Nice video, great guitar and setup. Couple things to note though: Kurt nearly always used the Small Clone with the depth switch down and the rate all the way up especially during Nevermind, you can hear this very clearly at shows like The Paramount. He also pretty much always cranked the distortion on his DS-2 all the way up, he claimed to turn the mids all the way up on his Mesa too.
Hey Wastewood Rocker, I will have to politely and respectfully disagree and agree with some of your comment. I have 3 small clones - 1 is the original and 2 are reissues. The original is far more subtle than the reissues. But, depth switch down and rate up is fairly unusable and nothing like the tone - even in Paramount. On the original, depth switch up and rate at the 12 o’clock position sounds pretty close for “Come as you are”, Teen Spirit “ and “Drain you”. On the reissues, depth switch up and around the 09:30 position on the rate is best. I spent years messing with it. I guess it is all in ones ears but the depth switch down doesn’t sound right for Nirvana to me. The Small Clones have quite a range on the rate, I notice when I record songs and play them back that I have to back off the rate most times as it sounds too fast. I completely agree with the mid range being turned up on the Mesa Boogie though. That is a key part to the tone. Treble at 7 and bass right down. The pickups on the guitar make a difference, we reckon the Seymour Duncan Super JB is a very close guitar sound , more so than the Hot Rail and the Di Marzio Super Distortion that Mr Cobain also used. I appreciate your feedback, the secret to the tone is out there somewhere! Thanks for watching and commenting- have a fantastic day🎸🙏🙏🤘
Try the DS1 or DS2 with the tone at the 10:30 or 11 o’clock. If the amp is cranked , this should sound pretty good for Kurts heavy tone. Don’t use the Turbo on the DS2- that’s more a metal sound. The level dial is more about how you have everything set up on your amp and the size of the room you are playing. At my house , the level is usually set the same as the tone- about 10:30 or 11 o’clock, it is seriously loud and distorted but you can still pick up the nuances of the guitar. There are pictures on the web of Kurts DS1 and DS2 which actually show the settings he was using, On the DS2 is shows all control knobs about 11 o’clock which is the same as the Turbo off position, this setting sounds pretty much spot on for the “Live at Reading “ concert. I still think the key to the sound is all about getting the clean sound right, if the clean sound is sounding good, the Chorus and DS1 or DS2 will sound good too. Again , it’s all in your own ears , recording the sound sometimes won’t sound the same unless you have an engineer and are in a studio. Crank it up loud from the amp, the louder the better. My neighbours hate me😬😃🤘🎸
It’s all about having a humbucker in the bridge, a great amp for cleans and a massive crunchy distortion pedal dialled in. I use an Epiphone Les Paul Goth 2004, into a cheap Carlsbro amp and a Black Secret RAT clone set to Turbo RAT and got a perfect Bleach tone on it. There’s a video on RUclips about getting a great Nirvana tone for under £500. How much did you pay for the Jaguar and the Mesa?
Hi Bellocks, the Fender Jag was about $2000 USD when I brought it around 13 years ago. It’s a Japanese one, very nice. The Mesa DC3 was about the same price when I brought it back around 1997. When I brought that and set the mid range all the way up on the clean channel it absolutely nailed “Rape Me” and most of Kurts clean tone. If I had the coin I would buy another, they sound much closer to a Fender than a Marshall amp. Thanks for watching 🙏🙏🍺🍺🎸
Could be, it sounds close on the neck position, I’m sure there are pictures out there with Kurt playing a strat on the neck position- about a girl sounds right. Whether or not he changed the pickup to the bridge position for the solo is hard to say. The DS1 or DS2 has a different character with the single coil pickup over the bridge pickup humbuckers with the Super JB or Hot-rail.
The Mustang Kurt used in the Live and Loud had the Super JB The black strat had a super JB The 5 strats he used to smash at the end of the shows were Mexican strats with Hot Rails, they were the throwaways The Jag had a super distortion which was apparently changed to a JB after the Nevermind tours. I’ll try to find and post links on or scan the guitar mags I have, it will take me a while, there is so much info. We have here the Kurt Japanese Jaguar with the Super distortion, a mex strat with the Hotrail and my son has just installed the JB in his competition Mustang. The JB sounds the best and closest to Kurts tone in our opinion . When we get the time , we will do a vid with the Mustang. I could be wrong, and there could be some incorrect information out there but I will try to confirm what is above , sorry if it is confusing.🙏 Thanks for watching🙏🙏🍺 🎸
Hi Mirata, That’s the one. SH4 . It has a really nice tone. I’m really lucky that my son is a Nirvana freak like me, so have some choice what instrument to play. You won’t regret buying a JB. Have an awesome day🙏🙏🎸👍😀 If you buy one, please let me know what you think of it.
