For all those who say this is nothing like nirvana: Thanks for the feedback - I'll admit, to try and isolate the guitar from the tracks we chose was near impossible. I'd say the cleans were easier and in my opinion sounded really close. But the distortion tones really were us taking shots in the dark, it was SO hard!!! Gear wise. Everyone has a different opinion on what he used, and it's fair to say, he used loads of stuff, so this really was a video by request because so many people asked. Thanks to all for watching, but also, bare in mind just how difficult it is to sound exactly like an isolated guitar track with no double tracking, drums and bass to help. I guarantee if any of you dudes fancy giving it a bash, you'll agree wth us, It's bloody hard!
+Rabea Massaad It's also worth noting that we don't know what exactly was done in the studio to get those sounds. Distorted tones were a little off, but as a whole your rig is definitely gig-worthy.
I think you nailed the clean. Check a video online of When they recorded nevermind , he recorded the dirty section with a couple different amps at the same time. I think the cool part about this is that a person maybe looking to get gear in a certain style that this bands play, you can see gear that can fit those style in a good budget. You guys are doing great in my opinion
Kurt using only crappy gear is kind of a misconception. Kurt had some extremely nice high-end gear, from top of the line Marshall and Fender amps, to custom Fender mustangs, jaguars, stratocasters and hell, even the jagstang which was made almost entirely for him. The cheap pawn shop guitars were mostly junkers bought for the sole purpose of destroying them at the end of performances. Now yes, when he was young and during the early years of Nirvana he used lower end guitars and a lot of famous Nirvana hits were written on them, however from the later Bleach era, all the way through to the end, he used a lot of expensive equipment.
his studio sound on nevermind and in utero was achieved with 3 guitars that he babied--while that logic applied to his live stuff, in studio he had a particular taste in guitars that he cared for
To answer everyone's questions about why people are saying it doesn't sound righ, they shouldn't have scooped the mids on the amp, since american tones don't have too many mids in order to counter that kurt would boost the mids almost all the way. Also they should've turned the distortion on the ds-1 all the way up and the tone to 11. Also, no chorus on lithium. But I still think they got close and I always love these guys, great video!
The tiny amount of chorus on the guitar on Lithium was added after the recording in the mixing stages. There's some subtle panning and several milliseconds of delay on a copied track to widen the. sound to bring that "chorus" sound out.
He originally used a DS-1, I believe it was stolen, he then procured a new DS-1. Problem was the new version of the DS-1 had been updated and a critical IC that existed in the original DS-1 had been removed by Boss and it therefore didn't sound the same and he wasn't impressed with it. He then found out that the DS-2 had that IC re-installed into it, so when you switched the gain switch into Hi-Mode he was able to achieve the original sound of his first DS-1. I own this pedal, the DS-2. I also own a Kurt Cobain Jaguar and a Fender Mustang LT-25 amplifier, which I have set to the "Fender Clean" mode and I am able to replicate the sound perfectly, 100% identical. And I also own a Boss CE-2 Chorus pedal, for the chorus effect. My budget came to $2400 AUD which is approximately 1250 pounds.
While he used a Mesa preamp (clean) live, and on the the Nevermind album in the studio, he frequently used Fender twins. I know this is old, I wonder if you look back and wonder why you didnt use a fender amp?
Whenever I go to my great grandad's house we play guitar together through his old fender twin reverb. That thing is loud literally even before it gets to one.
+Doomguy Sound like Lil' Wayne? Get a pricier version of a Casio keyboard and an auto tune modifier.............you can sound like any damn pop musician! And yes Lil Wayne is pop. Pop is short for popular...........even Metallica is pop tho that was before auto tune went into every aspect of sound coming out. If you are popular, you are pop..........short and simple............whether metal or country or whatever. but if you are popular enough to be on the radio and be there pretty regularly...........you are POP. Being popular doesn't mean you aren't authentic, or any other adjectives associated with it, however, that's for each listener to judge. POP doesn't mean your art isn't authentic. There's a difference between being a POP artist and being a construct of the music industry (Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Menudo, NKOTB, Katy Perry). Those groups are constructed by a producer with an image and a lot of talented musicians and producers and technicians who get no credit for the sake of a physically attractive (and usually incapable of carrying a tune in a bucket) individual. That's phony music. Being popular doesn't automatically mean you are phony. Look behind what's going on. Lil Wayne and those like him are a joke.
Not bad! But Kurt didn't use Jag's or Mustangs in the studio, just live. In the studio he used strats with a bridge humbucker, as suggested by his recording engineers as the Strat has the longer scale, the thought was longer scale = bigger sound with better sustain. Also, for the Lithium riff you used the neck pickup, Kurt wouldn't ever use the neck pickup. He had his switches taped down to bridge position with gaffers tape. I'm curious about the need to get the "American" sound out of the amp as he often used Marshall both in and out of the studio, but maybe because he used the boogie pre-amp is why you guys went for the American amp sound. Some of the riffs were a bit too "fancy" of an interpretation. Less was more with Kurt. Man if only he was still with us. Cool vid, can tell you guys are fans as well!
River City he defiantly used his jaguar on nevermind, but yes he mostly did use strats But he did not use any strats on In Utero, or at least not frequently Bleach was a epiphone s type and a univox hiflier
As a big Nirvana fan, I experimented for years to obtain THE sound. :-) Basically : the key to Kurt Cobain's guitar sound is a massively loud clean amp with heaps of clean headroom and a Boss DS1 or DS2 . I could never understand why people go for gainy amps to obtain Kurts sound. It just doesn't work. With that in mind : a Blackstar isn't really the best choice. I also never understood why people are so fixed on using a Mesa Boogie. True : his live rig after the release of Nevermind was composed of a Boogie studio 22 with several Power amps like a Crown, but his main studio and practice amp was an old Fender Twin Reverb. That's the sound hear on "Bleach", most of "Nevermind" and "In utero". Thrust me on this. For recording Nevermind, he used a Fender Bassman for "Lithium" and a Vox AC30 for some clean tracks. For everything else : Twin Reverb If a Twin Reverb is a bit too loud for use at home, i got close using a 22W Fender Deluxe Reverb at lower Volumes. Pedals : - Boss DS-1 or DS2 (they got that right) - EHX Small Clone (Why use the Boss Chorus ?) - Tech 21 Sansamp for those "In Utero" tones (he used a Classic, I have a GT-2). Just listen to "Heartshaped Box" and you'll hear the Tech21.
