Tone library / Alice In Chains / Nutshell

Nutshell amp settings — Positive Grid Spark 40

The Alice In Chains guitar tone for “Nutshell”, dialed in for a Positive Grid Spark 40 with a Squier Stratocaster. Studio cut, Jar of Flies (1994) — Electric solo tone

Original rig

G&L Rampage (Seymour Duncan JB) into Bogner Fish Preamp (Brown/Shark channel) / Marshall JCM800, Marshall 1960B 4x12 cab

Warm, singing mid-forward high-gain lead with smooth sustain and ambient plate/hall reverb

Amp settings — Positive Grid Spark 40

CHANNELTreadplate (Mesa Dual Rectifier model) or Plexi model with onboard Drive blockBRIGHToffBOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Onboard Overdrive Block (Spark Clone Drive / TS9 style)

Used as a clean boost to tighten low end and add sustain into the amp model

Drive 2 · Tone 5 · Level 8

02Onboard Delay Block (Digital Delay)

Adds subtle studio space behind the lead lines

Time 4 · Feedback 3 · Level 3

03Onboard Reverb Block (Hall Reverb)

Matches the deep ambient acoustic room verb on the track

Decay 5 · Tone 4 · Level 5

Why these settings

To compensate for the Squier Stratocaster's brighter, lower-output single-coil compared to Jerry Cantrell's high-output Seymour Duncan JB humbucker, roll the guitar tone knob back to 7 and boost mids to 7 on the amp. The Spark 40 hardware faceplate lacks a dedicated presence control, so top-end bite is moderated via treble at 5. The onboard Tube Screamer block is configured strictly as a boost (Drive 2, Level 8) to supply the thick Bogner-style singing sustain without adding mud.

PRO TIPPick with the meat of your thumb alongside the plectrum on the bends to coax out Jerry's trademark harmonic overtones, and vibrato wide from the wrist rather than the fingers.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Positive Grid Spark 40. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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