Smells Like Teen Spirit amp settings — Sonicake Pocket Master
The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, dialed in for a Sonicake Pocket Master with a Squier Bullet Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — main riff and chorus distortion
Fender Stratocaster (Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker) -> Boss DS-1 Distortion -> Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp (Clean channel) -> Crown Power Base 2 -> Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 3 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 5 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 7 |
01DS-1 Distortion block (Pocket Master)
Gain source — runs into clean amp model
02Small Clone Chorus block (Pocket Master)
Bypass for main riff/chorus; enable for the clean verse and solo
The Sonicake Pocket Master uses a pristine clean American amp block so the onboard DS-1 style distortion block acts as the primary gain engine, matching Cobain's pedal-into-clean-preamp setup. Because the Squier Bullet Strat's single-coil bridge is naturally brighter and thinner than Kurt's Duncan JB humbucker, keep the tone knob slightly rolled back to 9 and push the amp bass to 6 to add body. Clean verse: bypass the DS-1 distortion block and engage the onboard chorus block.
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These settings are for a Sonicake Pocket Master. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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