Rape Me amp settings — Marshall Jcm 2000 dsl 401

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Rape Me”, dialed in for a Marshall Jcm 2000 dsl 401 with a Ibanez GRG17ODXL. Studio version, In Utero (1993), recorded February 1993 at Pachyderm Studio

Original rig

Univox Hi-Flier → Tech 21 SansAmp → Fender Quad Reverb (broken, 1 tube working). Dry signal, no modulation on this track.

Raspy, compressed, blown-out distortion with scooped mids and fizzy top-end breakup. Intentionally broken and unpredictable.

Amp settings — Marshall Jcm 2000 dsl 401

CHANNELClassic Gain (green)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	6
Mid	4
Treble	6
Presence	5
Reverb	0
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1

Primary gain source. Simulates SansAmp's raspy, saturated breakup. Amp stays clean—DS-1 drives everything.

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 8

Why these settings

Original tone came from a SansAmp into a broken Fender—scooped, fizzy, compressed. Your DSL is mid-forward British voicing, so I dropped mids to 4 and set the amp to Classic Gain (cleaner channel) with gain at 3. The DS-1 handles all saturation—this prevents mud from double-gain stacking. Your Ibanez humbuckers are hotter than Cobain's single-coil Univox, so DS-1 Dist at 8 (not 10) avoids over-compression.

PRO TIPCobain's attack was loose and aggressive—don't death-grip the pick. Let the strings flap slightly against the frets for that trashy, percussive quality. Palm-mute the verse riff lightly, then lift completely for the chorus to maximize dynamic contrast.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall Jcm 2000 dsl 401. 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.