Kurt changing how he plays lithium over the years is so cool, it’s why it’s my favorite song to play along to. My guess is he plays the chord open cause he has played it millions of times and it’s a bit more convenient to play that d5 open instead of on 5 7 7.
@@NirvanaGuitars Uhm. Put either your headstock or the body on the cabinet. Vary with volume but also placement of the guitars contact with the speaker cabinet. That’s about as close as I could get it.
Man, this is my favorite nirvana song and imo there's a stunning work behind these original tones and you absolutely nailed it. I love how u explain every single detail in here, his guitars his picking techniques and even picking variations over the years. Man you're a beast at it I quickly become ur biggest fan cause I know the hard work behind these videos and I also love how much effort u put in every video, congrats man keep it up!!
The kind words and support truly mean a lot, thank you so much! I am happy you enjoy my videos 😃 I'm an obsessive fan making content for fellow obsessives 😎
you did a pretty good job undoubtedbly, the clean sound in the intro is a true mistery and it is almost impossible to recrate, and this adds to the beautey of it.
really appreciate the amount of research you put in these videos. especially enjoyed this one as lithium is my all time favourite nirvana song. just a fun fact on the side; if i remember correctly, butch said it was the only track on nevermind which they had to use a click track on during recording, as they were speeding up all the time.
Thank you for watching and for the kind words! I've been really enjoying doing the informational/history portions. You're correct on it being the only song they used a click for!
It’s good to know I’m not the only person on the planet who chases after Kurt’s tone. I’ve watched your other videos and you and I have the exact same equipment. EVEN the vandalism strat with the 59 NECK that I cut up with a screwdriver and knife. Good job on the video!
@@kylehanson5175 lol. I just now realized it looks like I said I cut up the humbucker. I meant I cut up the guitar and used a 59 neck pickup in the bridge. Thanks for pointing that out!
Super helpful man! Was trying to get the strumming down but every version I listened to it was different, good to know I was playing it right but he just had a different strum pattern each time lol.
0:37: as successful as Type O Negative. Because that's what Type O Negative was, according to Peter Steele " Black Sabbath drunkenly playing Beatles in a warehouse". Good demo and explanation!
I always thought the Lithium studio tone was the hardest to replicate, but you did it perfectly anyway. Do you have plans for In Utero tone recreations? I imagine that'd be much easier (and it's my favorite album) since it doesn't have much mixing to it, which I particularly think suits Nirvana much better than Nevermind's studio sound.
you don't have to listen to me, but listen to aarron rash. in utero had a few songs with his ferrington mustang that are extremely hard to replicate, and i think kurt used an aluminum guitar for very ape. most songs are still possible tho
Thank you so much! I do eventually want to do In Utero tones 😊 I've just been concentrating on doing Nevermind first, my goal is to recreate the whole album song by song!
I am also a Big Muff obsessive. The only Russian Muffs available in 1991 would have been the Red Army Overdrive (they briefly changed the name for legal reasons) or maybe a Civil War -era muff. That is a really similar circuit to the “tall font” version that EHX cloned for the green reissues.
Thank you that's great to know! I found some info on the Civil War muffs while researching but it honestly went over my head... getting into big muffs is overwhelming at first 😅 But now I'm gonna look up the red army overdrive!
honestly as a big muff guy, the diffrences between each model really are overstated, slight diffrence on some of them but nothing that comes across as anything that cant be easilly adjusted for with EQ and pedal settings, before trying to chase down a certan make and model of the same circut made 30 years ago tinker around with your amp, pedal, and guitar knobs instead. if totally maxed out is my Russian made one slightly bassier than my NY made one? sure, but, useing either maxed out is really not getting the fullest out of them, by the time you tinker with the knobs to dial them in, they end up sounding the same
I remember reading and hearing about Nirvana before I listened to them - everyone was referring to them as some kind of punk band. But when I listened to Nevermind for the first time, for the most part I heard pop songs with really catchy melodies. Sure there’s distortion and heavy-hitting drums but ultimately they’re very carefully crafted pop songs (with the possible exceptions of songs like Territorial Pissings and Endless, Nameless).
i think it’s the quintessential nirvana song because it’s kurts best chord progression/ melody intertwining, the way the melody and the chord progression is woven makes it kurts’ most poignant pop masterpiece, come as you are comes close but lithium is just a great song in the most traditional sense, it’s also his most original pop riff which is such an achievement to write a never used chord progression and apply it in a populist sense
The fun part of a big muff is also how it was built. My friend builds quiet a few most notably has one to get the j mascis sound another to get the blue album weezer sound. About a decade ago I was with him and he brought out his collection of muffs they all sound different. The green muffs he had all were different in sound he had a few Black Russian muffs they we’re different too. So pin pointing the muff is hard unless you had the one he used. Trying different ones from say like a line 6 helix or the new muff pedal they make would be key to finding it even than tho you’ll probably be missing something.
