School amp settings — fender champion 100 II

The Nirvana guitar tone for “School”, dialed in for a fender champion 100 II with a Harley Benton ST-20 HSS. Studio version, Bleach (1989) — Reciprocal Recording sessions

Original rig

Fender Twin Reverb + Pro Co RAT (Distortion maxed, Filter ~8 o'clock, Volume ~4 o'clock), Univox Hi-Flier with humbuckers

Raw, gritty, mid-forward aggression with snarling distortion and minimal low-end mud

Amp settings — fender champion 100 II

CHANNELOverdrive ChannelBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	4
Mid	7
Treble	6
Reverb	0
Master	5

Don’t have a fender champion 100 II? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Pro Co RAT (or RAT clone)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The RAT is essential for this tone; a Boss DS-1 is a cheaper alternative but more scooped. If using the RAT, switch amp to CLEAN channel and set amp gain to 2.

Distortion 10 · Filter 3 · Volume 8

Why these settings

Your Champion 100 II is voiced brighter and more scooped than Kurt's cranked Twin. I pushed mids to 7 (vs typical 5) to compensate for the Fender scoop and capture the RAT's midrange bark. Without a RAT pedal, the amp's overdrive channel at gain 7 gets you in the ballpark, but it's cleaner and less gnarly than the original — the RAT is doing most of the work on the recording. Your HSS Harley Benton's bridge humbucker approximates the Univox output well.

PRO TIPKurt's right-hand attack was violent and loose — dig in hard near the bridge with downstrokes on the main riff. The sloppiness is part of the tone; precise picking will sound too polished for Bleach-era Nirvana.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a fender champion 100 II. 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.