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Riff Tone
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Boombox Rehearsals)
Nirvana
Guitarrock1990s
Original Gear
GuitarFender Mustang (likely Japanese, early 1990s, as used by Kurt Cobain on Nevermind demos and rehearsals)
AmpMesa/Boogie Studio .22+ (preamp) into Crown Power Base 2 power amp, Marshall 1960B 4x12 cabinet
Amp Settings
gain7
bass5.5
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Notes
Studio rehearsal (Boombox Rehearsals, 1991); settings reflect the distorted riff/chorus section; not live/tour rig. Guitar World and ToneMirror both confirm the Mustang and Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+ as the core rig for this recording.
Tone Character(10)
thick and saturatedaggressive and rawtight, percussive attackbright, cutting highsslightly scooped but present midsminimal ambience/reverbdynamic, responds to heavy pickingmodest sustainuncompressed grunge texturepunchy and immediate
Difficulty
The riff is based on simple power chords but requires tight palm muting, fast chord transitions, and aggressive picking to capture the song's energy.
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Create Free AccountGuitarrock1990s
Original Gear
GuitarFender Mustang (likely Japanese, early 1990s, as used by Kurt Cobain on Nevermind demos and rehearsals)
AmpMesa/Boogie Studio .22+ (preamp) into Crown Power Base 2 power amp, Marshall 1960B 4x12 cabinet
Amp Settings
gain7
bass5.5
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
Notes
Studio rehearsal (Boombox Rehearsals, 1991); settings reflect the distorted riff/chorus section; not live/tour rig. Guitar World and ToneMirror both confirm the Mustang and Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+ as the core rig for this recording.
Tone Character(10)
thick and saturatedaggressive and rawtight, percussive attackbright, cutting highsslightly scooped but present midsminimal ambience/reverbdynamic, responds to heavy pickingmodest sustainuncompressed grunge texturepunchy and immediate
Difficulty
The riff is based on simple power chords but requires tight palm muting, fast chord transitions, and aggressive picking to capture the song's energy.