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rhythm guitar from “rape me” by nirvana | ToneDB

rape me

nirvana

rhythm guitar

AI generatedv1.0

Tone Profile

Aggressive and raw rhythm guitar tone with a distorted and slightly scooped sound, characteristic of Nirvana's grunge aesthetic. It's abrasive and in-your-face, cutting through the mix with a sense of urgency.

Gear

Fender Jaguarinstrument
ReverbSweetwater
Mesa/Boogie Studio .22amp
Reverb$825Sweetwater
Shure SM57microphone
ReverbSweetwater
Pro Co RATprocessing
ReverbSweetwater

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The Story

Kurt Cobain's rhythm guitar tone on "Rape Me" was recorded at Pachyderm Studio using his typical setup of a Fender Jaguar through a Pro Co RAT distortion pedal into a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 amplifier. The guitar was recorded with a Shure SM57 microphone, and producer Butch Vig and engineer Andy Wallace likely blended the mic'd signal with a direct input for added clarity and punch in the mix.

Production Credits

Producer: Butch Vig

Engineer: Andy Wallace

Recorded at: Pachyderm Studio, Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Signal Chain

Instrument: Fender Jaguar

Amp: Mesa/Boogie Studio .22

Microphone: Shure SM57

Processing: Pro Co RAT

Recreation Tips

  • Start with a Fender Jaguar or similar guitar with single-coil pickups.
  • Use a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 amplifier or a similar amp with a good clean tone.
  • Introduce a Pro Co RAT distortion pedal, adjusting the gain to achieve the desired level of distortion.
  • Place a Shure SM57 microphone close to the speaker cone of the amplifier.
  • Experiment with blending a direct input signal with the mic'd amplifier signal to add clarity and definition.

Original Gear

  • Fender Jaguar(guitar)
  • Mesa/Boogie Studio .22(amp)
  • Pro Co RAT(pedal)
  • Shure SM57(mic)

Substitutions & Recommendations

Pro Co RAT 2$70-$90

Alternative to: Pro Co RAT distortion pedal

Current production version of Kurt's exact distortion pedal, providing the same aggressive midrange bite and fuzzy saturation

ReverbSweetwater
Boss Katana 50 MkII$230-$280

Alternative to: Mesa/Boogie Studio .22

Clean platform amp that takes pedals well and has built-in recording features, suitable for recreating the Studio .22's clean foundation

ReverbSweetwater
Squier Classic Vibe '60s Jaguar$400-$450

Alternative to: Fender Jaguar

Affordable version with the same short-scale neck and single-coil pickups that give the Jaguar its distinctive bite and attack

ReverbSweetwater
Neural DSP Archetype Plini$100-$130

Alternative to: Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 amp tone

Contains clean amp models that respond well to RAT-style distortion plugins for home recording setups

ReverbSweetwater
Shure SM57$100-$120

Alternative to: Shure SM57 microphone

Same microphone model used on the original recording, still the industry standard for guitar amp recording

ReverbSweetwater

Sources

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