Stephane Peeters He used the Mesa Boogie on both Nevermind and In Utero, two different twin reverbs where used on Bleach and In Utero. He DID NOT use the Twin on Nevermind whatsoever. But apart from that your basically right. Any American style clean amp with a Boss DS-2 and a high output humbucker guitar will get you very close. It’s that simple.
It does make me laugh that someone who famously played “whatever” particularly in the early days, such as Cobain, that people obsess with the gear he used. Those Univoxes he played sell for thousands now. He even used an Epiphone at one point. They used the wrong chorus pedal, and not the amp he used, but who cares? Create your own sound. For every overpriced guitar or pedal (have you seen the price of the Cobain Signature Jaguar?!) there’s a far cheaper version that you can mess about with and get yourself close to it.
personally i would've chosen Fender Player Jazzmaster HH (it's a cheaper option than the jag with twin humbuckers) Fender Champion 100 Boss DS1 Boss DS2 (mainly for the In Utero era songs0 EHX Small Clone EHX Big Muff (i think he used one of these though i could be wrong) Jam Pedals Rattler (cos he used a Pro-Co Rat for one song which i forgot which)
All the grunge bands were actually pretty different. Nirvana is basically a new wave post punk band with heavy metal tones. Pearl jam is a 70's Neil Young/The Who/Zeppelin type of thing with a punk energy. Alice In Chains is pretty much heavy/hair metal with bluesy vocals. Soundgarden is post punk bluesy zeppelin heavy metal thing. Etc.. "Grunge" is just a marketing label. Nirvana and i.e. AIC shouldn't really belong in the same musica category, imo, they sound nothing alike.
It was only discontinued 2 months ago, mid September 2019, I purchased mine 3 months before. It took 5 months to get through Australian customs, something to do with the rosewood fretboard. I ordered it in June of 2019, 3 months later it was discontinued, 2 months after that I got finally got order delivered.
Kurt used a very famous black Stratocaster with a sticker with "Vandalism is as beautiful as a rock in a cops face". This is the guitar he had on the European leg of the Nevermind tour and the one he used at the Reading festival and in "Top of the pops". Nirvana was the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place.
+Connor Beaumont It reacts differently to different amps. On some it will sound okay but on others it will just be a mess. Also, Kurt most likely did a few modifications to his pedal (it works, and does wonders for the pedal) but the one they're using in the video is most likely just a vanilla pedal.
+Connor Beaumont I don't think they're turning the distortion all the way up for one, which is key to Cobains tone. Honestly they made getting his tone seem much harder than it really is. The key is that Boss distortion.
Pedals: Boss DS-1 / Boss DS-D2, Small Clone Chorus is what he used. On occasion he would use a phase-90 (maybe one song), Tech21 Sans Amp OD/Distrtion, poly chorus, a Big Muff and a ProCo Rat on certain songs or more likely in the studio. But the core of his sound is a Boss DS-1 and later Boss DS-2 and a Small Clone Chorus. He started with DS-1 but later switched to the DS-2. Boss DS-1 or DS-2 and the Electro-Harmonics Small Clone Chorus pedals were his go to for his sound that he used ALL the time for live performances. There are pictures of his pedalboard all over the internet that always have these two pedals in them and interviews of his tech people and bandmates saying what his gear is. He also had a Grunge pedal on his board as a joke.
You guys could make some real money by taking these rigs and selling them as a bundle to sound like certain player. Lower the overall cost a little bit and there ya go your makin money and people are happy. BTW sound like Jake E. Lee!
Jack Boulter that's a good idea. My local shop when I lived in Hull would do something similar with guitars, pedals and amps which worked well together. Having an artist inspired series would be even better.
Ok so sell a note pad and pen and you can write like Shakespeare. Most punters are self taught bedroom players whereas Rabea is a pro. Massive difference.
NOPE You underestimate Rabea’s talent. He could do most of these Sound Likes using exactly the same gear. Guthrie Govan has done exactly that. This is a store video so clearly the aim of the exercise is to market gear to GAS obsessed individuals like myself!
I know, he had a strat with a dimarzio super distotion in the neck and a seymour ducan treblebucker in the neck. He plug into a Mesa boogie, and he turn the gain up. His guitar was modded, so that when he turn down the volume on his guitar, he still retain his tone.
He actually recorded most of the early stuff on Rick Ocasek's Les Pauls. One was a normal Les Paul with humbuckers, the other was a double cut Les Paul Jr with a P90.
Old Rickenbackers, ES-335's and vintage Marshall. Hell yeah. I reckon it's doable for under £1000 so these guys could probably make a big, loud Beatles rig for £1500.
@CassetteSkullMan And they also barely used 335s. Paperback Writer used a WEM Pep Rush fuzz, Think For Yourself used a Tone Bender, a Bass VI was used on Dig A Pony for the rhythm part, Revolution was direct into the mixer, which you could do with a Color Box, several songs used the Fuzz setting on a Vox hybrid amp, Across The Universe had wah, While My Guitar Gently Weeps has flanger, and you could possibly get a Ravish Sitar for some songs.
Bass part (Krist Novoselic): -Nirvana was a power trio which played strong rock. The bass should be like a base for the guitar, so Krist used basses with power and thick tone like Gibsons. Epiphone Thunderbird is the best choice for a low budget, if you can get it, the PRO-IV one -Hartke HD 75, some standard bass amp. Set it with powerfull mids -Krist Novoselic used guitar distorsion pedals like MXR or Boss
You nailed it. At the end of the day, Nirvana was pretty much of a punk rock band. So yeah, their sound was pretty fuzzy but if you look a little bit deeper, you can see how those guitar riffs were brilliant and very hard to compose. Nirvana's sound is technically easy but the melody behind it and the fact that it end ups being super-catchy make Nirvana's sound be unique in the history of music.
