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Riff Tone
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Nirvana
Guitarrock1990s
Original Gear
GuitarEarly-'90s Japanese Fender Stratocaster (rosewood neck, Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker)
AmpMesa/Boogie Studio Preamp (Rhythm channel) into Crown Power Base 2 power amp, Marshall 1960B 4x12 cabinet with Celestion G12T-75 speakers
Amp Settings
gain7
bass4.5
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Notes
Studio recording, 1991, Nevermind album sessions at Sound City Studios. Settings and gear confirmed for studio, not live. Used Boss DS-1 for distortion, no amp gain channel. Pickup choice and pedal use confirmed for riff/chorus section.
Tone Character(10)
raw and saturatedmid-heavy and cuttingtight and percussive attackaggressive, punchy rhythmminimal ambience (dry)gritty, abrasive distortionarticulate palm mutingloud and in-your-faceslightly compressedclassic '90s grunge sound
Difficulty
The riff is based on simple power chords and straightforward rhythm, but requires tight palm muting, fast chord changes, and aggressive attack to capture the song's energy.
This tone has been researched 156 times by the community
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1990s
Original Gear
GuitarEarly-'90s Japanese Fender Stratocaster (rosewood neck, Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker)
AmpMesa/Boogie Studio Preamp (Rhythm channel) into Crown Power Base 2 power amp, Marshall 1960B 4x12 cabinet with Celestion G12T-75 speakers
Amp Settings
gain7
bass4.5
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
This tone has been researched 156 times by the community
Notes
Studio recording, 1991, Nevermind album sessions at Sound City Studios. Settings and gear confirmed for studio, not live. Used Boss DS-1 for distortion, no amp gain channel. Pickup choice and pedal use confirmed for riff/chorus section.
Tone Character(10)
raw and saturatedmid-heavy and cuttingtight and percussive attackaggressive, punchy rhythmminimal ambience (dry)gritty, abrasive distortionarticulate palm mutingloud and in-your-faceslightly compressedclassic '90s grunge sound
Difficulty
The riff is based on simple power chords and straightforward rhythm, but requires tight palm muting, fast chord changes, and aggressive attack to capture the song's energy.