Editing Nevermind (section)

== Recording ==
[[File:Butch Vig at Smart Studios, Madison, WI, United States of America.jpg|thumb|Producer [[Butch Vig]] in 2006|217x217px]]With a budget of $65,000, Nirvana recorded ''Nevermind'' at [[Sound City Studios]] in [[Van Nuys]], California, in May and June 1991.<ref>Sandford 1995, p. 181</ref> To earn gas money to get to Los Angeles, they played a show where they performed "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" for the first time.<ref name="classicalbums" /> The band sent Vig rehearsal tapes prior to the sessions that featured songs recorded previously at Smart Studios, plus new songs including "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "[[Come as You Are (Nirvana song)|Come as You Are]]".<ref>Azerrad 1993, p. 167</ref>

Nirvana arrived in California and spent a few days rehearsing and working on arrangements.<ref>Azerrad 1993, p. 169</ref> The only recording carried over from the Smart Studios sessions was "Polly", including Channing's cymbal crashes. Once recording commenced, the band worked eight to ten hours a day.<ref name="Azerrad p. 174">Azerrad 1993, p. 174</ref>

Despite receiving a $287,000 advance upon signing with Geffen, Cobain retained a preference for inexpensive equipment—particularly Japanese-made [[Fender (company)|Fender]] guitars, due to their skinny necks and wider availability in lefthanded orientation.<ref name="Gill">{{cite web |last1=Gill |first1=Chris |title=The definitive Kurt Cobain gear guide: a deep dive into the Nirvana frontman's pawn shop prizes, turbo-charged stompboxes and blown woofers |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-definitive-kurt-cobain-gear-guide |website=guitarworld.com |date=February 17, 2021 |publisher=Guitar World |access-date=March 13, 2023}}</ref> These included several [[Stratocaster]]s fitted with [[humbucker]] pickups in the bridge positions, as well as a 1965 [[Fender Jaguar|Jaguar]] with [[DiMarzio]] pickups and a 1969 [[Fender Mustang|Mustang]], the latter of which Cobain cited as his favorite due to its design flaws.<ref name="Gill" />  For the album, Cobain bought a rackmount system featuring a [[Mesa/Boogie]] Studio preamp, a Crown power amp, and [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall]] cabinets.  He also used a [[Vox (company)|Vox]] [[AC30]] and a Fender [[Fender Bassman|Bassman]].  Vig preferred not to use pedals, but he allowed Cobain to use a [[Boss DS-1]] distortion pedal, which Cobain considered a key part of his sound, as well as an [[Electro-Harmonix]] [[Big Muff]] fuzz pedal and a [[Small Clone]] chorus.<ref name="Gill" />

Novoselic and Grohl finished their tracks in days, while Cobain worked longer on guitar overdubs, vocals, and lyrics. He sometimes finished lyrics minutes before recording.<ref>Azerrad 1993, p. 176</ref> Vig recalled that Cobain was often reluctant to record [[Overdubbing|overdubs]], but he was persuaded to [[Double tracking|double-track]] his vocals when Vig told him that [[John Lennon]] did it.<ref name="classicalbums" /> Though the sessions generally went well, Vig said Cobain would become difficult at times: "He'd be great for an hour, and then he'd sit in a corner and say nothing for an hour."<ref name="hoi" />

=== Mixing and mastering ===
Vig and the band were unhappy with Vig's initial mixes and decided to bring in someone else to oversee the [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]]. DGC supplied a list of options, including [[Scott Litt]], known for his work with [[R.E.M.]], and [[Ed Stasium]], known for his work with [[Ramones]] and [[the Smithereens]]. Cobain was concerned about bringing in well known producers, and instead chose [[Andy Wallace (producer)|Andy Wallace]], who had co-produced [[Slayer]]'s 1990 album ''[[Seasons in the Abyss]]''.<ref name="diperna1996">di Perna, Alan. "Grunge Music: The Making of Nevermind". ''Guitar World''. Fall 1996.</ref> Novoselic recalled, "We said, 'Right on,' because those Slayer records were so heavy."<ref>Berkenstadt; Cross, p. 96</ref>

Wallace's mixes most notably altered the drum and guitar sounds.<ref name="Azerrad 179 180">Azerrad 1993, p. 179–80</ref> According to Wallace and Vig, the band loved the results.<ref>Berkenstadt; Cross, p. 99</ref> However, they criticized it after the album was released. [[Steve Albini]], who engineered Nirvana's next album, ''[[In Utero]]'' (1993), said Vig's initial mix "sounded maybe 200 times more ass-kicking" than the final version of ''Nevermind'' and that Nirvana referred to it while working on ''In Utero.'' He said that Vig was an excellent engineer who "had a good, sympathetic relationship with all the noisy bands he recorded in the 80s", which was why Nirvana had hired him.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walls |first=Seth Colter |date=September 27, 2011 |title=Kurt Cobain Thought ''Nevermind'' Was Nirvana's Worst Album |url=https://slate.com/culture/2011/09/nirvana-nevermind-reissue-the-version-of-nirvana-s-album-that-kurt-cobain-loved-best.html |access-date=September 19, 2022 |website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |language=en}}</ref>

''Nevermind'' was [[audio mastering|mastered]] by [[Howie Weinberg]] on the afternoon of August 2 at the Mastering Lab in Hollywood, California. Weinberg started working alone when no one else arrived at the appointed time in the studio; by the time Nirvana, Andy Wallace, and Gary Gersh arrived, he had almost finished.<ref>Berkenstadt; Cross, p. 102</ref> A [[hidden track]], "Endless, Nameless", intended to appear at the end of "Something in the Way", was accidentally left off initial pressings of the album. Weinberg recalled, "In the beginning, it was kind of a verbal thing to put that track at the end [...] Maybe I didn't write it down when Nirvana or the record company said to do it. So, when they pressed the first twenty thousand or so CDs, albums, and cassettes, it wasn't on there." Cobain called Weinberg and demanded he rectify the mistake.<ref>Berkenstadt; Cross, p. 103</ref>