Tone library / Nirvana / In Bloom

In Bloom amp settings — Orange Crush 20RT

The Nirvana guitar tone for “In Bloom”, dialed in for a Orange Crush 20RT with a Yamaha Erg 121. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — distorted rhythm tone (verse/chorus)

Original rig

Fender Mustang (bridge pickup) → Boss DS-1 → Mesa Boogie Studio .22 preamp + Crown Power Base 2 → Marshall 4x12. Chorus sections double-tracked with Fender Bassman.

Thick, crunchy grunge distortion with scooped low-mids, aggressive upper-mid bite, and compressed sustain
Amp settings — Orange Crush 20RT
CHANNELDirty channel
GAIN 3 BASS 4 MID 6 TREBLE 5 REVERB 0 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain3
Bass4
Mid6
Treble5
Reverb0
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME9
Signal chain

01NUX Huminator (as DS-1 substitute)

This is your primary gain source. The DS-1 was always on for the distorted sections. The Huminator's high-gain voice works here — roll tone back to avoid fizz.

Gain 8 · Tone 4 · Level 6

02Boss CE-2

For the clean verse arpeggios only — turn off for distorted sections. Cobain used an EHX Small Clone; your CE-2 is brighter, so push depth and keep rate slow for that watery warble.

Rate 3 · Depth 7
Why these settings

The Orange Crush 20RT is warmer and more compressed in the low-mids than Cobain's Mesa rig, so I raised mids to 6 (original was 5) to cut through and dropped bass to 4 to prevent mud. Amp gain is set low at 3 because the Huminator is providing the saturation — stacking two gain stages would lose definition. The Huminator replaces the DS-1; your SD-1 is smoother and less aggressive, so the Huminator is the better choice here.

PRO TIPCobain's right-hand attack was critical — palm-mute hard on the verse F–B♭ chug with your hand right at the bridge saddles, then release completely for the chorus power chords to get that quiet-loud dynamic. The tone is in the hands as much as the knobs.

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

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