Tone library / Nirvana / Smells like teen spirit

Smells like teen spirit amp settings — Yamaha THR5

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells like teen spirit”, dialed in for a Yamaha THR5 with a Yamaha Pacifica 112V. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — main distorted riff and chorus tone

Original rig

Fender Stratocaster (Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker) / 1969 Mustang, Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp (clean channel) into Crown Power Base 2, Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab, Boss DS-1 Distortion, Electro-Harmonix Small Clone

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

Amp settings — Yamaha THR5

CHANNELBRIT HI amp model

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Mid	5
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	7

Don’t have a Yamaha THR5? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; adds the exact abrasive top-end fuzz bite of the original

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 8

02Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; engage for the clean verses and guitar solo

Rate 4 · Depth 10

Why these settings

The Yamaha THR5 does not have a dedicated DS-1 model, so the 'BRIT HI' model is used at gain 8 to supply the saturated Marshall-style grunge crunch directly from the amp. The Pacifica 112V's bridge humbucker matches Kurt's Seymour Duncan JB output well, so treble is set to 7 to replicate the aggressive upper-mid cut without sounding harsh on desktop speakers. If you add a physical DS-1 pedal later, switch the THR5 to the 'CLEAN' model and drop amp gain to 2.

PRO TIPDig in hard with a thick pick (around 1.0mm) using aggressive, rhythmic downstrokes across the strings, letting the percussive muted 'chucks' ring out between chord changes.

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These settings are for a Yamaha THR5. 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.