Lithium amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Lithium”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Harley Benton ST MODERN PLUS. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — iconic clean verse to fuzzy chorus transition

Original rig

1965 Fender Jaguar / Fender Mustang into 1965 Fender Bassman head, EHX Big Muff Pi / Boss DS-1, EHX Small Clone

Warm, punchy low-end clean verse exploding into a thick, wall-of-fuzz chorus

Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

CHANNELClean amp typeBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	7
Mid	6
Treble	5
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01MXR Analog Chorus

Engage for subtle watery modulation on the clean verse

LOW 5 · HIGH 5 · LEVEL 5 · RATE 3 · DEPTH 7

02Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned (kick on for the explosive chorus fuzz)

Volume 7 · Tone 4 · Sustain 8

Why these settings

The Boss Katana 50 MkII lacks a physical presence knob, so it is set to null. Running the Clean amp voice at gain 2 matches Butch Vig's studio Fender Bassman platform while leaving headroom for dirt pedals. An EHX Big Muff is recommended for the signature thick fuzz chorus, while your MXR Chorus nails the verse shimmer with depth at 7 and rate around 9 o'clock.

PRO TIPOn the clean verse arpeggios, pick hard right over the bridge pickup to maintain percussive note attack despite the low-mid heavy EQ.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Boss Katana 50 MkII. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Boss Katana 50 MkII settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Lithium on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Nirvana tonesALL SONGS Nirvana on the Boss Katana 50 MkIISAME ARTIST, SAME AMP Harley Benton ST MODERN PLUS tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

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.