Nail the ToneNirvana

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Nirvana · Nevermind · 1991

The loud riff is a humbucker-loaded Fender into a Boss DS-1 hitting a Mesa/Boogie Studio preamp and Crown power amp through a Marshall 4x12 — pedal dirt into a fairly clean, mid-heavy amp voice, with bass pulled back so it stays tight. Guitar World says live footage from either side of the Sound City dates points to Cobain's Japanese Strat with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge, while Vig's own account of the album lists a late-'60s Mustang and a DiMarzio-equipped Jaguar as well, and Christie's now states the famous Competition Mustang from the video was probably bought after the album was cut. The verse and pre-chorus use the same chords clean with an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone, which Vig confirms is the watery sound on the build-up.

Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record

Tuning

Standard tuning, no capo

Standard tuning at concert pitch with the riff as F5-Bb5-Ab5-Db5 (Guitar World lists Dean Markley .010-.052 strings); the verse and pre-chorus figure is the same shapes clean with a chorus pedal, not the distorted riff sound.

Part: Riff

Guitar

  • Fender Stratocaster (Japanese) · Seymour Duncan JB humbucker · bridge pickup
  • Fender Mustang (1969) · Duncan single-coil-size humbucker · bridge pickup
  • Fender Jaguar (1965) · DiMarzio humbuckers · bridge pickup

Amp

Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp + Crown Power Base 2

GAIN
6.0
BASS
3.0
MID
8.0
TREBLE
6.0
REVERB
0.0

Rhythm channel with Rhythm Bright on, graphic EQ in (80: +3, 240: -2, 750: 0, 2200: +5, 6600: +3), into a Marshall 1960B 4x12 with G12T-75s; Butch Vig confirms Cobain had the Mesa/Boogie at Sound City, and these knob values come from Guitar World's published recreation rather than from the session itself.

Amp

Fender Bassman

Vig rented a Fender Bassman and a Vox AC30 for Nevermind and used the Bassman on roughly four songs and the AC30 for clean tracks, but neither is confirmed on this specific song.

Pedals

  • Boss DS-1 · distortion · Tone 4, Level 10, Distortion 7 (per Guitar World; Ground Guitar notes Vig never named the pedal directly)
  • Electro-Harmonix Small Clone · chorus · Rate ~5, Depth switch up; verse and pre-chorus only, off for the loud riff

Tone character

thick pedal distortion · forward mids · tight low end · humbucker bite · watery chorus on verses

easy

Four two- and three-note power chord shapes slid up and down the neck with a fast strum, so the work is keeping the unused high strings muted and nailing the quiet-to-loud dynamic shift.

Want this on your own amp?

These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.

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Sources