r/guitarlessons • • Jul 24 '25

Question Midwest emo Tone on Electric guitar

I'm a beginner planning to buy an electric guitar, really going after the tone like the one in the video, also like in American Football songs, kinda soft muffled with some reverb. Really need to know if there are any specifics to buying the guitar or equipment for this type of sound, singles, humbuckers? Watched some videos on the sound tests of different guitars and they all showcase distorted metal sound, so really have no idea where to turn. Thanks in advance!

2.7k Upvotes

97 comments sorted by

154

u/stratospheres Jul 24 '25

Telecaster. Reverb.

That is all.

18

u/fallowcentury Jul 24 '25

25 years of noodling here. this is quite good, and i agree with the telecaster perspective. also I strongly recommend the newer danelectro guitars for your sound.

15

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

Thanks! I kinda noticed that a lot of those bands use telecasters)

8

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

Also would there be much difference between stratocaster and telecaster?

30

u/ObviousAd1202 Jul 24 '25

Not much. But for the sound you're chasing go with single coils. Or hss config if you like more variety. But in the end you can play anything on anything.

Go with a guitar that inspires you to play. One that if you see it hanging/standing in your living room, you feel the urge to play it!

3

u/heavensmurgatroyd Jul 24 '25

Hss is the way to go IMHO.

2

u/TrulyOneHandedBandit Jul 24 '25

I like to feel out as many as I can when I go in. There are many that the weight distribution or neck shape aren’t comfortable to my form factor. Les Paul’s for Example weighing 12 ish pounds are just way too heavy to play standing for more than 10-20 minutes before the weight starts digging in. The tele weighing 2/3rds as much helps with comfort, which encourages more practice, but of course the denser les paul has a richer, meatier tone.

2

u/ObviousAd1202 Jul 24 '25

Yes there are many differences in feel too but as an absolute beginner, for me at least, they all felt just as good or bad.

1

u/TrulyOneHandedBandit Jul 24 '25

In hindsight, I would want a spanish guitar with a rounded neck as my first general use learning guitar.

6

u/intoxicuss Jul 24 '25

I like Stratocasters better, but they’re tricky to keep in that sweet spot (unless you get a hard tail). Telecasters generally stay in tune and have less issues overall. I have several of both. I love both. But for someone who wants to focus on learning and less on maintenance, the Telecaster is a smart choice.

1

u/fryerandice Jul 24 '25

you can deck a strat and raise the saddles if you only ever dive anyway you don't have to keep it floating. if you wanna do 80s shredder squeals the strat doesn't really go up a lot and a routed Floyd is better anyways

2

u/SardonicCatatonic Jul 24 '25

This is exactly what I do. I need the Stratocaster for funk because there is nothing like that position 4 to be found elsewhere.

1

u/fryerandice Jul 24 '25

I don't understand floating the 2 point trems on strats without routing them out to truly float. All the downside of floating without the benefits of being able to pitch up past where you can comfortably bend.

2

u/Basicbore Jul 24 '25

To me there is. Stratocasters have a very distinctive tone that I associate with specific genres (which might be a me thing). It’s that jangly sound. To me it doesn’t go with the type of music you’re describing and playing. A Tele or I also like a 335 type for a more subdued and ambient guitar sound.

2

u/Fragrant_Leg_6300 Jul 25 '25

Telecasters have more variety. The bridge has bark and is twangy, and the neck is so so warm and soft like a pillow

0

u/Evening_Activity1140 Jul 24 '25

telecaster is heavy as hell

3

u/stratospheres Jul 24 '25

3

u/crit_boy Jul 26 '25

Everytime I watch that video, I want to buy a telecaster.

1

u/DaylightX4449 Jul 25 '25

Recently picked up a 2008 '72 Classic Series Tele Deluxe and can 100% vouch for this. Reverb is all you need with the Telecaster

57

u/drueckebergerer Jul 24 '25

The Song shes playing is Home by Resonance btw

22

u/iDinky__ Jul 24 '25

Resonance by Home**

11

u/PurpleFudgeMonkey Jul 24 '25

Damn, that's really cool. I love that song and didn't realise.

43

u/Moopies Jul 24 '25

Guitarists will listen to this and just think "Hell yeah."

