How To Make ANY Guitar Tone Work For Punk Rock

[@SugarpillProd]

Apologies if my voice sounds weirder than usual, I'm still getting over a festive cold, haha. Level up your productions today! 🎸www.sugarpillproductions.com/category/all-products

[@d.t.3958]

Man, your videos are like turbo-punk-rock-university. Thank you so much for educating those in need 😂

[@SugarpillProd]

Haha thank you, glad you're finding them useful 🙏

[@alextinu8841]

The first punk albums I was introduced to were Smash, Ignition, Dookie (like 95) and later with the mp3 the rest of punk stuff. So I kinda miss the "sloppy" sonud where you could hear some mistakes on guitar or even bass. Not that I criticise the more elaborate sound of "modern" music but those first albums were like, music made by kids who leaned to play music together and was more about the fun of playing than perfection (or is just my nostalgia kickin in). Great work as usual! ❤

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks! I think there's still plenty of that around today. Bands like FIDLAR, VeggieHammerr, Jeff Rosenstock, PUP, etc., all have that scrappy punk rock sound. It might not sound quite the same as the albums you mentioned - though I'd argue they're a lot more polished than you're giving them credit for, haha - but that has more to do with the vast improvement in technology than with the bands themselves.

[@alextinu8841]

@@SugarpillProd Agree, tech has made music more accesibile to play or to have acces to it, even in interaction between fans as we do today!

[@greycoven4479]

I appreciate that you talked about the concept the tone is built from with a guide on amp EQ, the exact settings not needed when you know the idea to go for. Some experimenting still required.

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks, I'm glad you thought so! I think people can get misled by focusing too much on exact settings when it's always going to vary a lot based on the gear you're using. But if you understand the general ideas of how to create the sound you're looking for, it’ll make things much simpler.

[@greycoven4479]

@@SugarpillProd It took me a while of learning how to play the guitar, and understanding my gear/interface/amp sim to learn that.

[@MaoPickles]

Happy Hogmanay sugar pill, great stuff

[@SugarpillProd]

Same to you!l Have a good one!

[@louisxD]

Great video as always

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks Louis!

[@АнтонГеращенко-р6ь]

That basic clean tone chain and using a comp first took me a lot of youtube vids to find. Still looking for a clean tone I like

[@nathanfuchs1998]

Number Girl mentioned rraaaahhhhh

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks Nathan! Number Girl are awesome!

[@HanyalahSeorangKodir]

Thank you for the tips! I'm currently looking for some guitar sound for my punk song! 😄

[@SugarpillProd]

You're welcome! I hope they come in handy 🙌

[@brownpunk1794]

If u had to use 1 vst plugin for punk or pop punk what would it be? Paid or otherwise

[@SugarpillProd]

Probably Archetype Nolly. I feel like it has almost every sound you could ever need. I prefer my Axe FX for that jangler sound I mentioned in the video, but I'm sure the Nolly plugin would do it well. I haven't gone that deep with it so far, as I default to using my Axe FX more, as I find it more convenient for my recording setup.

[@Paprokh]

Can you do a video about sound effects and layering synths with guitars on the example of hyperpunk artists like NOAHFINNCE, South Arcade, Waterparks, Stand Atlantic, RedHook & Belmont?

[@SugarpillProd]

For sure! I actually made one a few weeks ago that I haven't uploaded yet. It doesn't necessarily cover those particular bands you mentioned, but it does cover a lot of similar ground, so hopefully they'll be something in there for you, once I upload it!

[@RojGames]

@@Paprokh As an Aussie, it makes me proud to see Stand Atlantic and Redhook in that list!

[@SugarpillProd]

@@RojGames I'm mostly proud of you guys for bringing us Aunty Donna above everything else 🤣

[@RojGames]

@@SugarpillProd little bit of Christmas pud!

[@Paprokh]

@@RojGames As a Pole, I love Aussie bands. I can see they making it good in the new hyperpunk and hypermetal scene.

[@RojGames]

Do you have any experience using STL Tonehub? So far I've enjoyed playing with the Sam Pura, Andy Wade and John Feldmann packs, but I'd love to hear your thoughts if you've used any of them?

[@SugarpillProd]

I have! At 4:13, I was using one of Zakk Cervini's presets. I don't use them all the time, as I predominantly use my Axe-FX, but if I feel like the guitars aren't sitting right in the mix, or perhaps the tone I initially chose doesn't quite fit the song, I'll re-amp things either with a Neural DSP amp - usually Nolly's - or something from STL Tones. I usually find a decent sound in a matter of minutes. I'm definitely not one for going into the weeds with all the settings, so I like the simple interface they use.

