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Riff Tone
Lithium (Live at Reading, 08/30/92)
Nirvana
Guitarrock1990s
Original Gear
Guitar1965 Fender Jaguar (left-handed, modified with DiMarzio PAF and Super Distortion pickups)
AmpMesa/Boogie Studio .22 Preamp into Crown Power Base 2 power amp and Marshall 4x12 cabinet
Amp Settings
gain7
bass6
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Notes
Live performance at Reading Festival, August 30, 1992. Kurt Cobain used his iconic modified Jaguar for most of the set, including 'Lithium.' The amp setup is confirmed for this era and show. Pedalboard was minimal and focused on distortion/fuzz. Settings are for live, not studio.
Tone Character(9)
chunky and thick cleansfull-bodied, mid-heavy crunchaggressive, biting distortiontight, percussive rhythm attackslightly scooped but not thindynamic, responds to pick attacknot overly saturated, retains claritydistinct, cutting presence in the mixraw, punk-inspired edge
Difficulty
The riff is based on power chords and straightforward rhythm, but requires dynamic control and tight, aggressive strumming to capture the song's energy.
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1990s
Original Gear
Guitar1965 Fender Jaguar (left-handed, modified with DiMarzio PAF and Super Distortion pickups)
AmpMesa/Boogie Studio .22 Preamp into Crown Power Base 2 power amp and Marshall 4x12 cabinet
Amp Settings
gain7
bass6
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
Notes
Live performance at Reading Festival, August 30, 1992. Kurt Cobain used his iconic modified Jaguar for most of the set, including 'Lithium.' The amp setup is confirmed for this era and show. Pedalboard was minimal and focused on distortion/fuzz. Settings are for live, not studio.
Tone Character(9)
chunky and thick cleansfull-bodied, mid-heavy crunchaggressive, biting distortiontight, percussive rhythm attackslightly scooped but not thindynamic, responds to pick attacknot overly saturated, retains claritydistinct, cutting presence in the mixraw, punk-inspired edge
Difficulty
The riff is based on power chords and straightforward rhythm, but requires dynamic control and tight, aggressive strumming to capture the song's energy.