+shitstain001 I know the gear he used (RIckenbackers, semi-hollow Gibsons, Les Pauls, Jags, etc. through Fender amps), I just want to hear how close they can get. Also, hopefully people are aren't aware of Mr. Marr's sound will watch the video and become wisened.
Thank you guys for doing this, i really like the "Sound Like" format and you are doing a great job emulating the tones. Regrading the video: You really should have used the Electro Harmonix Small Clone, this and the Boss DS-1/DS-2 were Kurts favourite pedals. The Boss CE-5 is not a bad pedal but the Small Clone has the Nirvana vibe.
Fender Telecaster through a Vox AC30 with your favorite Delay, Tremolo, and Envelope Filter/Auto-Wah pedals. That'll get you through most of their library.
Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster - £450 Marshall Origin ORI20C - £450 EHX Nano Big Muff - £65 ZVEX Box of Rock - £200 Ibanez FL Mini Flanger - £100 Dunlop Wah - £76 Boss RV6 - £150 that should get close for the guitar end of things
For anyone actually wondering, I can't recall Kurt's amps (but they matter least due to the spontaneousity of his rigs), but a DS-1 for Bleach / Nevermind tours sound, DS-2 without turbo for post that, Electro Harmonix Small Clone for chorus, EH Polychorus for songs like Radio Friendly or Heart Shaped Boxes solo, and Guitar; the most important one; He adored Fender Mustangs and Fender Jaguars, each with DiMarzio super distortions in the bridge, preferably. My setup, costing very, very little is a Squier Mustang with the fore mentioned DM Super Dist. , DS-1 tone at 12oclock with Dist. and level at max, and a cheap ass micro amp which sounds cheap and awesome when pushed to its limits.
In Utero gear: Fender Twin Reverb, Tech 21 Classic Sansamp, Boss DS2, EH Small Clone chorus, EH Polychorus Guitar in general: small scale 24” Fender with typically Seymour Duncan JB bridge pickup Tech 21 Sansamp was main source of distortion
Yes! I've wanted this for so long! I hope they do stuff especially with all the weird things jonny greenwood does. It would be cool to see their take on it.
It's true but he has many more things that you can still get your hands on, and also they're probably not gonna get it exactly like him anyway, they're gonna have to keep it under budget and use things that he didn't use but work for the sound and the money.
That was not the point of the video. It was "sound like nirvana" not "play like nirvana". Just showcasing Kurt's tone, under a budget that is. Nothing other than that.
I understand. It could be due to copyright reasons. Or like you said, they're probably not huge nirvana fans. This is just a video trying to replicate tone. His version of tool/slipknot were also a bit off. But mostly the tone was spot on.
I turned my gain all the way up and I turned the distortion all the way up on the boss ds-1 stander next to my amp in about30 seconds I had feedback I am really happy now.
Amps: Kurt's big love that another said that the Fender Twin was his big love is so very true. Even on Mtv Unplugged he insisted upon having his Fender Twin and they disguised it by creating a painted wooden box to make it look like a monitor but it was in fact his Fender Twin Reverb. Later in his career he would add a mesa boobie preamp. He also had a Sans Amp on his board too. He did play on Vox once or twice or so and others like a Randall and he used Mesa Boogie pre-amps in the later years.. But his main Amplifier was the Fender. He also used Marshall cabs but had tape put on thier logo as he had a disdain for the Marshall glam metal image of the 80's. Kurt was very frugal as he did not have a lot of money to spend on gear. Even when he did starting to get money he was very frugal. When he started breaking his guitars on stage ala Pete Townsend it would be usually ones that are cheap and he was not attached to much and that was near the end of the set and he would trade his favoured guitar for one of the cheap ones to be sacrificed.
Almost nailed the clean sound. Kind of surprised that the Blackstar could do that. I would gone with a Fender amp. The crunch could use some fine tuning however. It sounded too ragged. Perhaps turn the gain up some more and drop the highs a bit and add some mids.
I think you nailed the clean sound pretty well, but when you switched over to distortion it sounded just a bit off. All things considered though not bad.
For all those who say this is nothing like nirvana:
Thanks for the feedback - I'll admit, to try and isolate the guitar from the tracks we chose was near impossible. I'd say the cleans were easier and in my opinion sounded really close. But the distortion tones really were us taking shots in the dark, it was SO hard!!!
Gear wise. Everyone has a different opinion on what he used, and it's fair to say, he used loads of stuff, so this really was a video by request because so many people asked.
Thanks to all for watching, but also, bare in mind just how difficult it is to sound exactly like an isolated guitar track with no double tracking, drums and bass to help.
I guarantee if any of you dudes fancy giving it a bash, you'll agree wth us, It's bloody hard!
+Rabea Massaad www.kurtsequipment.com/
+Rabea Massaad It's also worth noting that we don't know what exactly was done in the studio to get those sounds. Distorted tones were a little off, but as a whole your rig is definitely gig-worthy.
+Rabea Massaad Thank you guys for at least trying, that Heart Shaped Box tone without the pedal was spot on though!
I think you nailed the clean. Check a video online of When they recorded nevermind , he recorded the dirty section with a couple different amps at the same time.
I think the cool part about this is that a person maybe looking to get gear in a certain style that this bands play, you can see gear that can fit those style in a good budget.
You guys are doing great in my opinion
There was a Boss DS2 in the effect display, so the distortion pedal was at your fingertips
The clean tone you guys used on teen spirit sounded just like studio to me.
Agreed!
Didn’t to me because it was mixed
@@deanlessiter1846 wot
Gentleman1S3 Twitch Highlights nevermind was mixed in a recording studio so it won’t sound the same moron
@@deanlessiter1846 you my good sir are the only moron here, obviously it won't be mixed
The funny thing is even "not breaking the bank" you probably have nicer gear than what Cobain used.
