Riff Tone

Mexican Seafood

Nirvana

Guitarpunk1980s

Original Gear

GuitarUnivox Hi-Flier Phase 3

AmpRandall solid-state combo (likely RG-120), or Fender Twin Reverb (studio, early Nirvana era)

PickupsP-90 style single coils (stock Univox Hi-Flier pickups)

Amp Settings

gain7.5

bass5.5

mid6

treble7

reverb1

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

distortionBoss Boss DS-1 Distortion (likely, model not 100% confirmed for this session)

Notes

Studio recording, 1988; 'Mexican Seafood' was recorded for the 'Blew' demo and Sub Pop 200 sessions. Univox Hi-Flier was Cobain's main guitar in this era. Amp is inferred from Cobain's known gear at the time; no evidence of Marshall or Mesa/Boogie use until later. Randall RG-120 and Fender Twin Reverb are both documented for Bleach-era demos. No evidence of live-specific gear for this recording.

Tone Character(10)

raw and fuzzymid-heavy grindabrasive attacklo-fi and unpolishedslightly scooped but thickminimal reverb, dryaggressive and dynamicgarage-punk edgesaturated rhythmgritty, uncompressed

Difficulty

While the riff is fast and requires aggressive, consistent picking and strumming, it uses simple power chords and punk-style rhythm, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

Need help finding the best settings to sound like nirvana (on guitar)Achieving Nirvana (How To Sound Like Kurt Cobain On Guitar) - Guitareo Riff Nirvana (band)

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account