Tone library / Nirvana / Smells like teen spirit

Smells like teen spirit amp settings — Nux Idk

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells like teen spirit”, dialed in for a Nux Idk with a Cort G110. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — iconic main riff / heavy chorus tone

Original rig

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

Aggressive, abrasive high-gain grunge crunch with biting upper-mids and scooped low-mids

Amp settings — Nux Idk

CHANNELHigh-Gain / British Crunch amp model + 4x12 Greenback IRBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Mid	4
Treble	7
Reverb	2
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; when added, run into a clean amp model with amp gain dropped to 2

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 8

Why these settings

Since your specific NUX model is unspecified and you own no external pedals, dial a high-gain British or modern crunch amp block on your unit directly at gain 8 to deliver the iconic chorus crunch from the processor alone. The Cort G110 bridge humbucker matches Cobain's Duncan JB bridge pickup closely, so keep mids slightly scooped at 4 and push treble to 7 for that abrasive 90s grunge bite. Clean verse: switch to a clean twin-style amp model and engage an onboard chorus block.

PRO TIPCobain hit all six strings aggressively while muting non-chord strings with the index and thumb of his fretting hand, giving the main four-chord riff its percussive, scratchy attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Nux Idk. 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.