Tone Profile

This tone is characterized by a slightly dirty, compressed sound with a pronounced mid-range and a tight, punchy character. It's the kind of tone that cuts through a mix without being overly aggressive.

Production Credits

Signal Chain

Recording Notes

• The Strokes are known for their straightforward recording approach, often favoring simple setups to capture their raw sound. It's likely they used a combination of close-miking and room ambience to achieve the final tone.
• Compression was likely applied at the mixing stage to further tighten the sound and enhance its presence.

Recreation Tips

• Start with a semi-hollow guitar like an Epiphone Casino, known for its bright and resonant tone.
• Use a small tube amp such as a Fender Blues Junior to capture a natural tube overdrive. Set the amp to the edge of breakup for a slightly dirty tone.
• Place a Shure SM57 close to the speaker cone, slightly off-axis, to capture the amp's character without harshness.
• Use a clean boost pedal such as an MXR Micro Amp to drive the amp harder and add a bit of extra gain and mid-range punch.
• Experiment with compression in your DAW to further shape the sound and enhance its presence.

Recommended Gear

• Epiphone Casino(guitar)
• Fender Blues Junior(amp)
• Shure SM57(mic)
• MXR Micro Amp(pedal)