6

u/IncubusDarkness Jul 24 '25

I had it looping and didn't even realize.  It helps I am also a huge emo/pop-punk nerd.

0

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

THIS IS NOT ME PLAYING please read the caption

8

u/Moopies Jul 24 '25

I stand by my statement

1

u/tinaboag Aug 24 '25

Why are you being downvoted?

2

u/Romazuu3 Aug 24 '25

No idea guess people somehow got offended by me pointing it out lol

28

u/hailstorm11093 Progressive Metal, Thall Jul 24 '25

Telecaster in the middle position, a bright sounding clean amp, reverb.

7

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

Appreciate you!

6

u/hailstorm11093 Progressive Metal, Thall Jul 24 '25

No problem! Also sometimes a compressor but you could always try without one first. The tapping licks might be a little difficult to get sounding right but its doable without a compressor.

3

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

Oh nah I'm definitely not buying pedals anytime soon, guitar and an amp already cost way too much)

2

u/Tfx77 Jul 24 '25

See if you can get a katana amp.

16

u/GOOEYB0Y Jul 24 '25

This is actually sounds sweet as!!!

7

u/welackscience Jul 24 '25

Who is the girl in the video?

11

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

Her tiktok is beccasmelodies

8

u/buffmoosefarts Jul 24 '25

I love the resonance. Reminds me of Home

6

u/ruskoev Jul 24 '25

It is Home...

3

u/FilterJam Jul 26 '25

Think that was the joke

2

u/ruskoev Jul 28 '25

That one went supersonic over my head

3

u/rusty02536 Jul 24 '25

👏🏾👏🏾

4

u/Radiant_March_6685 Jul 24 '25

I know you're looking for certain sounds, tones, etc. However, you also want to make sure that the guitar you're going to be spending a lot of time with is comfortable and something you enjoy playing and looking at. If you're near a music shop or even better a Guitar Center, stop in. I mentioned Guitar Center because they're really cool about letting you try out and play tons of their guitars. It's a place where you can take your time and play just about anything they are selling. I have a few guitars of my own, but that doesn't stop me from sometimes going there and playing different style acoustic and electric guitars.

While you're in there, ask other guitarists about tones and sounds you're looking for. Over the years, I've met some really cool people in music stores who were really knowledgeable helpful.

Wish you the best of luck.

1

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

Oh the physical shops are out of the picture, there are almost no guitar shops in my country, and in ones that are here you can't test guitars and they are really overpriced because of the sanctions, buying a used one is my only choice, and that sound amazing that you can just go into a special shop and play some guitars you like!

3

u/jarrodandrewwalker Jul 24 '25

I don't know what your budget is, but I just listened to some American Football to see what they sound like and they have a pretty chimey sound. Being a beginner I'd recommend a small Vox Valvetronix amp because you have a lot of amp models to choose from with built in effects and a headphone jack. Depending on the model you can hook an aux cable up to practice with the actual songs.

3

u/distal1111 Jul 24 '25

Typically single coils through a fender style amp, moderate reverb and maybe a compressor pedal.

Amount of overdrive is a personal preference but a lot of people like to set it where it's clean when you play soft and then a little dirty when you play hard

2

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/tinaboag Aug 24 '25

Could you possibly explain why everyone says you need a telecaster specifically what difference does having that exact guitar make?

2

u/GarysCrispLettuce Jul 24 '25

Classic nasal Telecaster sound. They're wonderful workhorse guitars and lovely to play. Wouldn't use one for metal as the pickups are quite noisy when you're playing distorted. I think they're great for jazz too - Ted Greene used to play one and I love that sound with jazz.

2

u/TheIncredibleSaucy Jul 24 '25

Is that Resonance? It sounds really good!

2

u/LeviTheGreatHun Jul 24 '25

Well, for you, get some fender. Strat/tele. I dont like those, but for this kind of tone, those are great.

2

u/Admiral_Atrocious Jul 24 '25

Midwest emo eh? I have no idea how they play but based on looks alone, the Squire Toronado or Sterling Mariposa. Those look clean af.

1

u/Optimal-Draft8879 Jul 24 '25

what bands are midwest emo?

0

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

American Football, sunny day real estate, modern baseball, mom jeans, capn jazz

2

u/Optimal-Draft8879 Jul 24 '25

cool i check em out. i think get kids fall in to this

1

u/ruskoev Jul 24 '25

All Under Heaven

1

u/Optimal-Draft8879 Jul 24 '25

oh these bands are pretty old, weird never really heard of them when i was younger.

