School amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

The Nirvana guitar tone for “School”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 50XL with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Bleach (1989)

Original rig

Univox Hi-Flier / modified Strat (bridge humbucker) -> Boss DS-1 Distortion -> cranked Fender Twin Reverb / solid-state head into 4x12 cab

Raw, abrasive, aggressive grunge distortion with biting upper midrange and raw low-end grind

Amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

CHANNELVoice: British 80s (Red LED)BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	5

Don’t have a Fender Champion 50XL? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; with pedal, switch amp to Clean channel (Voice: 65 Clean), gain 2

Tone 6 · Level 8 · Dist 9

Why these settings

The Fender Champion 50XL has a 2-band EQ with no dedicated middle or presence knobs, so both are set to null. Because you do not own a DS-1, select the British 80s voice and push amp gain to 8 to deliver Kurt's raw Bleach distortion directly from the amp. The Player Strat single-coil bridge pickup is brighter than Kurt's humbucker, so tone is pulled back to 8 to prevent harsh high-end fizz.

PRO TIPAttack the open low E string hard with a heavy downstroke right near the bridge to recreate Kurt's abrasive, scraping pick attack on the main riff.

Get this tone on your amp

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

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More tones for the Fender Champion 50XL

MIRROR TUNEZUTOMAYO EverlongFoo fighters Nothing Is foreverCaliban Sweet Child O' MineGuns N' Roses The WagonDinosaur Jr.Smeel teen spiritNirvana

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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.