Years ago when i dont even had pedals and a shitty amp and a strat,i put the middle position and two chord change later tought ..heyy thats lithium tone ...even with chorus, distorsion and others things,the basic tone that came out of your guitar Is so important and essential
2:21 Hey Eric, It sounds like Kurt used the Triangle Big Muff Pi for Lithium, and it also sounds like he used that on Breed as well, I asked jq what Big Muff was used on Breed and Lithium, and he told me himself that it could POSSIBLY be the Triangle Big Muff
JQ and I also talked about the possibility of the of Breed being with a Big Muff 😊 He said he thought he read it in an article with Butch but couldn't find it. I wish we had more verified info and quotes from those involved regarding this!
@@NirvanaGuitars Also great job on the Nevermind Tone Recreations! The songs you have not done yet (as of 2/18/2023) are In Bloom, Polly, Drain You, On a Plain, Something in the Way, and Endless, Nameless!! 😊 BTW, after you are done making the Nevermind Tone Recreations, are you going to be moving on to the In Utero Tone Recreations?
Buy a 100 watt Marshall Plexi and dime every knob. That’s literally it. It’s gonna kill all the wildlife in your neighborhood. A variac helps with the volume and changes the tone maybe 10% at the most. If you have a Marshall style amp with a master volume, crank it up to 10 as well as all the EQ knobs (presence to taste maybe) but keep the preamp gain very low. This will get you in the same ballpark for the Van Halen tone. There’s not really another way to get there without blasting a tube amp full volume to get the power tubes distorting. I use a variac because it’s cheaper than an attenuator and will significantly lower the volume without changing the tone too much. Eddie was definitely onto something there. Try it!
Great video! I recently covered the song and really struggled to come close to the clean guitar tone. I tried many guitars, but I had no strat (and no middle single coil pickup) available at the time and it must be a strat as you showed.
If truth were told, I’m pretty sure Kurt didn’t care at all about any of this. That’s not to take away from what you do, I just think his approach was whatever came out came out. He was a punk rocker. Pretty cool that you’re able to recreate it though.
Honestly I don’t agree with that at all, no offense but I think you fell for Kurt’s persona. Krist and Dave have both spoken about his intense practice sessions and how particular he was about his sound. He cared a lot more than he elf on, but it wasn’t punk or cool to care or try and thus he inadvertently misled a whole generation of potential artists and musicians into not putting in the work necessary to have a chance to make it. I really dislike seeing comments like yours on every tone or music theory Nirvana video. Kurt was obsessive over Nirvana’s sound and how they were perceived. And for someone who didn’t care how he sounded or know anything about guitar he sure practiced a lot with his band. Must have been jerkin it 8hrs a day in the months leading up to nevermind lol
@@devinthorn8182 people who care so much about tone don't buy cheap pawn shop guitars. If you've ever read any of the stories of Kurt, there was times they didn't even have guitars for him to play for his next gig and they would go to pawn shops looking for anything that was left handed. Tone chasers know exactly what they're playing and how the achieved the sound and they don't compromise on anything, even cables. I know I've been a player for almost thirty years and I've played with all types of musicians from tone chasers to people who don't have a clue. You're correct in the fact that Kurt did practice a lot but he didn't prioritize gear. Even Earnie Bailey stated that his Jaguar was filthy and he never cleaned or cared for it, but go ahead keep being nasty for no reason. It should get you pretty far in life.
I will not claim to be a Nirvana gear expert. However, I remember watching an interview with Nirvana where Kurt specifically talks about using the Russian Tank steel Big Muff. It was a comedic moment as he talks about having to smash the button with his foot to get the overdrive to come on. That's my two cents and why I bought one when Big Muff reissued them.
