Tone library / nirvana / about a girl

about a girl amp settings — orange amp ga 20

The nirvana guitar tone for “about a girl”, dialed in for a orange amp ga 20 with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, Bleach (1989) — iconic jangly clean-to-gritty rhythm track

Original rig

Univox Hi-Flier Phase 3 / Fender Stratocaster -> Jack Endino's 1968 Fender Twin Reverb head into closed-back 2x12 BFI Bullfrog cab

Raw, jangly vintage clean with bright attack, slight edge-of-breakup grit, and tight low end
Amp settings — orange amp ga 20
CHANNELCleanBOOSToff
GAIN 3 BASS 5 MID 6 TREBLE 7 REVERB 2 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain3
Bass5
Mid6
Treble7
Reverb2
Master6
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Guitar
PICKUPneck+middle TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

Bypassed for the studio rhythm track; kick on with Dist at 10 and Level at 10 if playing the heavy Bleach-era live choruses

Tone 5 · Level 0 · Dist 0
Why these settings

The studio cut of 'About a Girl' is notoriously the only clean/jangly track on Bleach, recorded straight into Endino's clean Fender Twin rather than Kurt's usual cranked DS-1. Because your Orange practice amp naturally emphasizes warm low-mids, push treble to 7 and use the Strat's out-of-phase neck+middle position to capture the Twin Reverb's chime and bite. The DS-1 is left bypassed to preserve the studio track's signature jangly rhythm tone.

PRO TIPStrum aggressively near the bridge with an open, loose wrist to produce the percussive fret clatter and open-string bite prominent on the original recording.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a orange amp ga 20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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