Tone library / Nirvana / Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit amp settings — Lane LX35R

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, dialed in for a Lane LX35R with a Jet JS-400. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — iconic main riff and chorus distortion

Original rig

Fender Stratocaster (Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker), Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp (Rhythm clean), Crown Power Base 2, Marshall 1960B 4x12, Boss DS-1, EHX Small Clone

Raw, aggressive pedal-driven grunge distortion with punchy upper-mid bite

Amp settings — Lane LX35R

CHANNELCleanBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	6
Mid	5
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion

Set Turbo mode to Mode I (DS-1 voicing) to match the Nevermind record tone

Level 8 · Tone 7 · Dist 10 · Turbo 1

02Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus

RECOMMENDED — not owned (needed only for the watery clean verse tone)

Rate 5 · Depth Switch 10

Why these settings

The DS-2 is the primary gain source running into the LX35R Clean channel with amp gain kept low at 2 to prevent muddy double-gain saturation. The Laney LX series has a slightly darker British solid-state voicing, so treble is boosted to 7 to deliver the aggressive upper-mid cut of Cobain's bridge humbucker. Presence is set to null as the LX35R does not feature a presence control.

PRO TIPHit the muted percussive strums between chord changes with an aggressive, loose wrist attack over the bridge pickup to replicate the distinctive percussive rake of the main riff.

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These settings are for a Lane LX35R. 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.