He used a Bassman in the Studio so not really.
The guy had some sweet gear.
He got free guitars from Fender whenever he wanted them so lets not romanticize his minimal rig overly much.
They sound nothing like em.
Kurt using only crappy gear is kind of a misconception. Kurt had some extremely nice high-end gear, from top of the line Marshall and Fender amps, to custom Fender mustangs, jaguars, stratocasters and hell, even the jagstang which was made almost entirely for him. The cheap pawn shop guitars were mostly junkers bought for the sole purpose of destroying them at the end of performances. Now yes, when he was young and during the early years of Nirvana he used lower end guitars and a lot of famous Nirvana hits were written on them, however from the later Bleach era, all the way through to the end, he used a lot of expensive equipment.
i would like to see a by busting bank of this
Nathan Boone that's funny because kurt normally used trashed guitars. He said that they fit the sound he wanted best.
Brandon Garvick yeah but it would be cool seeing the fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar plugged into a messa boogie
his studio sound on nevermind and in utero was achieved with 3 guitars that he babied--while that logic applied to his live stuff, in studio he had a particular taste in guitars that he cared for
He also used a different amp setup in the studio then live.
and the studio guitars were layered like all hell too...
Squier Jaguar, Boss distortion, Electro Harmonix Chorus, Marshall Amps...easy...
exactly what i was thinking.
+Jacob Wilson there was no need to go crazy, it's easy to emulate tones if you know how to do it
+Ghost_Vinyl_Media58 it really didn't sound that good to me either, in this video... :S
yuck Marshall
a giggable marshall within the budget??
3:17 "all right I'll just walk through here, well i guess not"
That's too funny
To answer everyone's questions about why people are saying it doesn't sound righ, they shouldn't have scooped the mids on the amp, since american tones don't have too many mids in order to counter that kurt would boost the mids almost all the way. Also they should've turned the distortion on the ds-1 all the way up and the tone to 11. Also, no chorus on lithium. But I still think they got close and I always love these guys, great video!
Right*
Lithium used chorus. It was reeeeally subtle, but it was there
The tiny amount of chorus on the guitar on Lithium was added after the recording in the mixing stages. There's some subtle panning and several milliseconds of delay on a copied track to widen the. sound to bring that "chorus" sound out.
tone all the up? Christ no. I own one of these pedals and tone even half way sounds like ass because it's ear splitting treble
they mean tone at 11 o clock which sounds about right
there was a DS 1 there just calling out to you
instantly answered, disregard!
Don’t forget Kurt used DS2 as well. Having heard both I prefer DS1 tho.
Rob Crickard when he used the DS-2 he used it the same way as his DS-1, I think he switched because he lost or broke his DS-1
I remember reading something about Kurt giving his DS-1 to Krist
He originally used a DS-1, I believe it was stolen, he then procured a new DS-1. Problem was the new version of the DS-1 had been updated and a critical IC that existed in the original DS-1 had been removed by Boss and it therefore didn't sound the same and he wasn't impressed with it. He then found out that the DS-2 had that IC re-installed into it, so when you switched the gain switch into Hi-Mode he was able to achieve the original sound of his first DS-1. I own this pedal, the DS-2. I also own a Kurt Cobain Jaguar and a Fender Mustang LT-25 amplifier, which I have set to the "Fender Clean" mode and I am able to replicate the sound perfectly, 100% identical. And I also own a Boss CE-2 Chorus pedal, for the chorus effect. My budget came to $2400 AUD which is approximately 1250 pounds.
*how to smell like teen spirit*
Get the deodorant (not sure if Anderton's stocks it though)
Go to the skatepark, shower every 2 days and live off hot pockets
But the deodorant.
Blake J ramen*
Sweat
Just sweat a lot
I'd love to see Sound like Joy Division!
yes
YES!!!
PLEASE
yes!!!
Hell yes, especially if they include peter hook
kurt liked a very clean amp, the twin reverb was his biggest love.
Everyone loves a twin :-)
While he used a Mesa preamp (clean) live, and on the the Nevermind album in the studio, he frequently used Fender twins. I know this is old, I wonder if you look back and wonder why you didnt use a fender amp?
goeie username whaha
Whenever I go to my great grandad's house we play guitar together through his old fender twin reverb. That thing is loud literally even before it gets to one.
@@Mikenperu Fender Twin 65 reissued is only 22 watts " not gigable .🎸
1. Buy a shit guitar that comes with a $20 amp
2. Smash it
3. Repeat
Sound like lil Wayne
yess
+Doomguy lol
+Doomguy LMAO!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!
You need a rat and a tennis ball
hit the rat with the tennis ball until you hear the desired sound
+Doomguy Sound like Lil' Wayne? Get a pricier version of a Casio keyboard and an auto tune modifier.............you can sound like any damn pop musician! And yes Lil Wayne is pop. Pop is short for popular...........even Metallica is pop tho that was before auto tune went into every aspect of sound coming out. If you are popular, you are pop..........short and simple............whether metal or country or whatever. but if you are popular enough to be on the radio and be there pretty regularly...........you are POP. Being popular doesn't mean you aren't authentic, or any other adjectives associated with it, however, that's for each listener to judge. POP doesn't mean your art isn't authentic. There's a difference between being a POP artist and being a construct of the music industry (Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Menudo, NKOTB, Katy Perry). Those groups are constructed by a producer with an image and a lot of talented musicians and producers and technicians who get no credit for the sake of a physically attractive (and usually incapable of carrying a tune in a bucket) individual. That's phony music. Being popular doesn't automatically mean you are phony. Look behind what's going on. Lil Wayne and those like him are a joke.
