Tone library / Nirvana / Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 50XL with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — iconic main riff and heavy chorus

Original rig

Fender Stratocaster (Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker), Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp clean channel into Crown Power Base 2, Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab, Boss DS-1 Distortion, EHX Small Clone

Aggressive, abrasive high-gain grunge crunch with biting upper-mids and scooped low-mids

Amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

CHANNELChannel 2 (Voice: Metal 2000 / Modern Metal)

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; with this pedal, switch to amp Channel 1 Clean and drop Gain to 2

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 8

02Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; engage for the watery verse tone

Rate 6 · Depth 10

Why these settings

The Champion 50XL faceplate lacks a middle EQ knob and presence control, so the high-gain 'Metal 2000' voicing is selected to reproduce the saturated bite of Cobain's DS-1 and Mesa preamp setup directly from the amp. The Ibanez bridge humbucker supplies ample output, requiring a treble boost to 7 to match the sharp upper-mid cut of a Seymour Duncan JB through a 4x12 cab. Clean verse: switch the amp to Channel 1 Clean with the onboard Chorus effect active.

PRO TIPFor the signature percussive scratches between chords, flatten your fretting hand lightly across all six strings without pressing down to the fretboard and strike aggressively near the bridge with down-up strokes.

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.