[@RojGames]

@SugarpillProd I've heard a lot of great things about Nolly. I'm not familiar with Axe-FX but I'll definitely check it out!

[@SugarpillProd]

@@RojGames Yeah the Nolly plugin is great! Is has all the tones you could really need for anything punk or metal adjacent. Axe FX's are great too, they're a rack unit though, like a Kemper or Helix. But I like them a lot because you don't have to worry about CPU overload when recording, haha.

[@RojGames]

@@SugarpillProd ohhh ok. That's definitely a nice bonus then! Cheers for the advice!

[@BurntMcgurnt]

Do you use the Shiva on your Ska stuff? Been trying to create a Ska patch lately

[@SugarpillProd]

Yeah, usually that or a Deluxe Verb with my Axe FX, which I think is based on a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Normally you just want something dry, and a little thin. Sometimes the middle position can work really nicely too - it's a little similar in sound to the tone on that LTJ song I used in the video. Hope that helps!

[@BurntMcgurnt]

@SugarpillProd ya it's the Deluxe Reverb thanks man I'll try it I'll go back and check that vid out too

[@gringogreen4719]

Guitar tone in a mix are so limited. It also changes whether you are playing live or recording. Honestly you might as well use two different setups because the settings are nowhere near each other. Don't be afraid to try new gear recording as your own gear isn't going to sound the same as onstage.

[@SugarpillProd]

Yeah, I'd always separate the live situation from the studio. There's not much sense in comparing the two, as they're just inherently very different scenarios - what might work in one situation might not work in another.

[@tomstewart2685]

​@SugarpillProd one of the reasons I enjoy my Boss Katana so much is the ability for it to double as an interface. I can bring my live tone across to Ableton and then start tweaking - definitely difference scenarios though.

[@gringogreen4719]

@SugarpillProd Sound wise live, you can get away with just about anything. In a Studio, you hear EVERYTHING! 😳 I'm more of a live player and when I have recorded in a studio, I was not looking for perfection, more of honesty and a vibe. 😉👍✨

[@gringogreen4719]

@tomstewart2685 Yeah, you are catering more to a Studio mix than live at a gig. So you are more of the new school where I am more of the old school with playing outside on stage, dive bars, and less than ideal situations. The complete opposite of what you are doing and definitely a different setup.

[@DrewKane]

Everyone watching this should know that this isn't a video a bout punk rock, it's about emo rock and pop rock. Very big difference. OP doesn't really know, or even like, real punk rock.

[@SugarpillProd]

No, I'm just not a posturing boomer who uses phrases like 'real punk rock'. I'm a fan of music, I'm not here to try and score 'punk rock cred' with a bunch of sad sacks who can't understand the concept of music not sounding the exact same way it did 50 odd years ago - or who literally have no concept of any type of music beyond the 5 'real' punk bands they listen to. Calling RKL, Less Than Jake or Number Girl 'emo rock' or 'pop rock' is laughable at best. But it's nice to know I still live rent free in that presumably empty head of yours 😘

[@DrewKane]

@@SugarpillProd See what I mean, everyone? He's completely oblivious to it, too.

[@SugarpillProd]

Dude, who are you talking to? Get a grip. Or just delete your comments like you did last time, lmao.

[@skvnx]

Where are the punk bands?

[@SugarpillProd]

Sorry bud, could you provide me with your pre-approved list of 'real' punk bands, so I know who I can and can't talk about?

[@skvnx]

What local bands do you support? How often do you go out to shows? I bet if you participated in your local punk scene, you'd finally learn what punk was. You just said Pennywise uses metal tones? It's as if you don't listen to punk rock and just made a channel, googled some bands, and made these videos in ignorance.

[@SugarpillProd]

Could you explain it to me? You're actually right and I did make these videos out of complete ignorance. All I know of punk is from Finn McKenty and reading the first paragraph of 'punk rock' from Wikipedia. Are you telling me that isn't enough?!

[@AnAntidisestablishmentarianist]

The only authentic punk rock guitar tone is the shrieking, ear-splitting tone of the Dead Kennedys. If you're not walking around with a constant ringing in your ears you're not punk.

[@SugarpillProd]

For sure! Tinnitus is so punk rock 💪

[@bassman5948]

East bay Ray what a legend 🤘🎸

[@DrewKane]

East Bay Ray's tone is typical surf rock guitar tone, what are you even talking about? He basically copied Dick Dale's tone. What the hell are you even talking about?

[@aisforapple2494]

East Bay Ray is a criminally underrated guitarist!