Not bad! But Kurt didn't use Jag's or Mustangs in the studio, just live. In the studio he used strats with a bridge humbucker, as suggested by his recording engineers as the Strat has the longer scale, the thought was longer scale = bigger sound with better sustain. Also, for the Lithium riff you used the neck pickup, Kurt wouldn't ever use the neck pickup. He had his switches taped down to bridge position with gaffers tape. I'm curious about the need to get the "American" sound out of the amp as he often used Marshall both in and out of the studio, but maybe because he used the boogie pre-amp is why you guys went for the American amp sound. Some of the riffs were a bit too "fancy" of an interpretation. Less was more with Kurt. Man if only he was still with us. Cool vid, can tell you guys are fans as well!
River City Kurt used his Jaguar to record In Utero.
River City he defiantly used his jaguar on nevermind, but yes he mostly did use strats
But he did not use any strats on In Utero, or at least not frequently
Bleach was a epiphone s type and a univox hiflier
He used Mustang and Jaguar In Utero. Strats used In Nevermind(Breed, Territorial Pissings and Endless Nameless)
Leo Suarez he definite used a jaguar on NVM
Zuma Cannnon. And Nevermind
As a big Nirvana fan, I experimented for years to obtain THE sound. :-)
Basically : the key to Kurt Cobain's guitar sound is a massively loud clean amp with heaps of clean headroom and a Boss DS1 or DS2 . I could never understand why people go for gainy amps to obtain Kurts sound. It just doesn't work. With that in mind : a Blackstar isn't really the best choice.
I also never understood why people are so fixed on using a Mesa Boogie. True : his live rig after the release of Nevermind was composed of a Boogie studio 22 with several Power amps like a Crown, but his main studio and practice amp was an old Fender Twin Reverb. That's the sound hear on "Bleach", most of "Nevermind" and "In utero". Thrust me on this. For recording Nevermind, he used a Fender Bassman for "Lithium" and a Vox AC30 for some clean tracks. For everything else : Twin Reverb
If a Twin Reverb is a bit too loud for use at home, i got close using a 22W Fender Deluxe Reverb at lower Volumes.
Pedals :
- Boss DS-1 or DS2 (they got that right)
- EHX Small Clone (Why use the Boss Chorus ?)
- Tech 21 Sansamp for those "In Utero" tones (he used a Classic, I have a GT-2). Just listen to "Heartshaped Box" and you'll hear the Tech21.
Stephane Peeters He used the Mesa Boogie on both Nevermind and In Utero, two different twin reverbs where used on Bleach and In Utero. He DID NOT use the Twin on Nevermind whatsoever. But apart from that your basically right. Any American style clean amp with a Boss DS-2 and a high output humbucker guitar will get you very close. It’s that simple.
It does make me laugh that someone who famously played “whatever” particularly in the early days, such as Cobain, that people obsess with the gear he used. Those Univoxes he played sell for thousands now. He even used an Epiphone at one point.
They used the wrong chorus pedal, and not the amp he used, but who cares?
Create your own sound. For every overpriced guitar or pedal (have you seen the price of the Cobain Signature Jaguar?!) there’s a far cheaper version that you can mess about with and get yourself close to it.
personally i would've chosen
Fender Player Jazzmaster HH (it's a cheaper option than the jag with twin humbuckers)
Fender Champion 100
Boss DS1
Boss DS2 (mainly for the In Utero era songs0
EHX Small Clone
EHX Big Muff (i think he used one of these though i could be wrong)
Jam Pedals Rattler (cos he used a Pro-Co Rat for one song which i forgot which)
Yup and he also used chorus pedal not the one he has here@@KeeperOfPoops
All the grunge bands were actually pretty different. Nirvana is basically a new wave post punk band with heavy metal tones. Pearl jam is a 70's Neil Young/The Who/Zeppelin type of thing with a punk energy. Alice In Chains is pretty much heavy/hair metal with bluesy vocals. Soundgarden is post punk bluesy zeppelin heavy metal thing. Etc.. "Grunge" is just a marketing label. Nirvana and i.e. AIC shouldn't really belong in the same musica category, imo, they sound nothing alike.
exactly
Finally the TRUUUUTH!!!
I am a massive Grunge fan, but yes you're correct, many bands with many different sounds.
always thought nirvana kind of had post-punk vibes, especially with songs like come as you are, about a girl, and big cheese
definitely hate getting on nirvana or foo fighters playlists and the other artist never seem to be anywhere close in genre lol. maybe that's just me
smells like everyone doing this song for the rest of their lives
😂😂😂
+Gonzaa Rmt yeah ikr i get so frustrated when people only play that one song
let's hope
I'm sorry i cant stop
You guys should do Jerry Cantrel from Alice in Chains.
KrispyLegend69 YESSS! I've been commenting that same exact thing for the past month!!!
KrispyLegend69 Alice In Chains just came out 2 days ago :DDDD!!!
KrispyLegend69 that's tough cuz jerry is more about how you actually play the guitar. The attack and tonal patterns
kurt cobain is probably the most famous user of the small clone... Why did you use a boss chorus, that costs 30 quid more?
Ah a fellow Briton
Joseph Stalin go back to soviet union you commie
Well the small clone is a project just to change the battery in it, a boss pedal you just open the top, pop it in then close it.
The one screw is a bit of a mission.
Sean King how about a fucking power supply
They're only £20 or 30
Sound Like Tame Impala
They do make a Kurt Cobain signature guitar which ironically is like $1,000 I think.
Paul TheSkeptic yah, i think its his Jaguar signature that is super expensive.
Sean King The Mustang was 999 and it's great tbh. They discontinued it but I own one and highly recommend it.
Allmywhat I don't doubt that it's discontinued.
It was only discontinued 2 months ago, mid September 2019, I purchased mine 3 months before. It took 5 months to get through Australian customs, something to do with the rosewood fretboard. I ordered it in June of 2019, 3 months later it was discontinued, 2 months after that I got finally got order delivered.
In Australia it was originally $2799 AUD in the last six months of its production the price dropped to $2199 AUD.
Sound like Alice in Chains
Indeed
All they need is a wah
Jerry plays Les Pauls
+Jacob Nissan Jerry plays signature G&L's. Look up Jerry Cantrell Signature G&L (obviously).
+Jacob Nissan They would have a hell of a time choosing an amp at a decent price..
