Riff Tone

Drain You (Live In Los Angeles, Great Western Forum - December 30, 1993)

Nirvana

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Mustang (likely Competition Blue, left-handed, with Seymour Duncan JB humbucker in bridge)

AmpMesa/Boogie Studio Preamp + Crown Power Amp into Marshall 1960A 4x12 Cabinet

PickupsSeymour Duncan JB (bridge humbucker, swapped into Mustang)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass5.5

mid5.5

treble6

reverb1

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

distortionBoss Boss DS-1 Distortion

Notes

Live performance, December 30, 1993, Great Western Forum, Los Angeles. Gear confirmed for In Utero tour era. Settings and pedal use are for live, not studio.

Tone Character(10)

raw, mid-heavycrunchy and aggressiveheavy, saturated distortiongritty grunge attackbiting edge from bridge pickupminimal reverb, dry soundpercussive and dynamicslight palm mutinghigh-output, fuzz-ladenloud and energetic

Difficulty

The riff is accessible to intermediate players due to its straightforward power chord shapes and rhythm, but requires stamina for aggressive downstrokes and dynamic palm muting typical of Cobain's style.

Sources

Amp Settings for Drain You by Nirvana (guitars and tone) - Guitar Chalk Drain You Guitar Tone Settings — Nirvana | ToneMirror Kurt Cobain's Guitar Rig, Gear & Pedalboard Kurt Cobain's Guitar Rig, Gear & Pedalboard | Equipboard

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