Solo Tone

Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Live Acoustic)

Nirvana

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

Guitar1959 Martin D-18E (modified with Bartolini 3AV and DeArmond pickups, plus piezo under-saddle pickup)

AmpFender Twin Reverb (silverface, miked for PA/recording)

PickupsBartolini 3AV (neck, single coil), DeArmond (bridge, single coil), piezo under-saddle (acoustic/mic blend)

Amp Settings

gain2.5

bass5.5

mid6

treble6.5

reverb2.5

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Live MTV Unplugged performance, November 18, 1993, New York. The Martin D-18E was run through the PA via its pickups and possibly a small amount of amp for stage monitoring. No evidence of external pedals or stompboxes used for the solo section; all drive/distortion comes from aggressive playing and pickup selection, not from pedals or amp overdrive.

Tone Character(10)

raw and bitingslightly overdriven acousticaggressive and percussivemid-forward, nasalcutting and dynamicunpolished, live room ambienceoccasional microphonic feedbacknot smooth or mellowdistinctly electric-acoustic hybridintense, emotional attack

Difficulty

The solo is technically straightforward but requires aggressive dynamics, control of feedback, and expressive playing to match the raw intensity of the performance.

Sources

Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York What acoustic did Kurt Cobain use on MTV Unplugged?MTV Unplugged Tone | Amp & Pedal Settings : r/Nirvana Need help finding the best settings to sound like nirvana ...

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account