortion you hear in a lot of commercial punk cd's. My friend has a Squier Jagmaster and the humbucker pickups sound much better and more full.

I really like the feel of strats/squiers and I was lookin' through a MF catalog and saw these two guitars in my price range:

Standard Fat Strat $229.99
Tom Delonge Stratocaster $179.99

Also the Tom Delonge Stat which is $524.99! What is the difference between the strat version and the stratocaster version?

Would you reccomend I spend the extra 50 bucks for the fat strat? What are the differences? I'm not that expirienced with guitars and I don't need the greatest out there. I am also not bound to these two guitars; if there is something better for this style of music in my price range...please tell me about it.

Thanks A Lot,
Scott
 
The ~$500 Tom Dulonge is a Made in Mexico (MIM) Fender. The other two are MI? Squiers. I wouldn't pay more for a guitar with less versatility, but a name on the headstock. You can get a new pickguard with one humbucker and one volume knob, add a Seymour Duncan Invader and you have the electronics of a Tom Dulonge (Mexican version... The Squier probably uses an inferior humbucker) for less than the signature guitar.

Go to a place like guitar center, play a bunch of different guitars, find one you like the feel of, then add an Invader or Seymour Duncan Hot Rails. You'll be happy.
 
Thanks for your reply!

I have another question...Does the body and neck of the guitar effect the tone at all? Could I just buy a cheap guitar that I like the feel of and have them put an Invader pickup in the bridge position?

What is the difference between the hot rails and the invaders? Which would you reccomend?

Thanks,
Scott
 
Scott:

The material that a guitar is made of (esp. the body) makes a difference it its tone. If you like the sound of a strat, go with something made of the same wood.
I would like to hear whose guitar sounds you like. It would help us answer the question here.
 
I don't really know what body I like the sound of. I havn't really been playing long enough to notice the difference. I always thought it was the pickups.

I like the guitar tone of "New Found Glory", "Jimmy Eat World", "The Starting Line"...so I guess I am aiming for the "pop-punk" tone.

I like the feel of strats/stratocasters, so I'm thinking I will put a seymour duncan invader in the bridge position. Is it hard to install a pickup yourself or is it something to be left to the people at the guitar store?

Thanks,
Scott
 
scottn5388 said:

I like the guitar tone of "New Found Glory", "Jimmy Eat World", "The Starting Line"...so I guess I am aiming for the "pop-punk" tone.
Click to expand...

It sounds like your going fro the same tone I was looking for.

I got it by using an Epiphone SG junior fitted with a replacement SG bridge pickup going through a POD 2. Sounds as close to the Starting line as I like to hope.

The start of this song is done with a Tom Delonge Strat (USA not Mex) through the Rectifier setting on the POD.

http://www.tri-m-corp.com/midforest/NSR/index.php?page=mp3s

The song is a band I recorded in Febuary (the only online material I've got I'm afraid!).

I've got a friend with a Fat Strat and he likes it, but all the bands you mentioned use Gibsons and Dual Rectifiers (or Marshalls). I tried to get as close to that sound within my meager budget.

Hope this has helped.

Neil
 
I really liked the song and I though that tone was really good. I did notice a bunch of clicks or something...didn't think they were intentional. Might have been my speakers or something.

I would like to stick with a strat or statocaster and I am wondering what the differences between the two are? WHich type would you reccomend? I would probably get either the standard strat or standard stratocaster and add an invader pickup to the bridge.

Thanks,
Scott
 
There is no difference between a strat and a stratocaster. Strat is just shorthand. I don't like the one pickup idea or the Tom Delonge model. I would get the FAT STRAT.

FAT STRAT is a bit more catchy than FAT STRATOCASTER. IMHO.
 
Outlaws-

I don't think the new breed of "punks" who wanna sound like New Found Glory or Jimmy Eat World would know who Jesse Michaels is.

Nor would they be likely buy a guitar from Flav Giorgini
 
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Jesse Michaels is a legend.... But I still like the new wave California punk sound. Bu then again, I like Fleetwood Mac and Lindsay Buckingham too, so I funny kinda mix there.


Scott, the clicks were due to the conflict between my card and processor/motherboard combination. I'll be sorting it out when I get my new processor and motherboard in the summer :)

Glad you liked the song - I'll tell the band (or you can post on their forum - they'll love you for it!)


Hope you sort out your guitar choice, Neil
 
Is it hard to install a pickup yourself? I havn't done much soldering before.

-Scott
 
Take off your pickguard and take a look. If you have no idea what any of it is, then have it taken in.
 
Sorry to double post like this but I'm also wondering if it could go in my Squier Strat? Would there be a problem with the strings not lining up right with the pickup? Or a wiring problem? (It has all single coils now)

Thanks,
Scott
 
You have to find out if there is room for a humbucker. If there is, you just need a new pickguard.
 
Thanks.

Has anyone here done this to a Squier Stat before and know off hand if it is possible?

If not that's fine, i'm gonna pop it open here sometime to look at the wiring. Do I have to take off the strings?

Thanks,
Scott
 
I put a new humbucker on a Strat once with no big problems (although I have done this before a few times).

If your just putting in a hotrail, its just a matter of taking the old one out and soldering the new one in where the old one's wires were (if that makes sense?).

As for a fully fledged humbucker :), you have to either

A) cut a whole in the scratchplate (and depending on what year your guitar is, maybe rout a whole in the body. Nasty job)

Or

B) Buy an after market Tom Delonge scratch plate, a humbucker, a 500k pot and a jack socket. Wiring it is easy. just unscrew your old one, and put the new one on. In the UK these scratch plates are about £15 - no idea on US prices. Again, depending on the year of your strat you may have to rout a hole in the body.


Whatever you do you'll have to take your strings off, even just to look.
 
You don't have to take the strings off. Anything can be done to any guitar. Sometimes it takes more work, but it can be done. Look to see how big the cavity is for pickups. If it is wide enough for 2 single coils to fit parallel to the bridge, then you have room.
 
You are going to have to unscrew the pickups from the bridge, so you might have to take of the strings to get them back on.:rolleyes:
 
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