Rape me amp settings — Fender Bullet Reverb

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Rape me”, dialed in for a Fender Bullet Reverb with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, In Utero (1993) — iconic loud chorus distortion

Original rig

Univox Hi-Flier / Fender Jaguar -> Tech 21 SansAmp Classic / Boss DS-2 -> 1970s Fender Quad Reverb

Abrasive, mid-focused, raw grunge distortion with jagged attack

Amp settings — Fender Bullet Reverb

CHANNELNormal (Clean)BOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion

Engage for the loud explosive chorus sections; Turbo I provides the classic scooped-bite DS-1 profile Kurt used

Level 8 · Tone 6 · Dist 9 · Turbo Mode 1

Why these settings

The Boss DS-2 acts as the primary gain engine, so the Bullet Reverb is kept clean with amp gain at 2 to avoid muddy double-clipping. Because your Stratocaster single-coil bridge pickup is brighter and thinner than Kurt's humbuckers, amp treble is reined in at 5 while mid and bass are boosted to add low-end body. The Boss CH-1 is omitted and kept bypassed since this track uses dry, abrasive drive without modulation.

PRO TIPFor the intro and verse, simply bypass the DS-2 and let the clean amp carry the acoustic-like chime; when kicking into the chorus, strike with heavy downward wrist strokes near the bridge to replicate Kurt's jagged attack.

Get this tone on your amp

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

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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.