Tone library / Nirvana / Smells like teen spirit

Smells like teen spirit amp settings — Orange Crush 12

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells like teen spirit”, dialed in for a Orange Crush 12 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Live at Reading Festival (1992) / Nevermind tour live solo tone

Original rig

Fender Stratocaster / Jaguar (bridge humbucker) -> Boss DS-1 -> EHX Small Clone -> Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp / Crown Power Base 2 into Marshall 4x12 cabs

Aggressive, abrasive grunge distortion with watery analog chorus modulation on the lead line

Amp settings — Orange Crush 12

BOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

Primary gain source; Tone dialed back to tame upper-fizz

Tone 4 · Level 8 · Dist 8

02Boss CH-1 Super Chorus

Engaged for the solo to capture the watery Small Clone modulation

E.Level 8 · EQ 5 · Rate 5 · Depth 8

Why these settings

Because your owned Boss DS-1 is the primary distortion engine, the Orange Crush 12 must be set clean with gain kept low at 2 to avoid muddy double-gain saturation. The Crush 12's naturally thick, dark solid-state voicing needs a slight treble push and moderate bass cut to replicate the piercing bite of Kurt's Mesa/Marshall rig. Note that the Crush 12 has no presence or reverb controls on its panel, so those fields are omitted.

PRO TIPPick aggressively near the bridge with your bridge humbucker engaged to cut through the heavy chorus modulation on the sustained melodic notes.

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These settings are for a Orange Crush 12. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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