Tone library / Nirvana / Smells like teen spirit

Smells like teen spirit amp settings — Peavey 5150

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells like teen spirit”, dialed in for a Peavey 5150 with a Fender Mustang. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — Butch Vig production, Sound City Studios

Original rig

Mesa Boogie Studio .22 Preamp → Crown power amp, Fender Mustang/Jaguar with humbucker, Boss DS-1 Distortion, EHX Small Clone Chorus

Thick, saturated grunge crunch with scooped mids, layered chorus on verses, raw distortion on choruses

Amp settings — Peavey 5150

CHANNELLead (Rhythm channel also works — both are high-gain)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	7
Mid	4
Treble	6
Presence	5
Reverb	0
Master	4

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

Use as a dirty boost into the 5150's preamp — Dist at 0, Level high. Kurt ran his DS-1 into an already overdriven preamp for extra saturation and compression. Kick it ON for choruses, OFF for clean(er) verse sections.

Tone 5 · Level 7 · Dist 0

02EHX Small Clone Chorus

Depth switch OFF (shallow). Moderate rate. ON for the quiet verse riff, OFF for loud choruses. This is the exact chorus Kurt used on Nevermind.

Rate 5 · Depth Switch 0

Why these settings

Your 5150 is tighter and more aggressive in the mids than Kurt's Mesa preamp, which was warmer and slightly spongier. I've scooped the mids to 4 (Kurt's tone was mid-scooped) and kept gain moderate at 6 — the 5150 has more gain on tap than the Studio .22, so you don't need to max it. The DS-1 at Dist 0 / Level 7 pushes the front end for that compressed, explosive chorus sound without turning to mush.

PRO TIPKurt's right-hand attack was key — he palm-muted the verse riff lightly and then opened up with violent downstrokes on choruses. The dynamic shift between soft/loud defines this song more than any pedal setting. Also, your Mustang is perfect — same short-scale slinky feel Kurt loved.

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