Kurt used a very famous black Stratocaster with a sticker with "Vandalism is as beautiful as a rock in a cops face". This is the guitar he had on the European leg of the Nevermind tour and the one he used at the Reading festival and in "Top of the pops".
Nirvana was the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place.
"Nirvana was the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place."
Me too...
Heres a good Kurt tone
Mustang 1 amp (on twin reverb setting)
EHX- Small clone (depth up, dial around 10 o'clock)
Boss- Ds2
Squire VM Jaguar
Didn't know you needed to break the bank to sound like Nirvana!
Rabea's face when he is playing heart shaped box
MrDefective his face: .. yea... yea that’s it.
i tested out that same jaguar earlier at guitar center. one of the greatest guitars i've ever played
theepicr rotmg I know right, I really want to buy one but my heart isn't sure if I should
There's something about that pedal's distortion that's just totally off
ikr?
+Connor Beaumont It reacts differently to different amps. On some it will sound okay but on others it will just be a mess. Also, Kurt most likely did a few modifications to his pedal (it works, and does wonders for the pedal) but the one they're using in the video is most likely just a vanilla pedal.
+Connor Beaumont I don't think they're turning the distortion all the way up for one, which is key to Cobains tone. Honestly they made getting his tone seem much harder than it really is. The key is that Boss distortion.
+Connor Beaumont nice last name
+The Unfunny Chameleon looks like the distortion is all the way up, but the tone knob is at 12. turn that shit up and it'll really start hissing
sound like lamb of god !
Yes!
yaaaas
+skobedigatch
In Flames
That would be amazing if they done that!
+skobedigatch It will be the DSL 40c again :'D
Sound like Smashing Pumpkins!!!!!
B I G M U F F
Sound Like Weezer!!!
"you can tell it's an 800 lbs. guitar." lol Now that is heavy!
£800
...damn
+ethan punto it's a joke fella
Justin Franco Oh lol duh
I think it's because England is like... closer to Jupiter or whatever... So things are a lot heavier there.....?
Pedals: Boss DS-1 / Boss DS-D2, Small Clone Chorus is what he used. On occasion he would use a phase-90 (maybe one song), Tech21 Sans Amp OD/Distrtion, poly chorus, a Big Muff and a ProCo Rat on certain songs or more likely in the studio. But the core of his sound is a Boss DS-1 and later Boss DS-2 and a Small Clone Chorus. He started with DS-1 but later switched to the DS-2. Boss DS-1 or DS-2 and the Electro-Harmonics Small Clone Chorus pedals were his go to for his sound that he used ALL the time for live performances. There are pictures of his pedalboard all over the internet that always have these two pedals in them and interviews of his tech people and bandmates saying what his gear is. He also had a Grunge pedal on his board as a joke.
3:18 when she hits you w “we need to talk”
We need something Kurt Cobain-Y *Puts down the guitar he used to play*
I know right XD
StonedHaze Records they don't know Kurt Cobain that well
How come? He never played jazzmasters
I can’t find this moment what guitar did he used to play
No the double humbucker jag was a good choice because that's the guitar he used. not a sunburst jazzmaster.
You guys could make some real money by taking these rigs and selling them as a bundle to sound like certain player. Lower the overall cost a little bit and there ya go your makin money and people are happy. BTW sound like Jake E. Lee!
Jack Boulter that's a good idea.
My local shop when I lived in Hull would do something similar with guitars, pedals and amps which worked well together. Having an artist inspired series would be even better.
This is an awesome idea, they should totally do this
Ok so sell a note pad and pen and you can write like Shakespeare. Most punters are self taught bedroom players whereas Rabea is a pro. Massive difference.
@@davids9192 what is your point? He isn't saying it'll make them good, people would just like to buy rigs that sound like their idols rigs
NOPE You underestimate Rabea’s talent. He could do most of these Sound Likes using exactly the same gear. Guthrie Govan has done exactly that. This is a store video so clearly the aim of the exercise is to market gear to GAS obsessed individuals like myself!
Do sound like weezer. It's actually a pretty hard tone to get perfectly.
I know how to make River Cuomo's sound, which is a big muff with graphics equalizer with the mids all the way up into a clean amp.
+SCRUBLORD FEDORA he didn't use any pedals for the old stuff
I know, he had a strat with a dimarzio super distotion in the neck and a seymour ducan treblebucker in the neck. He plug into a Mesa boogie, and he turn the gain up. His guitar was modded, so that when he turn down the volume on his guitar, he still retain his tone.
Also for the rig I made, I use a noise gate to cut some hiss and a stratocaster
He actually recorded most of the early stuff on Rick Ocasek's Les Pauls. One was a normal Les Paul with humbuckers, the other was a double cut Les Paul Jr with a P90.
Do a sound like video for the Beatles
Old Rickenbackers, ES-335's and vintage Marshall. Hell yeah. I reckon it's doable for under £1000 so these guys could probably make a big, loud Beatles rig for £1500.
@CassetteSkullMan And they also barely used 335s. Paperback Writer used a WEM Pep Rush fuzz, Think For Yourself used a Tone Bender, a Bass VI was used on Dig A Pony for the rhythm part, Revolution was direct into the mixer, which you could do with a Color Box, several songs used the Fuzz setting on a Vox hybrid amp, Across The Universe had wah, While My Guitar Gently Weeps has flanger, and you could possibly get a Ravish Sitar for some songs.
Sound like Pearl Jam!
Please!
Yes!
Do it
Yes!
Yessss🤘🏻 Some Stone!!!
Bass part (Krist Novoselic):
-Nirvana was a power trio which played strong rock. The bass should be like a base for the guitar, so Krist used basses with power and thick tone like Gibsons. Epiphone Thunderbird is the best choice for a low budget, if you can get it, the PRO-IV one
-Hartke HD 75, some standard bass amp. Set it with powerfull mids
-Krist Novoselic used guitar distorsion pedals like MXR or Boss
You nailed it. At the end of the day, Nirvana was pretty much of a punk rock band. So yeah, their sound was pretty fuzzy but if you look a little bit deeper, you can see how those guitar riffs were brilliant and very hard to compose. Nirvana's sound is technically easy but the melody behind it and the fact that it end ups being super-catchy make Nirvana's sound be unique in the history of music.
