Good grunge guitars?

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Calum13Calum13 Frets: 37
I'm looking for a good affordable grunge guitar. I'm thinking of an HSS start or SSS start. What ones would be better for grunge?
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  • randellarandella Frets: 4088
    ‘Grunge’ was really a term invented by the press to lump together a lot of really quite diverse music whose only real connection was the city it came from.

    Look at the bands involved, and the variation in the guitar tones. There’s no one ‘grunge’ guitar, there were Teles, Strats, Les Pauls, ‘student’ Fenders, basically anything without a Floyd Rose which was partly what drove the scene - a reaction against the previous decade’s cock-rock excess. 

    Pick one one and go for it. :)
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  • randellarandella Frets: 4088
    edited May 2018
    Welcome, by the way! 

    I’m not trying to sound clever with the above, maybe if you let us know whose sound you like we’d have a more specific angle. 

    I geeked out quite a lot on the players and their equipment back in the day
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  • KeefyKeefy Frets: 2272
    I thought part of the point of grunge was to move away from the whole posh guitars / virtuoso players thing, and bash out the songs on any cheap plank. Don't forget though: quiet bit, LOUD BIT!
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  • Calum13Calum13 Frets: 37
    I'm looking for more of a nirvana tone. I started quite recently and have a Squier VM jaguar. I also have a Boss DS-1 pedal. I'm just thinking of a good next guitar that's quite versatile. I think kurt cobain had an HSS pickup configuration on his strat  
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  • randellarandella Frets: 4088
    Calum13 said:
    I'm looking for more of a nirvana tone. I started quite recently and have a Squier VM jaguar. I also have a Boss DS-1 pedal. I'm just thinking of a good next guitar that's quite versatile. I think kurt cobain had an HSS pickup configuration on his strat  
    A Strat with a humbucker in the bridge would be a good starting point, for sure. A Duncan Hot Rails is nice and brash.

    One of Cobain’s stylistic tricks, alluded to by @Keefy, was the quiet/loud dynamic - jump on a drive for the loud bits. Have the drive set quite hot (drive knob up!) and the amp set a bit cleaner.

    You should be able to approximate the feel with your Jag.  Maybe have a look at a nastier pedal, more of a fuzz type than your DS-1 - which is a good drive, but maybe a touch too polite if you know what I mean.

    Cobain famously used the EH Big Muff, but nowadays there are all sorts of different options. EH themselves make quite a few variants. 

    What’s your amp?
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  • stonevibestonevibe Frets: 7080
    Any Fender guitar really, Offset or Stratocaster being the most common ones, usually add a hot bridge humbucker and tune to taste.

    Win a Cort G250 SE Guitar in our Guitar Bomb Free UK Giveaway 


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  • mr-macmr-mac Frets: 200
    I'd actually say pick something unexpected or whatever fits you best.  I'd even then go for vintage lower wound pickups to get the loud quiet thing going on without pedal dancing may be a cool thing to have you need more gain then surely a pedal can do it and compression if you need it.  Easy to get rid of the dynamics but impossible to bring em back if pickup too hot 
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  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7731
    Jaguar or Jazzmaster HH but an SSH strat will do
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1170
    There are no grunge guitars... grunge is a made up thing. If you like rock bands from the 80s and 90s, predominantly the ones coming out of seatte you'll find that they all used whatever they could afford to begin with and whatever they liked after they became bigger acts.

    Whatever you like is going to be the best "anything" guitar you can get.
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  • soma1975soma1975 Frets: 6627
    edited May 2018
    I hate the term grunge. So did everyone lumped together in that ‘movement’. Was a record company way to try and homogenise a ton of acts they didn’t have heir normal levels of control over. 

    Jerry Cantrell used a G&L superstrat. Kim Thayil used a Guild SG. Gossard and McCready used LPs and Strats. J Mascis used Jazzmasters. Billy Corgan used a strat with hot rails pickup. 
    My Trade Feedback Thread is here

    Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
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  • Calum13Calum13 Frets: 37
    @randella  I have a big muff pedal. It's the red black and white one. My amp is an old Marshall one 
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  • stonevibestonevibe Frets: 7080
    It was called 'Post Punk' when I was in Rough Trade at the Nirvana signing for Bleach.

    Win a Cort G250 SE Guitar in our Guitar Bomb Free UK Giveaway 


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  • randellarandella Frets: 4088
    When I saw them at Reading in ‘92, he was (from memory) using a Fender offset of some sort, and I would guess his Big Muff. 

    I did amble to the stage when his crew were soundchecking early in the day and seem to remember his amp was a newer (for the time!) Marshall of some sort, a head and two 4x12s. If I had to bet money I’d say a JCM800. 

    So basically you’ve got all the ingredients. What is it you feel is missing from your sound, if anything?
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  • Calum13Calum13 Frets: 37
    edited May 2018
    I'm just thinking of a good guitar to get next as I can't really stick with a squier and I think kurt used some sort of chorus pedal. Also my jag doesn't have humbuckers
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1170
    edited May 2018
    @Calum13 - I could be wrong but a fender clean amp as a base for pedals will be a better bet to get nirvana type sounds. A ds-1 pedal is also good. I think live Kurt used mostly a mesa boogie pre amp and a crown power amp. So his sound base was quite clean. Other then that the other amp I associate with him is the ultralinear 135w silverface twin reverb, again a very clean sound base.

    So yeah, a good fender maybe with an humbucker on the bridge. A gainy distortion pedal (ds-1, rat, maxon 830) and a decent clean amp.

    I also think a lot of their electric sound, came from the volumes they were playing it. If you're a bedroom player (nothing wrong with that), then you minght find it hard to get those tones.
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  • Duppy03Duppy03 Frets: 104
    How about a Mustang! I’m Sure the Kurt Cobain signature model is a bit pricey but i’m sure there’s a whole array of options with the current Fendef “Offsets” range and Squier Vintage Modern offerings.

    But yes, a Fenderesque guitar with a humbucker in the bridge and a Big Muff will get you there.
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  • Duppy03Duppy03 Frets: 104
    This is more “Grunge” than anything you’ll be able to buy off the shelf:

    http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/90174/fs-fender-cyclone-modded-back-up-for-sale-finally#latest

    This would suit suit you perfectly for what your looking to achieve. Looks the part too!
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  • camfcamf Frets: 1190
    edited May 2018
    Well, unable to resist the chance to play one-up... 
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  • camfcamf Frets: 1190
    edited May 2018
    Ha! I wrote a big long message on my phone and then it all disappeared. An act of God or possibly of Kurt. 
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  • camfcamf Frets: 1190
    brooom said:
    @Calum13 - I could be wrong but a fender clean amp as a base for pedals will be a better bet to get nirvana type sounds. A ds-1 pedal is also good. I think live Kurt used mostly a mesa boogie pre amp and a crown power amp. So his sound base was quite clean. Other then that the other amp I associate with him is the ultralinear 135w silverface twin reverb, again a very clean sound base.

    So yeah, a good fender maybe with an humbucker on the bridge. A gainy distortion pedal (ds-1, rat, maxon 830) and a decent clean amp.

    I also think a lot of their electric sound, came from the volumes they were playing it. If you're a bedroom player (nothing wrong with that), then you minght find it hard to get those tones.
    I played with Nirvana a few times and this is pretty much how I remembered it. Fender Twins and Marshalls I think (but clean Marshall) and stomping on a DS-1. I think he might have borrowed mine for one show, or at least a sound check. Honestly, if we could ouija board him up, I'm pretty sure he'd just laugh and tell you to plug in, twiddle a few knobs until it sounds good and them thrash the crap out of it until you felt something. :)
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