Smells Like Teen Spirt amp settings — Peavey Rage 158 teal stripe
The Nitvana guitar tone for “Smells Like Teen Spirt”, dialed in for a Peavey Rage 158 teal stripe with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — recorded at Sound City Studios with Butch Vig
Fender Bassman amp (studio), Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 preamp, Fender Mustang with DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucker, Boss DS-1, Electro-Harmonix Small Clone (verses)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 4 |
| Treble | 6 |
| Presence | 0 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
01Boss DS-1 Distortion
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This is essential for the chorus/heavy sections. Run into the CLEAN channel with amp gain at 2-3 when using this pedal. The DS-1 was Cobain's primary dirt source.
02Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Used on clean verses only. Engage for intro/verse, bypass for chorus.
Your Squier Strat's single coils are brighter and lower output than Cobain's humbucker-loaded Mustang, so I pulled treble down from where a Mesa would sit and kept mids slightly scooped (the Rage 158 is already mid-forward). The Rage's Lead channel provides workable grunge saturation but lacks the compressed thickness of a cranked tube preamp—a DS-1 in front of the Clean channel gets closer to the recorded tone. Without the DS-1, use the Lead channel settings above and dig in hard with your pick.
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These settings are for a Peavey Rage 158 teal stripe. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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