Starting-point EQ for indie / post-punk tone, averaged from 33 famous indie / post-punk recordings. Dial these in, then fine-tune by ear — or let the tool below adapt them to the exact amp and guitar you own.
Fell in Love with a Girl — The White Stripes · R U Mine — Arctic Monkeys · The Hardest Button to Button — The White Stripes · Somebody Told Me — The Killers · When You Were Young — The Killers · Are You Gonna Be My Girl — Jet · Icky Thump — The White Stripes · All Day and All of the Night — The Kinks
Averaged across 33 famous indie / post-punk recordings: gain 3.5, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6.5, presence 5.5 (out of 10). Indie & post-punk live on BRIGHT, jangly clean-to-light-crunch — treble up, low-to-medium gain, and effects doing the character: chorus and reverb for shimmer, a slapback or rhythmic delay for The Edge-style chime, or a fuzz for a scratchy lead. Bright single-coils (Tele/Jazzmaster/Rickenbacker) suit it best.
Start with gain 3.5, bass 5, mid 6, treble 6.5, presence 5.5 (all out of 10), then fine-tune by ear. Lower the gain for cleaner passages, and push the mids up if the guitar disappears in a band mix.
The amps most used across these indie / post-punk tones are Roland JC-120, Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Deluxe Reverb. You don’t need the exact amp, though — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials any indie / post-punk tone for the amp and guitar you already own, free in the browser.
Set the starting EQ above, then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for your specific amp, guitar and pedals so it sits like the record — no new gear needed.