Spoiler: just buy your usual stratocaster based guitar and an amp with good gain... That's it
mr42ndstblvd give me a link to that! Now!
mr42ndstblvd i wanted a tele with the headstock already cutted. Well thanks anyways...
who uses an amp for gain?
@@chrissouthall411 marshall dudes
@@clicheguevara9917 LOL
i love that guy at 3:17 he`s like "heey... oh ok..."
Sound like ZZ Top!
Yesssssss!!!!
+Yanneck Mock YESSSSS!!!
+Yanneck Mock Step 1:Get humbuckers
Step 2: Get Marshally amp
Step 3: no treble, no presence, max out mid bass and resonnance
Setp 4: Profit
+Niny Gogy ZZ top use crate amplifiers, so there is a relatively inexpensive amp
+Niny Gogy they would have to go back to the Marshal Dsl 4 again
I'm still holding out for a "Sounds Like Johnny Marr" when I see that title on the Anderton's channel, my work is complete!
335, or a jag through a fender reverb with a absolute fuck ton of reverb
+Desmond Teague same. I've been asking for them to do it for months lol
+shitstain001 I know the gear he used (RIckenbackers, semi-hollow Gibsons, Les Pauls, Jags, etc. through Fender amps), I just want to hear how close they can get. Also, hopefully people are aren't aware of Mr. Marr's sound will watch the video and become wisened.
I would love to see this
Please, re-do this episode by busting the bank. Thanks you.
_They just go back and play all the gear from this video._
Thank you guys for doing this, i really like the "Sound Like" format and you are doing a great job emulating the tones.
Regrading the video: You really should have used the Electro Harmonix Small Clone, this and the Boss DS-1/DS-2 were Kurts favourite pedals. The Boss CE-5 is not a bad pedal but the Small Clone has the Nirvana vibe.
Sound like Jonny Greenwood!!!!!
YES
YES!!!
YES
Fender Telecaster through a Vox AC30 with your favorite Delay, Tremolo, and Envelope Filter/Auto-Wah pedals. That'll get you through most of their library.
+coconutcrispy83 What's a good substitute for the Marshall Shredmaster?
It's a shame that they wouldn't be able to use the guitar at 1:43 for a Dinosaur Jr sounds like *wink wink*
Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster - £450
Marshall Origin ORI20C - £450
EHX Nano Big Muff - £65
ZVEX Box of Rock - £200
Ibanez FL Mini Flanger - £100
Dunlop Wah - £76
Boss RV6 - £150
that should get close for the guitar end of things
Nicely done!
Also, what kind of mics are you using in front of the amp?
+Eyeconoklast I'm not sure about the dynamic mic could be a Shure SM57. I know that the big black mic is a Rode NTR ribbon mic.
Thanks!
+Eyeconoklast No problem :)
For anyone actually wondering, I can't recall Kurt's amps (but they matter least due to the spontaneousity of his rigs), but a DS-1 for Bleach / Nevermind tours sound, DS-2 without turbo for post that, Electro Harmonix Small Clone for chorus, EH Polychorus for songs like Radio Friendly or Heart Shaped Boxes solo, and Guitar; the most important one; He adored Fender Mustangs and Fender Jaguars, each with DiMarzio super distortions in the bridge, preferably. My setup, costing very, very little is a Squier Mustang with the fore mentioned DM Super Dist. , DS-1 tone at 12oclock with Dist. and level at max, and a cheap ass micro amp which sounds cheap and awesome when pushed to its limits.
+Qualm, the Fast and the Fuhrerious Think Kurt used a Twin Reverb for recording usually.
I'm pretty sure Kurt used Mesa's for the most part. Not entirely sure what specifically, but definitely Mesa
+Qualm, the Fast and the Fuhrerious The Mustangs always had a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge
Ah yes, you're right, I remember now.
In Utero gear: Fender Twin Reverb, Tech 21 Classic Sansamp, Boss DS2, EH Small Clone chorus, EH Polychorus
Guitar in general: small scale 24” Fender with typically Seymour Duncan JB bridge pickup
Tech 21 Sansamp was main source of distortion
I think it could've had more distortion
Sound like Radiohead please and thank you!
YESSS!
Yes! I've wanted this for so long! I hope they do stuff especially with all the weird things jonny greenwood does. It would be cool to see their take on it.
Its going to be pretty difficult as jonny greenwood used a lot of stuff that's discontinued now I.E. The Marshall Shredmaster and the Fender 85
It's true but he has many more things that you can still get your hands on, and also they're probably not gonna get it exactly like him anyway, they're gonna have to keep it under budget and use things that he didn't use but work for the sound and the money.
I cant stop coming back. this is hands down the best episode. you guys hit the proverbial tone nail on the head.
Can you play the rythmic of lithium right pls
Ikr
+Tom Musics That made my ears bleed.
That was not the point of the video. It was "sound like nirvana" not "play like nirvana". Just showcasing Kurt's tone, under a budget that is. Nothing other than that.
I understand. It could be due to copyright reasons. Or like you said, they're probably not huge nirvana fans. This is just a video trying to replicate tone. His version of tool/slipknot were also a bit off. But mostly the tone was spot on.
lmao you think that was all? did you hear come as you are? Lol good sound just not played correctly
Have you guys done one of these videos for Rush yet? If not, I'd love to see that
I turned my gain all the way up and I turned the distortion all the way up on the boss ds-1 stander next to my amp in about30 seconds I had feedback I am really happy now.
You absolutely have to do the melvins.
they probably can't play the melvins seeing as they can't even play heart shaped box correctly
Am I the only one who notices the guitar staff guy appearing in every video and leaving immediately??
Around 3:20
Isn't he the owner of Anderton's?
