Tone library / Nirvana / Come As You Are

Come As You Are amp settings — Fojill Ga-20

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Come As You Are”, dialed in for a Fojill Ga-20 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, Nevermind (1991)

Original rig

1965 Fender Jaguar (neck pickup, DiMarzio PAF) → EH Small Clone chorus → Boss DS-1 → Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 preamp (clean) → Crown Power Base 2 → Marshall 4x12

Watery, hypnotic clean with thick chorus modulation; transitions to gritty midrange crunch on chorus sections

Amp settings — Fojill Ga-20

CHANNELClean channel

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	4
Mid	6
Treble	5
Presence	4
Reverb	2
Master	5

Don’t have a Fojill Ga-20? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE5 VOLUME8

Signal chain

01Chorus (RECOMMENDED — not currently owned)

CRITICAL for this tone — the Small Clone is THE sound of this riff. Any analog-voiced chorus works: TC Electronic Corona, Boss CE-5, or a $30 Donner clone. Depth high, rate slow. Leave ON for entire song.

Rate 3 · Depth 7

02Distortion (your pedal)

Kick on ONLY for chorus sections ('Come as you are...'). Cobain used DS-1 with gain nearly maxed. Keep tone at noon to avoid fizz. Chorus pedal stays on underneath.

Level 6 · Tone 5 · Distortion/Gain 7

Why these settings

Your GRG170DX has hotter Infinity pickups than Cobain's PAF, so I dropped amp gain from the original 4-6 down to 3 and pulled treble back one notch to compensate for the brighter, higher-output signal. The Fojill GA-20 is a small practice amp with limited clean headroom — keep master volume moderate to avoid unwanted breakup on the verse sections. Mid pushed to 6 because the GA-20 is naturally scooped compared to the Mesa's mid-forward voicing.

PRO TIPThe verse riff is two strings only (A and D strings in D tuning) — use your picking-hand palm lightly resting near the bridge to control sustain and keep it hypnotic, not washy. Roll your tone knob to 5 like Cobain did; it tames the chorus effect's high-frequency swirl and makes it sit in the mix.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fojill Ga-20. 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.