Tone library / Nirvana / Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit amp settings — Marshall MG15CF

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, dialed in for a Marshall MG15CF with a Jet JS-300. Studio cut, Nevermind (1991) — distorted main riff/chorus tone

Original rig

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

Aggressive, raw hard-clipping grunge distortion with biting treble and tight low end

Amp settings — Marshall MG15CF

CHANNELCleanBOOSToff

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

Don’t have a Marshall MG15CF? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1

RECOMMENDED — not owned (run direct into front input)

Tone 4 · Level 8 · Dist 8

Why these settings

The original Nevermind dirt relies entirely on a Boss DS-1 slamming a clean preamp, so the MG15CF must stay on its Clean channel with gain low to avoid muddy preamp stacking. The Jet JS-300 has standard single coils rather than Kurt's high-output bridge humbucker (JB), so keeping the DS-1 tone around 4 tames excessive single-coil harshness while providing the necessary bite. Note that the Marshall MG15CF faceplate does not have a presence control or built-in reverb, so both are omitted.

PRO TIPHit the four-chord pattern with heavy, full-arm downstrokes across all strings, emphasizing the percussive fret-hand mutes between chord changes for the signature percussive snap.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG15CF. 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.