Here is my 10 or maybe 50 cents based length. I think the NYC Big Muff gets really close to the Lithium sound so it is and was a widely available pedal to use. However, I do agree that a russian big muff was most likely used on the album, especially after knowing what Vig said. The timeline supports the availability of the russians and the sound on the album (yeah I know there was multitracking so kinda guessing here but listening with my ear) was thumpier with smoothness layered over the grit of the muff. This sounds very much like the russians to me. And to be more specific, the "civil war" and "tall font" green russians, were often bassier/thumpier and smoother than the "bubble font" greens and black russians. The Tall Font green supposedly was a rehoused Civil War which was also very similar to the Red Army Overdrive and I think the Civil War and the Red Army would have been available at the time of Nevermind, and I am not sure the greens or blacks were out, yet. All could sound very similar, but the civil war and tall font green had the smoother, thumpy, and bassier sound more forward than the others. Red Army was very very close to a Civil War but not as quite as bassy, but could have been used too, as when I hear Lithium, I feel like I hear that bass forward sound and a layer of smoothness over the rearward grit from this era and it's never harsh sounding. I have or have had bubble fonts, tall fonts, and civil wars. I recently played my Stomp Under Foot, "SUF", Civil War (based on the EHX Civil War and Tall Font green), SUF Green Russian (based on bubble font green), and EHX NYC and Op-Amp. After playing them back to back to back to back for Lithium, the Civil War seems by far the closest to the sound to my ears. The furthest one was the OP-Amp. Stomp Under Foot built by Matt Pasquerella is in my opinion the very best at recreating the best examples of all of the many versions of muff's from the Electro Harmonix muff era. Check his stuff out. I don't believe EHX makes a Civil War version, today. Also, the Kit-Rae website is VERY INFORMATIVE and INVALUABLE for Muff history.
I have a Big Muff that I never use, but I just can't bring myself to sell it. The quickest most effective way of talking myself out of selling it is plugging it in for a few minutes. It just sounds so huge. I just say to myself that it's time will come. Someday I will have the need to drop a title wave of sound on people heads, I will have the means to get it done. I also have an SPX90 I can probably sell. I needs some work though. Last time I plugged it in, smoke was coming out of the power button, so I quickly unplugged it. That was about a year ago. I asked some people about it and the leading theories are a transistor or something blew, or the electricity ignited some dust inside the unit.
I’m addicted to your videos! Do you have any info on the first lithium music video that was never finished? I understand it was going to be a claymation type video similar to tools sober but before they did it.
I love the tone its very accurate but (and correct me if im wrong) but the 'Green Russian' Big Muff wasnt released until 1994 but an *incredibly* similar Big Muff, also made in Russia, known as the Civil War Big Muff was released in 1991. They sound practically identical and im fairly certain they are the same circuit so i wouldnt recommend trying to hunt one down as they are horrifically expensive but i thought it was something you might want to know, Nirvana gear wise.
Watching videos like these kinda makes me wish i kept my Fender, used to have a 2006 60th Anniversary strat but i sold it 12 years ago and switched to Ibanez since then but to this day still deeply regret selling that guitar goes for up to or over $1,000 now...
The videos of how do you do + history are going to be essential because they complete the tone recreation. Great. For more muff options you have jhs muffuletta. It has (73 Rams Head, Triangle Muff, Pi V3, Russian Muff, Civil War, JHS Mode) in one. If you want al rat pedals in one you have jhs PackRat ( OG V1, White Face V3, Turbo V5, BRAT V6, Dirty V7, LA, Landgraff MO'D, Caroline, JHS Mode)
I appericate that! My channel used to be only about tones and gear, but I've really been enjoying doing the history/informational stuff too 😃 Thanks for the recommendations! I'm still learning to explore the huge world of big muffs haha
Kurt was an incredible songwriter, but he struggled to play the guitar "properly", so he would often opt to play things in an easier form, so as to not make a major mistake playing a clean tone guitar part, especially in instances where there were no vocals like the beginning of Lithium. I think Kurt probably didn't want to miss his mark sliding from B to D since it was a bit longer of a slide to try and nail properly while standing, not looking at the guitar neck, and in a live setting.
May I ask what a Strat neck cost you? I’d really like to find one with a rosewood fingerboard and vintage frets. Seems like 85% of Fenders have medium jumbo frets these days.
in a matter of replacement guitars, it was possibly he used one of the other two strats he had before recording nevermind his white strat or his black strat with tune o Matic or with the jaguar
Big ups for gassing up the Russian big muff. I don't know much about big muffs either, but it seemed like the right choice here as it's easily the darkest and most saturated of the muffs.
He talked about liking his single coils and showed an example, but in that example he was using his bridge / middle pickup? Hard to see if it's just bridge or bridge and middle though.
Hey man you should try a few things I’m no pro so just trust me here 1. Play it on you jag I’m trying to figure out if it’s on the bridge or if it’s on the middle position. 2 try using 7.5 treb, 10 mid and 5 bass (my settings I use on my bass man) love to see it!
One thing no one talks about that might seem insignificant but isn't is what kind of pick did he like to use because there are so many diff types and thicknesses for example i like a thin and flexible nylon pick at .46mm
How about this idea for a guitar sticker: “Innovate, don’t imitate” Maybe you could even sell it to thousands of rock guitar players if it becomes a trend😄
I cant play the guitar due to nerve damage in my hands, but I have a 1993 Mexican Standard Strat which I have always thought has a very nirvana tone to it when I have had friends play it for me since I cant and I dont want to sell it.
