Here we take a look at the electric guitars , amps , and effects as used by punk’s greats. Back in the '70s these players embraced a DIY ‘make do and mend’ ethic..
. And there was a lot of mending to do as players such as Steve Jones, Joe Strummer, and Johnny Ramone pushed their gear to the limit. We'll also recommend some contemporary punk guitars that you can pick up and use to make some noise of your own,.
1. Wayne Kramer’s Stratocaster In the 1970s, poverty-stricken early punk innovator Wayne Kramer repainted his Strat metallic purple and sold it. The guitar has never been recovered, so hard info is scarce today.
The big headstock puts it no earlier than December 1965, and Kramer had it for the recording of the MC5’s Kick Out The Jams in October 1968. In a bid to make his solos cut through, Kramer installed a humbucker (most likely a Gibson, given the era) in the middle, retaining the single coil Strat bridge pickup for his preferred rhythm tone. In the Vietnam era, the stars and stripes motif was Kramer’s own patriotic way of reclaiming the US flag from right wingers.
2. Johnny Thunders’ 1960 Les Paul Junior The New York Dolls were forerunners of punk and glam metal, and you can thank Thunders for the Junior’s subsequent appearances on records by The Clash and Green Day. Thunders started out playing a 1957 Les Paul Special with the neck pickup disconnected.
At a show with the Stooges in Memphis, Thunders hit the pickup selector, cutting out the sound. Thin.
