Riff Tone

Negative Creep (Live at The Paramount, 1991)

Nirvana

Guitarpunk1990s

Original Gear

Guitar1965 Fender Jaguar (modified, black finish, humbucker in bridge position, stock single coil in neck)

AmpMesa/Boogie Studio .22 Preamp into Crown Power Base 2 Power Amp into Marshall 4x12 Cabinet

PickupsDiMarzio Super Distortion (bridge humbucker), Fender Jaguar single coil (neck)

Amp Settings

gain8

bass6

mid7

treble7

reverb0

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Live performance, Halloween 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle. This is the exact live rig used by Kurt Cobain for the Paramount show, confirmed by video/photo evidence and multiple gear rundowns. No evidence of pedal use for distortion; distortion is from amp/preamp. No evidence of modulation or time-based effects in riff section.

Tone Character(10)

raw and aggressivefuzzy and saturatedtight and percussivemid-heavy punchminimal clarity, intentionally abrasivedry, no ambiencecutting upper midscompressed low endheavy pick attackclassic grunge live sound

Difficulty

The riff is fast and requires aggressive, consistent downstrokes and tight palm muting, but uses simple power chord shapes and straightforward rhythm, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

Did Kurt play "Blew" in Drop D while performing live? : r/Nirvana Replication of Paramount Tone - Negative Creep : r/Nirvana How did Cobain do these feedback sounds on live at Paramount ...

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account