ToneAdapt

Loading...

Back to Community

Riff Tone

Polly

Nirvana

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarStella 6-string acoustic (steel-string converted to nylon, only 5 strings at time of recording)
AmpNone (recorded direct with microphones, no amp used for riff section on studio recording)

Amp Settings

gain0
bass3

Create an account to see all tone details

Create Free Account

Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording, 1990 (Nevermind sessions at Smart Studios). Kurt Cobain used a cheap Stella acoustic guitar, reportedly strung with nylon strings and missing one string. No amplifier or pedals were used for the riff section; the guitar was recorded with microphones. No evidence of amp or pedal use for this part.

Tone Character(10)
raw and jankylo-fi and intimateflat and slightly out-of-tunewarm and muted highspercussive and woody attackminimal sustaindirect, unprocessed acoustic soundno reverb or delayclose-mic'd, dry recordingslightly buzzy due to old strings

Difficulty

The riff is played with simple open chords and a straightforward strumming pattern, making it accessible to beginners. The main challenge is maintaining a soft, consistent dynamic and the raw feel of the original recording.

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account