Rape Me amp settings — Ys Coudlt tell ya

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Rape Me”, dialed in for a Ys Coudlt tell ya with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, In Utero (1993) — Steve Albini recording

Original rig

Fender Quad Reverb (broken, one power tube working) with Tech 21 SansAmp as main distortion source; Univox Hi-Flier or Fender Jaguar; Boss DS-2 as secondary distortion

Raw, abrasive, deliberately lo-fi grunge distortion with grainy saturation and minimal processing

Amp settings — Ys Coudlt tell ya

BOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME9

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

Main gain source — amp stays clean, all saturation from DS-1

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 8

Why these settings

Your amp is unrecognized so I cannot verify its controls — values given for universal gain/bass/mid/treble only, presence and reverb set to null. Amp must stay on its cleanest setting with gain near minimum because the DS-1 provides all distortion. Your Strat's single coils are brighter and lower output than Cobain's humbucking Univox, so DS-1 Dist pushed to 8 compensates; Tone at 6 keeps the raw grit without ice-pick highs.

PRO TIPDig in hard with downstrokes on the open power chords — Cobain's attack was aggressive and percussive, and the DS-1 responds dynamically to pick force; back off slightly on the verse for the cleaner contrast.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Ys Coudlt tell ya. 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.