Do we know why he chose to have come as you are, lithium and drain you tuned down to D? Gives the songs a great depth. But never reproduced live. Surprised kurt didnt have an already down tuned guitar for those songs on tour
Check out any of the early 1992 Pacific Rim tour shows. They are tuned a full step down and played Lithium, Drain You and Come As You Are at every show!
I used to have a standard nyc big muff and it sounded nothing like lithium. The NYC was quite dark sounding and if you turned the trebble up it got like a box of bees
@@NirvanaGuitars I have been tempted to try a green Russian. I think they look the best of all muffs as well. Apparently the Russian has a lot more mids is that correct? I have a lot of bad experience with pedals. They all sound amazing on utube but at home on low volume they don't sound good. I have returned so many its unbelievable. Of all things out there i have tried its the ds1 that sounds the best to me at home on low volumes
@@jaxcyl1-t4b maybe its my rig. I dont have a big expensive set up. I have a fender champion 20 amp and an sx tele I have modded with a warman hotrail in the bridge and It was quite dark sounding so I removed the tone pot which has made it a bit brighter and more sorta crunchy sounding. I have had a few more amps like a katana 50 but the fender holds upto it well so I just stuck with the champion 20 and saved the money
“My friend John is a big muff expert” you have no idea how funny hearing that is being British, had me in stitches
lol my bad 😅😅🤣🤣
What? I dont understand
it's a slang for p*ssy
@@lukeboy8081it relates to bushy pubic hair
Hahahaha Big muff 😂
This guy suprises me every time with his tone
🤩 more surprises to come!
Kurt changing how he plays lithium over the years is so cool, it’s why it’s my favorite song to play along to. My guess is he plays the chord open cause he has played it millions of times and it’s a bit more convenient to play that d5 open instead of on 5 7 7.
I love how in depth you go with these, please do more
thank you so much! currently working on more 😃
Can you recreate you know your right
Yes! Still working on that tone and how to replicate the crazy cool feedback after the first chorus
@@NirvanaGuitars ykyr is probably my favorite nirvana song
Pin up
I second this
@@NirvanaGuitars
Uhm. Put either your headstock or the body on the cabinet.
Vary with volume but also placement of the guitars contact with the speaker cabinet. That’s about as close as I could get it.
Man, this is my favorite nirvana song and imo there's a stunning work behind these original tones and you absolutely nailed it.
I love how u explain every single detail in here, his guitars his picking techniques and even picking variations over the years.
Man you're a beast at it I quickly become ur biggest fan cause I know the hard work behind these videos and I also love how much effort u put in every video, congrats man keep it up!!
The kind words and support truly mean a lot, thank you so much! I am happy you enjoy my videos 😃 I'm an obsessive fan making content for fellow obsessives 😎
you did a pretty good job undoubtedbly, the clean sound in the intro is a true mistery and it is almost impossible to recrate, and this adds to the beautey of it.
Yay tone explication keep making these tone recreations
Will do 😃 Thanks for watching!
No problem :D
explanation *
EXCELLENT VIDEO AS ALWAYS MAN!! Thanks for the shout out, glad I was able to help with the Muff choices!
Thank you for all the help my friend!!
3:05 - Hey it looks like you also got your own Skystang to bring with you for gigs! 🎸 That's so awesome!
It’s more of a firebird shape
It’s Both
really appreciate the amount of research you put in these videos. especially enjoyed this one as lithium is my all time favourite nirvana song. just a fun fact on the side; if i remember correctly, butch said it was the only track on nevermind which they had to use a click track on during recording, as they were speeding up all the time.
Thank you for watching and for the kind words! I've been really enjoying doing the informational/history portions. You're correct on it being the only song they used a click for!
It’s good to know I’m not the only person on the planet who chases after Kurt’s tone. I’ve watched your other videos and you and I have the exact same equipment. EVEN the vandalism strat with the 59 NECK that I cut up with a screwdriver and knife. Good job on the video!
Why’d you have to cut up the humbucker?
@@kylehanson5175 lol. I just now realized it looks like I said I cut up the humbucker. I meant I cut up the guitar and used a 59 neck pickup in the bridge. Thanks for pointing that out!
Я помню это шоу это в Paramount Theater Seattle в видеоклипе Lithium.
👍👍💪🎸🎸❤️
Super helpful man! Was trying to get the strumming down but every version I listened to it was different, good to know I was playing it right but he just had a different strum pattern each time lol.
How this guy only has 350 views I don’t know. This video Is amazing
Thank you!
