Scoff amp settings — Nux Nux mighty 40 bt

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Scoff”, dialed in for a Nux Nux mighty 40 bt with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Bleach (1989) — recorded December 1988 at Reciprocal Recording

Original rig

Fender Twin Reverb (early 70s silverface) or Mesa Boogie Studio .22 preamp into power amp, Univox Hi-Flier or Hagstrom guitar with humbuckers, Randall solid-state head live; Boss DS-1 or DS-2 for distortion, no modulation/delay; SM58 on cabinet

Dry, crunchy, aggressive mid-forward grunge with scooped-but-biting distortion and loose low-end thump

Amp settings — Nux Nux mighty 40 bt

CHANNELCrunch or Lead voicing (high-gain channel)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; essential for Bleach-era Cobain grunge tone; run into clean or light-crunch channel

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 7

Why these settings

Your Strat's single coils are brighter and lower output than Cobain's humbuckers — compensate with tone knob at 7 and treble at 6 rather than higher. The Nux Mighty 40 BT's modeling engine can approximate the dry crunch, but Bleach's distortion came from a DS-1 into a relatively clean amp. Without the DS-1, use the amp's high-gain channel at gain 7 — it gets close but lacks the fizzy-scooped character of the Boss pedal. A $50 DS-1 clone completes the puzzle.

PRO TIPCobain tracked Bleach vocals and guitars bone-dry with zero reverb — the band specifically referenced AC/DC's For Those About to Rock for that in-your-face crunch. Roll your guitar's tone knob down slightly on palm-muted sections to thicken the attack and match the murky Bleach low-end.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Nux Nux mighty 40 bt. 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.