Riff Tone

Heart-Shaped Box

Nirvana

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Jaguar (early 1960s, modified)

AmpFender Twin Reverb (Silverface, late 1970s)

PickupsDiMarzio DP103 PAF (neck), DiMarzio Super Distortion (bridge)

Amp Settings

gain4

bass6

mid6.5

treble6.5

reverb2.5

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording for 'In Utero' (1993). Clean riff sections tracked with Jaguar into Fender Twin Reverb. No evidence of pedals or additional effects for clean verse. Settings estimated based on era, genre, and amp model. Pickup choice inferred from typical Cobain usage for clean parts.

Tone Character(10)

clean and hauntingslightly gritty edge-of-breakuparticulate single notessubtle amp reverb ambienceno modulation or delaybright but not harshclear attack with pickdynamic response to pickingnot compressed or processedopen, uncompressed feel

Difficulty

The riff requires clean, articulate picking with subtle palm muting and dynamic control to maintain clarity at a slow tempo. While not technically advanced, it demands precision and feel.

Sources

Kurt Cobain's Guitar Rig, Gear & Pedalboard - Equipboard Nirvana's Heart Shaped Box tone : r/GuitarAmps - Reddit

This tone has been researched 4 times by the community

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