0:37: as successful as Type O Negative. Because that's what Type O Negative was, according to Peter Steele " Black Sabbath drunkenly playing Beatles in a warehouse". Good demo and explanation!
I always thought the Lithium studio tone was the hardest to replicate, but you did it perfectly anyway. Do you have plans for In Utero tone recreations? I imagine that'd be much easier (and it's my favorite album) since it doesn't have much mixing to it, which I particularly think suits Nirvana much better than Nevermind's studio sound.
you don't have to listen to me, but listen to aarron rash. in utero had a few songs with his ferrington mustang that are extremely hard to replicate, and i think kurt used an aluminum guitar for very ape. most songs are still possible tho
Thank you so much! I do eventually want to do In Utero tones 😊 I've just been concentrating on doing Nevermind first, my goal is to recreate the whole album song by song!
I am also a Big Muff obsessive. The only Russian Muffs available in 1991 would have been the Red Army Overdrive (they briefly changed the name for legal reasons) or maybe a Civil War -era muff. That is a really similar circuit to the “tall font” version that EHX cloned for the green reissues.
Thank you that's great to know! I found some info on the Civil War muffs while researching but it honestly went over my head... getting into big muffs is overwhelming at first 😅 But now I'm gonna look up the red army overdrive!
honestly as a big muff guy, the diffrences between each model really are overstated,
slight diffrence on some of them but nothing that comes across as anything that cant be easilly adjusted for with EQ and pedal settings,
before trying to chase down a certan make and model of the same circut made 30 years ago tinker around with your amp, pedal, and guitar knobs instead.
if totally maxed out is my Russian made one slightly bassier than my NY made one? sure, but, useing either maxed out is really not getting the fullest out of them, by the time you tinker with the knobs to dial them in, they end up sounding the same
lol u said muff
@@yeahnah27128 lmao
I remember reading and hearing about Nirvana before I listened to them - everyone was referring to them as some kind of punk band. But when I listened to Nevermind for the first time, for the most part I heard pop songs with really catchy melodies. Sure there’s distortion and heavy-hitting drums but ultimately they’re very carefully crafted pop songs (with the possible exceptions of songs like Territorial Pissings and Endless, Nameless).
great clean tone on bossa nova!!
Thank you! I do play other things/styles other than Nirvana 🥳 sometimes 😉
Very interesting stuff man thanks. It’s so interesting to think what he actually was playing when he strummed those immortal notes.
Wow! Awesome job with your analysis and playin'.
I like big muffs and I cannot lie.
This is amazingly accurate, keep up the good work👌👌👌
Thank you!
Enjoy your weekend m’lord , another lovely video
Thank you as always my friend!
this is so awesome. this is one of my favs from nevermind, and i love the tone
I have a Big Muff Pi Pedal and I used it for Lithium. I dialled in the settings for the song and it sounded pretty accurate as to the recording.
Don’t stop making videos!!!! 🔥 love it 5:10
As long as they are being enjoyed, I will always continue to make them 😊 Thank you as always!
i think it’s the quintessential nirvana song because it’s kurts best chord progression/ melody intertwining, the way the melody and the chord progression is woven makes it kurts’ most poignant pop masterpiece, come as you are comes close but lithium is just a great song in the most traditional sense, it’s also his most original pop riff which is such an achievement to write a never used chord progression and apply it in a populist sense
I love this tone it’s amazing
I love it too!
Favorite song tone wise! Thank you so much for this video!
Thank you for watching!
thanks again bro. would be cool to see the setup of your own band as well ;)
The fun part of a big muff is also how it was built. My friend builds quiet a few most notably has one to get the j mascis sound another to get the blue album weezer sound. About a decade ago I was with him and he brought out his collection of muffs they all sound different. The green muffs he had all were different in sound he had a few Black Russian muffs they we’re different too. So pin pointing the muff is hard unless you had the one he used. Trying different ones from say like a line 6 helix or the new muff pedal they make would be key to finding it even than tho you’ll probably be missing something.
Years ago when i dont even had pedals and a shitty amp and a strat,i put the middle position and two chord change later tought ..heyy thats lithium tone ...even with chorus, distorsion and others things,the basic tone that came out of your guitar Is so important and essential
Fantastic Job!!
2:21 Hey Eric, It sounds like Kurt used the Triangle Big Muff Pi for Lithium, and it also sounds like he used that on Breed as well, I asked jq what Big Muff was used on Breed and Lithium, and he told me himself that it could POSSIBLY be the Triangle Big Muff
JQ and I also talked about the possibility of the of Breed being with a Big Muff 😊 He said he thought he read it in an article with Butch but couldn't find it. I wish we had more verified info and quotes from those involved regarding this!