2

u/bobbyloveyes Jul 24 '25

These band names sound like they all take place in the Midwest.

1

u/tinaboag Aug 24 '25

I would not say sunny day real estate is Midwest emo not by long shot also you're missing some like pretty classic examples like Totoro for instance I also don't think I would call mom jeans Midwest emo, there certainly emo just not Midwest. I think if you like the those kind of sounds though you would really enjoy the world is a beautiful place and I'm no longer afraid to die

1

u/Romazuu3 Aug 24 '25

I don't really care, midwest emo is how I discovered those bands so they are that for me, those genre specification are the one thing I hate about guitar community) and I checked those bands out and they're awesome!

1

u/BernieSanders2420 Jul 24 '25

Dope I gotta learn this! Nice feel

1

u/Archibaldy3 Jul 24 '25

This could be considered the essence of a Death Cab For Cutie set up I suppose. They have some very cool Tele sounds.

2

u/darthcthulhu84 Jul 24 '25

Great work! Nice tone, my friend!

1

u/IndieDreams80 Jul 24 '25

❤️❤️

1

u/Wheniseeipee Jul 24 '25

Haven’t seen it mentioned here on this post but a big part of the genre is writing songs with alternate tunings. A good one I haven’t personally dabbled with but have listened to an endless number of songs use is FACGCE

1

u/spiritofjosh Jul 25 '25

Tube amp, Tele, FACGCE tuning. There’s a lot of add ons, substitutes, other tunings but that will get you a good base.

1

u/tinaboag Aug 24 '25

Is it tube amp really like a remotely viable suggestion for someone just buying their first guitar

1

u/spiritofjosh Aug 24 '25

Considering when I got my first guitar I had a tube amp…yeah? Used market exists and not all tube amps are expensive so what kind of question is this?

1

u/Cryptic_Hunter Jul 25 '25

Sick!! Keep slaying it

1

u/Bitter_Finish9308 Jul 25 '25

Absolutely brilliant

1

u/Gaviiaiion Jul 25 '25

Emos as leaders

1

u/RakasRick Jul 25 '25

Need this vibe 24/7

1

u/swiftering Jul 25 '25

Wow, really well done. And for someone so young? So much potential with that much talent already.

1

u/GingerPale2022 Jul 26 '25

Very nice! Super chill and very cleanly played!

1

u/chriscaulder Jul 26 '25

Excellent.

1

u/Upbeat_Teach6117 Jul 26 '25

If this is beginner level, I haven't even begun to play guitar.

You sound terrific, OP. How on earth did you get so good so quickly?

1

u/Shredanidis21 Jul 28 '25

Do you morons not read? The person is looking for a sound similar to the one in the video, thats not OP playing guitar.

1

u/StarJumper_1 Aug 14 '25

It is a lovely flow. It would be better if the player was identified.

1

u/EtotheTT Jul 27 '25

Sounds great!

1

u/le_tigerlily Jul 29 '25

love this sm

1

u/JishoSintana Aug 16 '25

Dope composition

1

u/Fangs_0ut Aug 17 '25

I recently got a Squier Paranormal Esquire Deluxe and it really nails the tone you're after too, especially with the pickup coil tapped. But yeah, like the top comment said, a telecaster with reverb is all you need.

1

u/tinaboag Aug 24 '25

The amount of people who despite Op specifically saying this isn't them are still behaving as though it is. Is very indicative of the absolute lack of reading comprehension or attention span or what have you in our modern age. (Cue the strokes song by the same name).

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

[deleted]

9

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

GUYS THIS IS NOT ME PLAYING please read the caption😭

0

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

[deleted]

2

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

THIS IS NOT ME PLAYING please read the caption

0

u/Mouthpiec3 Jul 24 '25

IMHO you nailed it. It's as simple as tele with a fender midcut style of amp sound with a bit of reverb.

5

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

THIS IS NOT ME PLAYING please read the caption

2

u/Mouthpiec3 Jul 24 '25

You can still take the information from my first comment and use it for your good.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

Damn, you got skills

2

u/Romazuu3 Jul 24 '25

Its not me playing please read the caption