How to Buy A Basic Punk Rock Guitar Setup

With a little effort you can be a punk rock guitarist. But first you're going to need some gear. Here's what to buy when you're starting out.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A hard body electric guitar
• A 1/4" guitar cord at least 6 feet long.
• A distortion pedal
• A 1/4" guitar cord about 4 feet long
• A variety of guitar picks (thicker picks make a harder sound)
• Spare strings
• An electronic tuner
• Your setup will cost at least $350 dollars unless you get a great deal or a hand-me-down.

1. Buy The Guitar:
   
   You'll need to purchase a guitar. Most punk music is played with solid body guitars. This means the body is made out of a single piece of wood. Look for a hard body guitar like the Fender Stratocaster if you don't already have a guitar in mind. Fender makes a Stratocaster copy called the Squire that sells for about $150. A lot of punk guitarists start out on that model. The only thing you want to avoid is guitars that cost less than $150 new. If your guitar is too cheap, it will be really hard to play and break easily.

2. Buy the Amp:
   
   If you are just practicing in your bedroom, you only need a small amp. About 15 Watts of power are fine for most domestic situations. You can always get a bigger amp later. Spend about $100 to $200 on an amp.

3. Get a Distortion Pedal and Two 1/4" Guitar Cords:
   
   The distortion pedal is a key part of your set up. The two most famous distortion pedals of all time are the Boss DS-1 and the Big Muff. Plenty of other pedals will do the job as well. Spend about $50 to $100 on a quality distortion pedal. Buy some guitar cords to plug your guitar into the distortion pedal and the distortion pedal into the amp.

4. Get Some Guitar Picks, too:
   
   You'll need guitar picks to play punk music. Get a variety of picks, and try buying some heavier ones. Picks are pretty cheap, so it's not a big deal.

5. Buy Some Spare Strings:
   
   D'Addario XL strings are pretty much the standard electric guitar strings. You'll need spare strings because punk rock guitarists break then by playing hard.

6. Purchase an Electronic Tuner:
   
   These small tuners cost about $20. Don't think about owning a guitar without one. You play the individual strings of your guitar and use the reading on the tuner to adjust each individual string's pitch. Even punk guitarists need to play in tune.

[conman187]

on 7/4/2009 a stat? u need a humbucker guitar not single coil. i would recommend a epiphone les paul special for thse on a tight budget