Smells like teen spirit amp settings — Borne Strike G30
The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells like teen spirit”, dialed in for a Borne Strike G30 with a Epiphone SG Standard. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — main distorted riff and chorus
Fender Stratocaster (Seymour Duncan JB humbucker) -> Boss DS-1 Distortion -> Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp (clean rhythm channel) -> Crown Power Base 2 -> Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 8 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
01Boss DS-1 Distortion
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; with pedal, switch amp to Clean and set amp Gain to 2
The Borne Strike G30 is a compact solid-state practice amp without dedicated mid or presence controls, so drive saturation is pushed to 8 on its overdrive channel to capture Kurt's aggressive distortion purely on owned gear. Your Epiphone SG's bridge humbucker matches the output of Cobain's Seymour Duncan JB humbucker, requiring treble at 7 to keep the iconic upper-mid rasp while keeping bass controlled to avoid small-speaker mud. Clean verse: switch the amp back to the clean channel with guitar volume at 8.
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These settings are for a Borne Strike G30. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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