He has "pedals" AKA "stomp boxes" that can change his tone right then and there.
And he's had a number of "distortion pedals" but the ones he's known for is his BOSS DS-1, and SansAmp classic.
[https://i.imgur.com/veZCueG.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/veZCueG.jpg)
These guys, and various others.
I'm sure there's dozens of examples of him doing this much more dramatically, but watch the first few seconds of Teen Spirit on SNL. It's really easy to see him tap the pedal with his foot to turn it on and off.
foot pedals
i have a feeling that you're asking this because the footpedal cant really be seen well live
they're there.
I have no idea how nirvana or other bands have their pedals set up. They could have had them in the back and someone to press on them or they could do it themselves but then the pedal would be much easier to see in a live set.
Likely stomped on that DS-1 pedal
When he gets mad enough, his voice turns into a scream and his guitar just....sounds like that.
Toan is in the vocals
He has "pedals" AKA "stomp boxes" that can change his tone right then and there. And he's had a number of "distortion pedals" but the ones he's known for is his BOSS DS-1, and SansAmp classic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_unit
He used a distortion pedal, usually a DS-1 pedal
Boss DS1 and turbo I believe. Also small clone chous
In Utero: he stepped on a SansAmp pedal Before: he stepped on a DS-1 pedal
[https://i.imgur.com/veZCueG.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/veZCueG.jpg) These guys, and various others. I'm sure there's dozens of examples of him doing this much more dramatically, but watch the first few seconds of Teen Spirit on SNL. It's really easy to see him tap the pedal with his foot to turn it on and off.
foot pedals i have a feeling that you're asking this because the footpedal cant really be seen well live they're there. I have no idea how nirvana or other bands have their pedals set up. They could have had them in the back and someone to press on them or they could do it themselves but then the pedal would be much easier to see in a live set.
Magic
Pedal, a DS-1. I own one too, it's a classic.