@@NirvanaGuitars Also great job on the Nevermind Tone Recreations! The songs you have not done yet (as of 2/18/2023) are In Bloom, Polly, Drain You, On a Plain, Something in the Way, and Endless, Nameless!! 😊
BTW, after you are done making the Nevermind Tone Recreations, are you going to be moving on to the In Utero Tone Recreations?
I love these tone recreations Eric
I can’t wait to see/hear your work on the other songs. Maybe unplugged in
The future. All you need is the pickup 😏
Thank you! Unplugged is currently in the works 😉
I always liked how he played it live over the studio version, tbph.
That's a cool photo of your band!
Amazing videos man keep it up
Thanks for watching!
i know this is a nirvana channel, but since you seem so good with recreating tone i would LOVE if you tried to redo eddie van halens epic guitar tone.
Buy a 100 watt Marshall Plexi and dime every knob. That’s literally it. It’s gonna kill all the wildlife in your neighborhood. A variac helps with the volume and changes the tone maybe 10% at the most.
If you have a Marshall style amp with a master volume, crank it up to 10 as well as all the EQ knobs (presence to taste maybe) but keep the preamp gain very low. This will get you in the same ballpark for the Van Halen tone.
There’s not really another way to get there without blasting a tube amp full volume to get the power tubes distorting. I use a variac because it’s cheaper than an attenuator and will significantly lower the volume without changing the tone too much. Eddie was definitely onto something there.
Try it!
Great video! I recently covered the song and really struggled to come close to the clean guitar tone. I tried many guitars, but I had no strat (and no middle single coil pickup) available at the time and it must be a strat as you showed.
If truth were told, I’m pretty sure Kurt didn’t care at all about any of this. That’s not to take away from what you do, I just think his approach was whatever came out came out. He was a punk rocker. Pretty cool that you’re able to recreate it though.
Honestly I don’t agree with that at all, no offense but I think you fell for Kurt’s persona. Krist and Dave have both spoken about his intense practice sessions and how particular he was about his sound. He cared a lot more than he elf on, but it wasn’t punk or cool to care or try and thus he inadvertently misled a whole generation of potential artists and musicians into not putting in the work necessary to have a chance to make it. I really dislike seeing comments like yours on every tone or music theory Nirvana video. Kurt was obsessive over Nirvana’s sound and how they were perceived. And for someone who didn’t care how he sounded or know anything about guitar he sure practiced a lot with his band. Must have been jerkin it 8hrs a day in the months leading up to nevermind lol
@@devinthorn8182 people who care so much about tone don't buy cheap pawn shop guitars. If you've ever read any of the stories of Kurt, there was times they didn't even have guitars for him to play for his next gig and they would go to pawn shops looking for anything that was left handed.
Tone chasers know exactly what they're playing and how the achieved the sound and they don't compromise on anything, even cables. I know I've been a player for almost thirty years and I've played with all types of musicians from tone chasers to people who don't have a clue. You're correct in the fact that Kurt did practice a lot but he didn't prioritize gear. Even Earnie Bailey stated that his Jaguar was filthy and he never cleaned or cared for it, but go ahead keep being nasty for no reason. It should get you pretty far in life.
I will not claim to be a Nirvana gear expert. However, I remember watching an interview with Nirvana where Kurt specifically talks about using the Russian Tank steel Big Muff. It was a comedic moment as he talks about having to smash the button with his foot to get the overdrive to come on. That's my two cents and why I bought one when Big Muff reissued them.
Woah!! That sounds like a game changer. Comedic or not I need to see that, do you like a link to that interview?
Here is my 10 or maybe 50 cents based length. I think the NYC Big Muff gets really close to the Lithium sound so it is and was a widely available pedal to use. However, I do agree that a russian big muff was most likely used on the album, especially after knowing what Vig said. The timeline supports the availability of the russians and the sound on the album (yeah I know there was multitracking so kinda guessing here but listening with my ear) was thumpier with smoothness layered over the grit of the muff. This sounds very much like the russians to me. And to be more specific, the "civil war" and "tall font" green russians, were often bassier/thumpier and smoother than the "bubble font" greens and black russians. The Tall Font green supposedly was a rehoused Civil War which was also very similar to the Red Army Overdrive and I think the Civil War and the Red Army would have been available at the time of Nevermind, and I am not sure the greens or blacks were out, yet. All could sound very similar, but the civil war and tall font green had the smoother, thumpy, and bassier sound more forward than the others. Red Army was very very close to a Civil War but not as quite as bassy, but could have been used too, as when I hear Lithium, I feel like I hear that bass forward sound and a layer of smoothness over the rearward grit from this era and it's never harsh sounding. I have or have had bubble fonts, tall fonts, and civil wars. I recently played my Stomp Under Foot, "SUF", Civil War (based on the EHX Civil War and Tall Font green), SUF Green Russian (based on bubble font green), and EHX NYC and Op-Amp. After playing them back to back to back to back for Lithium, the Civil War seems by far the closest to the sound to my ears. The furthest one was the OP-Amp. Stomp Under Foot built by Matt Pasquerella is in my opinion the very best at recreating the best examples of all of the many versions of muff's from the Electro Harmonix muff era. Check his stuff out. I don't believe EHX makes a Civil War version, today. Also, the Kit-Rae website is VERY INFORMATIVE and INVALUABLE for Muff history.
