Tone library / Nirvana / Negatieve creep

Negatieve creep amp settings — Boss Katana 100 MkII

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Negatieve creep”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 100 MkII with a Fender Jaguar. Studio version, Bleach (1989)

Original rig

Fender Twin Reverb (clean channel), Boss DS-1 Distortion, Fender Jaguar (bridge humbucker or stock single-coil)

Aggressive, grinding distortion with scooped low-mids, raw punk attack, feedback-prone edge

Amp settings — Boss Katana 100 MkII

CHANNELCrunchBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	5
Mid	7
Treble	7
Presence	6
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This pedal is essential for the Cobain grind. Without it, use the Katana's Crunch channel cranked as shown above. The DS-1 is $50 new and defines this tone.

Tone 4 · Level 10 · Dist 10

Why these settings

Without the DS-1, the Katana's Crunch channel at high gain approximates the aggressive saturation. The Katana's mid-forward Crunch voicing compensates for the original Fender Twin's scooped clean platform being pushed by pedal dirt. Mids boosted to 7 (vs the original's 5 on the Twin) because the DS-1's mid-scoop isn't present here. Your stock Jaguar single-coils are brighter and lower output than Cobain's modded humbuckers—tone knob rolled to 7 tames ice-pick highs.

PRO TIPCobain dug his pick in hard on the low E string for this track's main riff—angle your pick sharply and attack near the bridge for that percussive, clanky aggression. If feedback squeals, flip to neck pickup momentarily during sustained notes.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Boss Katana 100 MkII. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.