Tone library / Nirvana / Come as you are

Come as you are amp settings — MAX Solid-state

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Come as you are”, dialed in for a MAX Solid-state with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991)

Original rig

Fender Jaguar (neck pickup, DiMarzio PAF) → Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus → Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 Preamp into Crown Power Base 2 / Marshall 1960B cab

Watery, dark clean with lush chorus — slightly broken up, submerged and hypnotic

Amp settings — MAX Solid-state

BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	6
Mid	5
Treble	5
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE5 VOLUME8

Signal chain

01Chorus (any basic analog or digital chorus)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The chorus is essential to this tone; without it you lose the underwater quality entirely. A Boss CE-5, TC Electronic Corona, or Behringer UC200 clone all work.

Rate 4 · Depth 7

Why these settings

Your MAX solid-state amp is unrecognized so I've used only universal controls. The original Mesa preamp was set for edge-of-breakup clean — your solid-state won't break up the same way, so gain stays low (3) to keep it clean and let the chorus define the tone. Rolling the Strat's tone to 5 darkens the brighter single-coil to approximate the Jaguar's warmer neck humbucker.

PRO TIPTune down a whole step to D standard (D-G-C-F-A-D) — this is the actual tuning, not the commonly cited half-step down. The looser string tension adds to the murky, submerged feel and makes the main riff sit in the correct register.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a MAX Solid-state. 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.