6:53 you are really good at finger picking!
Every time you do this you nail this!
Btw, it's pronounced Pweeg (hard g sound), I only know that because of the skateboarder Lucas Puig
I have a Big Muff that I never use, but I just can't bring myself to sell it. The quickest most effective way of talking myself out of selling it is plugging it in for a few minutes. It just sounds so huge. I just say to myself that it's time will come. Someday I will have the need to drop a title wave of sound on people heads, I will have the means to get it done.
I also have an SPX90 I can probably sell. I needs some work though. Last time I plugged it in, smoke was coming out of the power button, so I quickly unplugged it. That was about a year ago. I asked some people about it and the leading theories are a transistor or something blew, or the electricity ignited some dust inside the unit.
I’m addicted to your videos! Do you have any info on the first lithium music video that was never finished? I understand it was going to be a claymation type video similar to tools sober but before they did it.
Awesome video! Would you ever consider recreating Kurt’s blue “Courtney” telecaster?
I love the tone its very accurate but (and correct me if im wrong) but the 'Green Russian' Big Muff wasnt released until 1994 but an *incredibly* similar Big Muff, also made in Russia, known as the Civil War Big Muff was released in 1991. They sound practically identical and im fairly certain they are the same circuit so i wouldnt recommend trying to hunt one down as they are horrifically expensive but i thought it was something you might want to know, Nirvana gear wise.
Thank you!
Best Video ever
You're too kind 🥹
Could you recreate the tone of my fav song drain you btw nice tone on this song
Watching videos like these kinda makes me wish i kept my Fender, used to have a 2006 60th Anniversary strat but i sold it 12 years ago and switched to Ibanez since then but to this day still deeply regret selling that guitar goes for up to or over $1,000 now...
Nice video! Can you please tell me from what gig is the picture of Kurt with his guitar and his left hand on small clone and polychorus? Thanks!
i love the tone at the beginning of this song because it sounds like the strings are made of rubber
I'm 43 years old listening Nirvana for ages but for the first time seeing that photo 1:00
I think if it is indistinguishable which model he used, it really doesn't matter.
i'm so happy cause today
i matched a tone, there in pro tools
The videos of how do you do + history are going to be essential because they complete the tone recreation. Great.
For more muff options you have jhs muffuletta. It has (73 Rams Head, Triangle Muff, Pi V3, Russian Muff, Civil War, JHS Mode) in one. If you want al rat pedals in one you have jhs PackRat ( OG V1, White Face V3, Turbo V5, BRAT V6, Dirty V7, LA, Landgraff MO'D, Caroline, JHS Mode)
I appericate that! My channel used to be only about tones and gear, but I've really been enjoying doing the history/informational stuff too 😃 Thanks for the recommendations! I'm still learning to explore the huge world of big muffs haha
Kurt was an incredible songwriter, but he struggled to play the guitar "properly", so he would often opt to play things in an easier form, so as to not make a major mistake playing a clean tone guitar part, especially in instances where there were no vocals like the beginning of Lithium. I think Kurt probably didn't want to miss his mark sliding from B to D since it was a bit longer of a slide to try and nail properly while standing, not looking at the guitar neck, and in a live setting.
May I ask what a Strat neck cost you? I’d really like to find one with a rosewood fingerboard and vintage frets. Seems like 85% of Fenders have medium jumbo frets these days.
in a matter of replacement guitars, it was possibly he used one of the other two strats he had before recording nevermind his white strat or his black strat with tune o Matic or with the jaguar
I agree that it was maybe one of those strats! It really sounds like an HSS strat to me
Big ups for gassing up the Russian big muff. I don't know much about big muffs either, but it seemed like the right choice here as it's easily the darkest and most saturated of the muffs.
I live the Russian big muff.still have mines from the 90s
I love big muffs
I appreciate your attention to nirvana details is like mine. Have you seen the nirvana UK tribute band? Similar interest to you
I honestly love the vandalism but I realized the guitars kurt smashed that he might have liked the tone from had an angled hambucker
I feel the same way! Makes me want to have an angled humbucker strat like the K strat 👀
awesome!!!