Yes
TheGalwayFarmer I'm from galway
David RF yeah, he's Lee Anderton
Andertons just bumped this video into my email inbox, because I recently bought a Sqhire Classic Vibe Jag. Fascinating stuff, thanks all!
The only thing I was thinking while watching this whole video was "They better use the DS-1"
A wild lee appeared
Amps: Kurt's big love that another said that the Fender Twin was his big love is so very true. Even on Mtv Unplugged he insisted upon having his Fender Twin and they disguised it by creating a painted wooden box to make it look like a monitor but it was in fact his Fender Twin Reverb. Later in his career he would add a mesa boobie preamp. He also had a Sans Amp on his board too. He did play on Vox once or twice or so and others like a Randall and he used Mesa Boogie pre-amps in the later years.. But his main Amplifier was the Fender. He also used Marshall cabs but had tape put on thier logo as he had a disdain for the Marshall glam metal image of the 80's. Kurt was very frugal as he did not have a lot of money to spend on gear. Even when he did starting to get money he was very frugal. When he started breaking his guitars on stage ala Pete Townsend it would be usually ones that are cheap and he was not attached to much and that was near the end of the set and he would trade his favoured guitar for one of the cheap ones to be sacrificed.
Sound like Johhny Marr (The Smiths)!
I thought he used small clone for chorus
he did
Ira Dutary-Audia he did and they should have chosen that as it is cheaper
Droid96 but the thing is, Anderton's doesn't sell the Small Clone (I looked at their website, that's how I know)
He did... But then he started using a Electro Harmonix Poly Chorus
I had the small clone at one time, I don't use it now because it doesnt fit the one spot adapter I have.
I like the fact that you used the Fender Jag that was on point and I think you guys did a great job for the budget you had.
Almost nailed the clean sound. Kind of surprised that the Blackstar could do that. I would gone with a Fender amp. The crunch could use some fine tuning however. It sounded too ragged. Perhaps turn the gain up some more and drop the highs a bit and add some mids.
usually you guys get close to the sound in these videos but your tone is way off in this one. does not sound close to nirvana
Shout out to my dude at 3:17 walking in and immediately bailing from the room
he makes the pinch harmonic look so easy. I must be doing it wrong, or I'm horrible.
Where you pick on the strings also makes a difference, try picking in different spots (closer to 1 pup vs another) to get diff harmonics
sound like motorhead
for that you could bring dorje´s bassist
+ACDC1998Zippo That would be sweet to branch into Sounds Like: Bass Edition. Dave would do a super good job.
+Wethewax
me too but that should stay their decision how they want to do that
+Wethewax sorry i didnt want you to take offence cause that was just a random thaught. and i didnt want to say that you shouldn´t suggest anyone else.
Great job AGAIN ! And thoes b s amps with that Brit/ mer knob , they REALY got something there !
sound like nick jonas, some amazing solo skills
lol ok..
Could you please do a Sounds Like Wes Borland?
yeeeah
+GIULIxJIPPI your so fucking mistaken, granted durst wasn't great but the band are unique and it would make a great video.
+Paul B. this would be so awesome!!!
+Paul B. they said they would do it
They replied to me once saying they'd do it. :)
How is it possible that the Humbuckers on this guitar still sounds glassy. Damn i love those Fenders.
Sound like:
1. KISS
2. Queen
3. The Roliing Stones
4. Aerosmith
:D
+GDavid guitarcovers I heard sounding like The Rolling Stones is very easy, you just have to use open G tuning
“Without breaking the bank”
*uses £800 Jaguar*
That is so cool! I had the Over Drive one in high school and it was 28 years ago. Damn, I am old! 😂🤣😂
B.R.M.C.
Yeah!!!
sound like lil wayne?
nobody ... and when i say nobody... want's to know THAT :'D (see how he fuckin play the 'lollipop' '''''solo""" :'D)
easy. play in traffic daily for a few weeks then buy the worst possible guitar and a shit amp.
Thanks for giving Nirvana a go. I can’t wait to see all the Nirvana cover bands.
Sound like Kirk Hammett
wahwahwahwah
nah.... early Metallica
+Lorenzo Rico-Juarez kirk Hammett has played since Kill Em' All
+ReD I like metallica, but this is hilarious XD
+cody moran blow the entire £1500 on wah pedals haha
Sound like Brian May
YES
+jake schleifer They already did Brian May
Wash your ears or change your brain.
romu7999 too true
Really like this series guys, thank you.
Do Adrock from the "Check you Head" and "ill communication" era!
programmed wrong I know I’m late but hell yes man!!!! Huge fan of the beastie boys
I love when metal guys look at fender offset guitars and unimpressed lmao
Guitar equipped with SD JB or SD Distortion bridge -> Boss DS1 or RAT distortion pedal -> EHX Small Clone Chorus -> Amp with good clean tone.
Do a Sound like Nirvana By Busting The Bank
I think you nailed the clean sound pretty well, but when you switched over to distortion it sounded just a bit off. All things considered though not bad.
You had the Kurt tone pretty nailed here
2:28 my dream guitar. If only there could be one with a Floyd rose on it just because.
Does it bother anyone else that there was a strat tag on the tele?
*jag
+Beck Woodruff Lamborghinis
I love the cleans on that blackstar. not twangy like I'm used to hearing on alot of other amps. it's crystal clear
Sound like Johnny Marr!
Kurt used a 65 Fender Jaguar
A DS1 and an electo Harmonix small clone chorus (later a Polly chorus) marshal cabs and Mesa or Randal heads
Lord Satan he is famous for using messa boogie
Tommy Shlong those were preamps
Do more busting the bank!!! We watch these videos to dream not to see what we can already attain!!!!
Either sound like Alice in Chains or sound like Soundgarden would be sweet!
You should do sounds like Royal Blood!!!!
Would be hard considering that the budget is only 1.5k
I have that same Jaguar HH. One of the greatest guitars I've ever played. Great for everything from smooth jazz to heavy grunge
Can't believe you guys haven't done a sound like Jimi hendrix , you's should do him next