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Nirvana - Stay Away - Guitar Lesson

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Key F# minor
Nirvana - Stay Away guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Nirvana Grunge F# minor
Capo Advisor 0 F# minor · Original key

About Stay Away

Few Nirvana tracks hit as hard rhythmically as "Stay Away," and that relentless, chugging energy is exactly what makes it both fun and demanding to play. The riff is built around aggressive down-stroked power chords, and keeping that momentum tight across the whole song without losing edge or timing is the real challenge. Playing in F# minor means your low open strings are not in your favour here, so the power chords need to land with precision rather than leaning on any open-string ring. The verse riff has a deceptive simplicity: it sounds straightforward, but locking in the groove and matching the attack of Nirvana takes deliberate practice. If the transitions between the verse chug and the chorus feel sloppy at speed, use the Practice Toolbar to loop those bars slowed down until the chord shifts feel automatic. Pay attention to muting between hits, since any bleed will muddy the aggression the song depends on.

  • The main riff relies on tight power chord chugging with consistent down-stroke attack, making right-hand stamina and control the primary technical focus.
  • Playing in F# minor means careful attention to fretting position and muting, since open strings will clash rather than complement the chord voicings.
  • The verse-to-chorus transition is a useful isolation target: loop it slowed down in the Practice Toolbar until the shift feels clean at full tempo.

How to Play Stay Away

Key: F# minor · Tempo: 152 BPM

Loop the hardest passage and creep the speed up from around 70 percent until it holds at 152 BPM.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Cobain used the Stratocaster on several Nevermind tracks, leveraging its bright single-coils to cut through dense arrangements. Though less iconic than his Mustang, the Strat provided tonal clarity for melodic passages within Nirvana's heavy sonic framework.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Cobain deployed the Twin Reverb's clean headroom and natural breakup for softer verses and intros, creating dynamic contrast against his saturated Mesa preamp tones. The amp's warm response complemented his sparse, dry-focused signal chain.

DiMarzio Super Distortion
Pickup

DiMarzio Super Distortion

Cobain swapped DiMarzio humbuckers into his Jaguars and Mustangs to fatten their typically bright single-coils, pushing harder into his Mesa preamp for compressed, fuzzy sustain. This high-output bridge pickup was essential to Nirvana's thick, aggressive midrange distortion.

Boss DS-1 Distortion
Pedal

Boss DS-1 Distortion

The DS-1 functioned as Cobain's heavy-hitting boost pedal, slamming the front end of his already-overdriven Mesa preamp to intensify saturation during explosive chorus sections. Its gritty character helped define Nirvana's raw, in-your-face distortion tone.

Electro-Harmonix Small Clone
Pedal

Electro-Harmonix Small Clone

Cobain's signature chorus voice, heard prominently on Come As You Are and clean passages of Smells Like Teen Spirit, added subtle wobble and width. The Small Clone's lush modulation provided dynamic relief against his otherwise aggressive, compressed overdriven tones.

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