Hi , Does Frank from the FEEDERZ know about those sticker reprints ? You should reach out to him he's a great guy !
holy crap this is accurate
He talked about liking his single coils and showed an example, but in that example he was using his bridge / middle pickup? Hard to see if it's just bridge or bridge and middle though.
Sorry I should've said what pickup mode I was on! It's bridge and middle
Hey man you should try a few things I’m no pro so just trust me here 1. Play it on you jag I’m trying to figure out if it’s on the bridge or if it’s on the middle position. 2 try using 7.5 treb, 10 mid and 5 bass (my settings I use on my bass man) love to see it!
I am the guy from tiktok
Interesting info 🤔🤔 noice to know how this song was Made and what gear they used.
Glad you liked it! It's another Vandy video 😃
I have an old black les paul with double creme pickups, thinking about putting that sticker on it lmao
Which neck pickup were you using? I"m assuming one of the single coils
Also, at the year of the recording of nevermind, sovtek and Russian big muffs didn't exist yet
Ithomiid is kind of fire 🔥🔥
Can’t tell you how much that means to me 🥹 thank you!!
Would be interesting to no all the gear he used!
I thought Kurt used EHX Small Close, for the chorus tones on Nevermind.
I would love to see you do a incesticide album tone video, with your new epiphone !
Maravilhoso! Obrigado por esse vídeo!
One thing no one talks about that might seem insignificant but isn't is what kind of pick did he like to use because there are so many diff types and thicknesses for example i like a thin and flexible nylon pick at .46mm
What kind of pick did he perfer or did he even care???
can you build a replica of the destroyed black strat at the studio while recording nevermind
Ого, рад что Курт Кобейн любил педаль сделанную в нашей России)
Hey man, can you do a tone recreation for Drain You? Sounds like you can do it justice! Great video.
He has quite a few times
Yes! I am working on dialing in Drain You's studio tone 😃
@@NirvanaGuitars Awesome! Looking forward to it :)
My friend John is a Big Muff expert
You know John too?! Dude knows everything!
I would love to see you try to recreate the tone of the outtake track "Old Age"
YES I really want to try for that and Verse Chorus Verse 🤩
How about this idea for a guitar sticker: “Innovate, don’t imitate”
Maybe you could even sell it to thousands of rock guitar players if it becomes a trend😄
Still requesting Chicago ballroom
Excuse me, do you know where you can buy Polychorus? I can't find it anywhere, and if I do, it's at a huge price..
Unfortunately the polychorus is really expensive right now 😕 They've sky rocketed in value. Best bet would be either eBay or Reverb
I cant play the guitar due to nerve damage in my hands, but I have a 1993 Mexican Standard Strat which I have always thought has a very nirvana tone to it when I have had friends play it for me since I cant and I dont want to sell it.
I’m early! Nice video
Do we know why he chose to have come as you are, lithium and drain you tuned down to D? Gives the songs a great depth. But never reproduced live. Surprised kurt didnt have an already down tuned guitar for those songs on tour
Check out any of the early 1992 Pacific Rim tour shows. They are tuned a full step down and played Lithium, Drain You and Come As You Are at every show!
I used to have a standard nyc big muff and it sounded nothing like lithium. The NYC was quite dark sounding and if you turned the trebble up it got like a box of bees
treble needs to be down tho, my NYC muff sounds identical to the song
I want to try an nyc big muff! I was either gonna get that one or the Russian
@@NirvanaGuitars I have been tempted to try a green Russian. I think they look the best of all muffs as well. Apparently the Russian has a lot more mids is that correct?
I have a lot of bad experience with pedals. They all sound amazing on utube but at home on low volume they don't sound good. I have returned so many its unbelievable. Of all things out there i have tried its the ds1 that sounds the best to me at home on low volumes
@@jaxcyl1-t4b maybe its my rig. I dont have a big expensive set up. I have a fender champion 20 amp and an sx tele I have modded with a warman hotrail in the bridge and It was quite dark sounding so I removed the tone pot which has made it a bit brighter and more sorta crunchy sounding. I have had a few more amps like a katana 50 but the fender holds upto it well so I just stuck with the champion 20 and saved the money
Great video! Just on Sunday i will be Playing nirvana song concert, do its a perfect, ill set the tone of the amplifier 😊
Have a great show!
Dave grohl said the drums were disco inspired
He was talking about the Teen Spirit verse. This song’s drum part was written by Chad Channing
NirvanaGuitars is really good at Nirvaning
🤩 thanks!
@@NirvanaGuitars Can you please do a cover of Forgotten Tune?
could i use a reverb pedal for the chorus sound it sounds like reverb almost