Heart-Shaped Box amp settings — Samick Smart 3
The Nirvana guitar tone for “Heart-Shaped Box”, dialed in for a Samick Smart 3 with a Suzuki SDG-2 CE SB. Studio version, In Utero (1993)
Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Jaguar with DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucker, Boss DS-1, EHX Small Clone/Poly Chorus
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 2 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Presence | 4 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
01Boss DS-1
Engage for chorus/heavy sections; bypass for clean verse. Cobain ran tone below noon, distortion and level maxed.
02Chorus (any basic chorus)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for the watery verse tone. EHX Small Clone or any budget chorus will work. Engage on verse, bypass on chorus.
The Samick Smart 3 is a small solid-state practice amp with limited headroom and a neutral-to-thin voicing. Unlike Cobain's Fender Twin (which stayed clean while the DS-1 provided all the dirt), your amp will compress and lose definition if you push its gain — so keep amp gain at 2 and let the DS-1 do all the heavy lifting. Boosted mids at 6 compensate for the amp's tendency to sound thin. Your Suzuki acoustic-electric lacks the output and grit of Cobain's humbucker-loaded Jag, so the DS-1 maxed compensates for that lower output.
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These settings are for a Samick Smart 3. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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