In Bloom amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The Nirvana guitar tone for “In Bloom”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — Butch Vig production at Sound City

Original rig

Fender Mustang with DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucker → Boss DS-1 → Mesa Boogie preamp / Fender Bassman (double-tracked, stereo panned)

Raw, mid-forward grunge distortion with gritty saturation and compressed sustain

Amp settings — Fender Champion 20

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Mid	7
Treble	5
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	5

Don’t have a Fender Champion 20? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME9

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This pedal is essential to the In Bloom tone; the DS-1 was always on for verses and choruses. Without it, you cannot authentically replicate this sound.

Tone 5 · Level 7 · Dist 7

Why these settings

The Champion 20 is a solid-state practice amp with limited gain saturation compared to the original Mesa/Bassman tube setup. Cranking gain to 8 gets you into fuzzy territory but lacks the tube compression Cobain had. Your Strat's single-coil bridge pickup is brighter and lower-output than his DiMarzio humbucker, so bass is raised +1 and treble dropped -1 to compensate. Without a DS-1, you will get generic Fender distortion rather than the gritty, clipped DS-1 character that defines this track.

PRO TIPTune to E♭ Standard. Dig in hard with your pick near the bridge for that aggressive Cobain attack, and use tight palm-muting on the verse chug while opening your hand fully for the ringing chorus power chords.

Get this tone on your amp

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

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More tones for the Fender Champion 20

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Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.