Nirvana Tone: Saturday Night Live - Smells Like Teen Spirit

When I first discovered Nirvana, I watched this performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit countless times. Those 5 min are etched into my psyche and will always be one of my favorite recorded clips of the band. It took place on 01/11/92, and that is also a monumentally important date in Nirvana and music history. Nevermind hit #1 on the Billboard charts that same day. Kurt Cobain would later skip the SNL afterparty and overdose that night, almost dying on the very day his band took over the charts. 01/11/92 could arguably be seen as the day Nirvana and the “Seattle grunge sound“ officially took over the mainstream. This is my attempt at recreating Kurt Cobain saturated and biting tone from that historic performance. Gear used: Fender Kurt Cobain Signature Jaguar (roadworn) Boss DS-2 Distortion Electro Harmonix Small Clone Eleven Rack for clean amp sound 0:00 - Side by side tone comparison clips 1:21 - Full song cover with backing track 6:07 - Gear Settings Vandalism Strat Stickers - use coupon code “nirvanaguitars“ to get 2 for the price of 1: Lomic Guitars - Where I got my custom 2021 Jag-Stang Pickguard: My amazon storefront where you can buy parts/gear Kurt used: Learn Nirvana songs with Fender Play! :1101lpoaU Follow me on instagram at @nirvanaguitars Check out my progressive punk band at Check out my acoustic project at Song clip heard at the end of the video is the instrumental jam from Nirvana’s 02/07/92 show at Selina’s in Sydney, Australia.