Smells like teen spirit amp settings — lirevo G-15
The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells like teen spirit”, dialed in for a lirevo G-15 with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — main riff & chorus distortion
Fender Stratocaster (Seymour Duncan JB humbucker) -> Boss DS-1 Distortion -> Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp -> Crown Power Base 2 -> Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
Because you don't own the DS-1 pedal, the Lirevo G-15's built-in drive channel must provide the primary saturation at gain 7 rather than running clean. To compensate for the Player Strat's brighter single-coil bridge pickup compared to Cobain's high-output Seymour Duncan JB humbucker, keep the treble at 5 and roll the guitar tone knob back to 8 to avoid shrillness. Clean verse: switch the amp back to the clean channel with guitar volume around 8.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a lirevo G-15. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
Get ToneAdapt on Google PlaySong, 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.