Hey Bunface, I think the Lithium tone at Reading was probably the best there was. On the DVD , it only really shows the Small Clone and the DS2 in the line, the Amp in the rack looks to be the Boogie. I guess it is just super cranked. On my Boogie DC3 , I use the clean channel. I have the mid at 9 , bass at 2, treble at 7. Gain at 4. DS2 tone at 11 o’clock. Small clone depth switch on and rate depending on whether or not it is a reissue or original small clone. Original rate is around 11 o’clock and reissue is around 9:30. All other settings depend upon where you are playing and how much you want a happy relationship with neighbours. All the settings above sound close on my amp, with my ears and all amps are really different , but the settings above should get you closer. Thanks for watching 🎸🙏
To all you people out there saying that you NEED either Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio pickups: no you don't. In fact, those will barely even make a difference. If you got a good humbucker installed, you're good to go. It's all in the amps.
maybe you could try dimarzio super distortion pickup, sounds exactly like nirvana if not better than the seymour duncan. But as a fan of nirvana, u should use always seymour duncan, except for the jaguar
I’ve got the Di-Mario Super Distortion in my Jaguar and in my Chavel Strat in the Czech Republic. They sound great too however my son just put a Seymour Duncan Super JB in his Mustang. That’s probably the closest sound to Kurts , I think Kurt had one on his black Strat. I might make a video on the difference between all 3 pick-ups thru the Mesa Boogie and with and without the Small Clone and DS2. Thanks for watching 🙏🎸😀🤘
It doesn’t matter😂. I can barely play guitar but I give it a go 🙏 When do you want a to do a video? I can’t drive right now, I opened the bar already 🍺😂
Anyone who loves NIRVANA & who enjoys there music is a friend of mine . Keep up the fantastic work "🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🎸👍🎸
Cheers my Friend- much appreciated!
Have a fantastic day🤘🎸🍺😀🙏
Same man just picked up my first acoustic ever the feeling of playing nirvana is like no other can’t wait to get that guitar I’m jealous haha
Hell yeah u too i havent started playing yet im waiting to go on a roadtrip to my nearest guitar center lmao
Nice video, great guitar and setup. Couple things to note though:
Kurt nearly always used the Small Clone with the depth switch down and the rate all the way up especially during Nevermind, you can hear this very clearly at shows like The Paramount.
He also pretty much always cranked the distortion on his DS-2 all the way up, he claimed to turn the mids all the way up on his Mesa too.
Hey Wastewood Rocker, I will have to politely and respectfully disagree and agree with some of your comment.
I have 3 small clones - 1 is the original and 2 are reissues. The original is far more subtle than the reissues. But, depth switch down and rate up is fairly unusable and nothing like the tone - even in Paramount. On the original, depth switch up and rate at the 12 o’clock position sounds pretty close for “Come as you are”, Teen Spirit “ and “Drain you”. On the reissues, depth switch up and around the 09:30 position on the rate is best. I spent years messing with it. I guess it is all in ones ears but the depth switch down doesn’t sound right for Nirvana to me. The Small Clones have quite a range on the rate, I notice when I record songs and play them back that I have to back off the rate most times as it sounds too fast.
I completely agree with the mid range being turned up on the Mesa Boogie though. That is a key part to the tone. Treble at 7 and bass right down.
The pickups on the guitar make a difference, we reckon the Seymour Duncan Super JB is a very close guitar sound , more so than the Hot Rail and the Di Marzio Super Distortion that Mr Cobain also used.
I appreciate your feedback, the secret to the tone is out there somewhere!
Thanks for watching and commenting- have a fantastic day🎸🙏🙏🤘
Try the DS1 or DS2 with the tone at the 10:30 or 11 o’clock. If the amp is cranked , this should sound pretty good for Kurts heavy tone. Don’t use the Turbo on the DS2- that’s more a metal sound.
The level dial is more about how you have everything set up on your amp and the size of the room you are playing. At my house , the level is usually set the same as the tone- about 10:30 or 11 o’clock, it is seriously loud and distorted but you can still pick up the nuances of the guitar.
There are pictures on the web of Kurts DS1 and DS2 which actually show the settings he was using, On the DS2 is shows all control knobs about 11 o’clock which is the same as the Turbo off position, this setting sounds pretty much spot on for the “Live at Reading “ concert.
I still think the key to the sound is all about getting the clean sound right, if the clean sound is sounding good, the Chorus and DS1 or DS2 will sound good too.
Again , it’s all in your own ears , recording the sound sometimes won’t sound the same unless you have an engineer and are in a studio.
Crank it up loud from the amp, the louder the better.
My neighbours hate me😬😃🤘🎸
I love the chorus feedback…
the sound of the feedback with the DS-2 & small clone was perfectly right
It’s all about having a humbucker in the bridge, a great amp for cleans and a massive crunchy distortion pedal dialled in. I use an Epiphone Les Paul Goth 2004, into a cheap Carlsbro amp and a Black Secret RAT clone set to Turbo RAT and got a perfect Bleach tone on it. There’s a video on RUclips about getting a great Nirvana tone for under £500.
How much did you pay for the Jaguar and the Mesa?
Hi Bellocks, the Fender Jag was about $2000 USD when I brought it around 13 years ago. It’s a Japanese one, very nice.
