Tone library / Nirvana / Smells like teen sprirt

Smells like teen sprirt amp settings — Fender frontman 10g

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells like teen sprirt”, dialed in for a Fender frontman 10g with a Glarrys Stratocaster. Main riff and chorus, Nevermind studio album cut (1991)

Original rig

Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 Preamp / Crown power amp into Marshall 4x12, 1965 Fender Jaguar (bridge humbucker), Boss DS-1 Distortion, Electro-Harmonix Small Clone

Aggressive, fizzy grunge crunch with scooped lower-mids and sharp pick bite
Amp settings — Fender frontman 10g
CHANNELCleanBOOSToff
GAIN 2 BASS 6 TREBLE 5 MASTER 4
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain2
Bass6
Treble5
Master4
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Mooer Rage Machine

Gain source — distortion pedal

Level 7 · Low 5 · High 6 · Rage 6
Why these settings

The Frontman 10G has only Bass and Treble controls (no mid or presence knobs), so mid and presence are set to null. Because you own the Mooer Rage Machine high-gain distortion pedal, it serves as your primary distortion source; the Frontman 10G stays on the clean channel with gain kept low to prevent muddy double-gain distortion through the 6-inch speaker. Clean verse: step on the Rage Machine to bypass distortion.

PRO TIPHit the muted sixteenth-note strums between chord changes with aggressive down-up forearm strokes rather than wrist flicks to capture Cobain's percussive attack.

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These settings are for a Fender frontman 10g. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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