GuitarCleanRiff80% confidence
Rape Me Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Nirvana
Nirvana · 1990s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Fender Stratocaster Left Handed (1992-1993, 'Lithium Stratocaster')
Pickups
Seymour Duncan Hot Rails (bridge), stock single coils (neck/middle)
Amp
Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp into Crown Power Base 2 or Crest Audio 4801 Poweramp (In Utero era studio setup)
Pickup Position
Neck pickup
Studio recording, 1993, In Utero sessions. Guitar is the white left-handed Stratocaster with Hot Rails bridge pickup, but clean sections likely used neck or middle pickup. No evidence of aluminum guitar or Mustang for clean riff. No pedal distortion for clean part.
Amp Settings
Mids7
Bass5.5
Gain0
Reverb1
Treble6.5
Presence5.5
Tone Matcher
Match This Tone to Your Gear
Tell us your guitar and amp — we’ll calculate the exact settings translated to your specific rig.
Adapt to MY Gear →7-day free trial · Cancel anytime.
Tone Character
- bright and glassy
- clear note separation
- slightly compressed attack
- minimal breakup
- articulate and open
- dynamic response to picking
- subtle amp reverb
- unprocessed and raw
- classic 90s alternative clean
- no audible modulation
Notes & Caveats
- Gain adjusted to 0 for clean tone
- No direct source for exact amp knob settings for the clean section; settings estimated based on typical Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp clean tones and genre/era.
- No evidence of pedals or modulation effects used for the clean riff section; chorus/flanger/delay not audible or cited for this part.
- Pickup position inferred from typical clean tone and Stratocaster usage; most likely neck pickup for glassy clean.
- Some sources mention aluminum guitars for overdubs, but not for the main clean riff.
- No evidence of amp reverb settings; reverb estimated low based on dry, direct studio sound.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Kurt Cobain's 'Rape Me' tone is mid-forward, crunchy but not high-gain, with a raw, dry sound typical of his 90s Marshall (DS-1 into a JCM800) setup; the mids are pushed for punch, bass and treble are moderate, and reverb is absent as on most In Utero tracks.