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Pennyroyal Tea Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Nirvana
Nirvana · 1990s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Fender Mustang (left-handed, early 1970s, likely Competition Blue)
Pickups
Stock Fender single-coil pickups
Amp
Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp into Crown power amp and Marshall 4x12 cabinets
Pickup Position
Neck pickup
Studio recording, 1993, In Utero sessions at Pachyderm Studio. Clean tone sections (verses) likely used the Mustang's neck pickup and the Mesa/Boogie preamp set for a clean sound. No evidence of pedals or effects in the clean section; distortion pedals (SansAmp, DS-2) were used for heavy parts only.
Amp Settings
Mids7.5
Bass6
Gain0
Reverb1
Treble6
Presence5
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Tone Character
- warm and rounded
- clear and articulate
- slightly compressed
- dynamic and percussive
- minimal breakup
- subtle amp reverb
- no modulation or delay
- neck pickup fullness
- open, unprocessed sound
- medium attack
Notes & Caveats
- Gain adjusted to 0 for clean tone
- No direct numeric amp settings for the clean section found in sources; settings estimated based on Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp typical clean use and genre/era.
- No evidence of pedals or modulation effects used in the clean (verse) section; chorus, flanger, and delay are not audible.
- Sources confirm Mustang and Mesa/Boogie preamp for In Utero, but do not specify exact pickup or knob positions for 'Pennyroyal Tea' clean section.
- Amp reverb is faintly audible but not prominent; estimated at low setting.
- If alternate guitars (Jaguar, Strat) were used, they are not confirmed for this specific clean section.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Kurt Cobain's 'Pennyroyal Tea' riff tone is mid-forward, gritty, and raw, reflecting his typical use of a cranked preamp (often a DS-1/DS-2 or Big Muff into a clean-ish amp), with moderate gain, boosted mids, and restrained treble. The In Utero production is dry with little to no reverb, and the amp settings favor a punchy, aggressive, but not overly scooped sound.