Riff Tone

Rape Me

Nirvana

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Stratocaster Left Handed (white, rosewood fretboard, Seymour Duncan Hot Rail in bridge)

AmpMesa Boogie Studio Preamp into Crown Power Base 2 Poweramp

PickupsSeymour Duncan Hot Rail (bridge position, humbucker-sized single coil)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb1

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

distortionDOD DOD FX69 Grunge

Notes

Studio recording for 'Rape Me' (In Utero, 1993). Guitar is the so-called 'Lithium Stratocaster', used in the studio and confirmed for this era. Amp setup is the Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp with Crown Power Base 2, as used by Cobain from 1992-1994. No evidence of live rig or alternate guitars for the studio riff section.

Tone Character(10)

aggressive and saturatedraw, open power chord soundtight and percussive attackslightly scooped midsfuzzy, grainy distortionarticulate pick attackminimal ambience/reverbno modulation or time-based effectsdistinct bridge pickup bitedynamic, loud rhythm

Difficulty

The riff is based on simple power chords and straightforward rhythm, but requires aggressive, consistent strumming and muting to achieve the raw, percussive sound.

Sources

Kurt Cobain's Guitar Rig, Gear & Pedalboard | Equipboard DOD FX69 Grunge - What To Know & Where To Buy | Equipboard

This tone has been researched 14 times by the community

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