GuitarDistortedRiff
Territorial Pissings (Remastered) Guitar Tone Settings — Nirvana
Nirvana · 1990s · punk
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Fender Japanese Stratocaster (likely 1989-1991, black, with single-coil pickups, possibly swapped bridge humbucker, but for this song likely stock single-coil)
Pickups
Fender single-coil (stock Japanese Stratocaster pickups, possibly bridge position)
Amp
Direct to mixing console (no amp used on studio recording, distortion from pedal and console overdrive)
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording for 'Nevermind' (1991); for 'Territorial Pissings' riff, Kurt Cobain plugged his Japanese Stratocaster directly into the mixing board using a ProCo RAT distortion pedal. No amp or amp-based effects were used. This is confirmed by multiple sources and interviews with Butch Vig.
Amp Settings
Mids6
Bass5
Gain9
Reverb0
Treble7
Presence5.5
Effects Chain
- ProCo RAT Distortion · distortion
Fender Japanese Stratocaster → ProCo RAT Distortion → Mixing Console (no amp, no reverb)
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Tone Character
- extremely aggressive and raw
- abrasive fuzz/distortion
- bright and cutting
- piercing upper mids
- lo-fi and punk-inspired
- intentionally harsh and blown-out
- no ambience or reverb
- compressed and saturated
- direct and in-your-face
- chaotic and energetic