The Mesa DC3 was about the same price when I brought it back around 1997. When I brought that and set the mid range all the way up on the clean channel it absolutely nailed “Rape Me” and most of Kurts clean tone.
If I had the coin I would buy another, they sound much closer to a Fender than a Marshall amp.
Thanks for watching 🙏🙏🍺🍺🎸
Nevermind was mostly stock mustang single coil tho...when using DS 1 its better to use low output pick ups
@@Suckmyballsskank nah im pretty sure his bridge pickup was a hot rail which is a humbucker reduced to the size of a single coil
Nice set up, tone and nice country😁
Thanks for watching and for your feedback. Yep, I often think I’m pretty lucky living down under! Thanks again 🙏🙏 🎸
i wonder if he ever used the middle position, their cover of here she comes now sounds pretty similar with the middle position on my squier lol
Could be, it sounds close on the neck position, I’m sure there are pictures out there with Kurt playing a strat on the neck position- about a girl sounds right. Whether or not he changed the pickup to the bridge position for the solo is hard to say. The DS1 or DS2 has a different character with the single coil pickup over the bridge pickup humbuckers with the Super JB or Hot-rail.
Dudes making me ill with all this camera movement. Steady man....steady
Nailed it big man
Good video! Keep it up
Nice video!
Thanks for watching!
Have a most fantastic day!🎸
Thanks for watching 🙏🙏
i think youre confusing the bridge pickup with the dimarizio super distortion with the jb in desc
The Mustang Kurt used in the Live and Loud had the Super JB
The black strat had a super JB
The 5 strats he used to smash at the end of the shows were Mexican strats with Hot Rails, they were the throwaways
The Jag had a super distortion which was apparently changed to a JB after the Nevermind tours.
I’ll try to find and post links on or scan the guitar mags I have, it will take me a while, there is so much info.
We have here the Kurt Japanese Jaguar with the Super distortion, a mex strat with the Hotrail and my son has just installed the JB in his competition Mustang. The JB sounds the best and closest to Kurts tone in our opinion .
When we get the time , we will do a vid with the Mustang.
I could be wrong, and there could be some incorrect information out there but I will try to confirm what is above , sorry if it is confusing.🙏
Thanks for watching🙏🙏🍺 🎸
@@gavinpavlina Yeah Yeah thats fine i was wondering if the sh4 jb is called super jb, anyways thanks for clearing the doubt
Hi Mirata,
That’s the one. SH4 . It has a really nice tone.
I’m really lucky that my son is a Nirvana freak like me, so have some choice what instrument to play. You won’t regret buying a JB.
Have an awesome day🙏🙏🎸👍😀
If you buy one, please let me know what you think of it.
@@gavinpavlina ok! sure, do you have any opinions on the TB-6 trembucker
I haven’t played or heard one with my own ears. Sorry. 🙏🎸
Hey man have u got any idea on how to get his reading festival guitar tone?
Hey Bunface, I think the Lithium tone at Reading was probably the best there was.
On the DVD , it only really shows the Small Clone and the DS2 in the line, the Amp in the rack looks to be the Boogie.
I guess it is just super cranked.
On my Boogie DC3 , I use the clean channel.
I have the mid at 9 , bass at 2, treble at 7.
Gain at 4.
DS2 tone at 11 o’clock.
Small clone depth switch on and rate depending on whether or not it is a reissue or original small clone. Original rate is around 11 o’clock and reissue is around 9:30.
All other settings depend upon where you are playing and how much you want a happy relationship with neighbours.
All the settings above sound close on my amp, with my ears and all amps are really different , but the settings above should get you closer.
Thanks for watching 🎸🙏
To all you people out there saying that you NEED either Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio pickups: no you don't. In fact, those will barely even make a difference. If you got a good humbucker installed, you're good to go.
It's all in the amps.
cool shirrrttt
maybe you could try dimarzio super distortion pickup, sounds exactly like nirvana if not better than the seymour duncan. But as a fan of nirvana, u should use always seymour duncan, except for the jaguar
I’ve got the Di-Mario Super Distortion in my Jaguar and in my Chavel Strat in the Czech Republic. They sound great too however my son just put a Seymour Duncan Super JB in his Mustang. That’s probably the closest sound to Kurts , I think Kurt had one on his black Strat.
I might make a video on the difference between all 3 pick-ups thru the Mesa Boogie and with and without the Small Clone and DS2.
Thanks for watching 🙏🎸😀🤘
Doese anyone know how to get the clean tone to live at reading on a mustang amp?
More guitar playing
good job let's do video together
Absolutely, that could be awesome fun!
Can you sing or play bass??🙏
@@gavinpavlina ok when ?
@@gavinpavlina :) no why
It doesn’t matter😂. I can barely play guitar but I give it a go 🙏
When do you want a to do a video?
I can’t drive right now, I opened the bar already 🍺😂
hahaha was a God when it came to play guitar..........there were a few times when he played properly without hitting wrong chords and notes.
And why do you sound out of breath? 🤣