Tone library / Nirvana / Come As You Are

Come As You Are amp settings — Vox AC10C1

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Come As You Are”, dialed in for a Vox AC10C1 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — clean amp with chorus-dominant tone

Original rig

1965 Fender Jaguar (DiMarzio Super Distortion bridge, PAF neck), Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp + Crown Power Base-2 power amp, EHX Small Clone chorus (depth switch UP, rate ~12 o'clock), Boss DS-1 (bypassed for this song's main riff)

Clean, watery, hypnotic chorus shimmer with subtle midrange warmth — the chorus IS the tone

Amp settings — Vox AC10C1

CHANNELNormal (single channel amp)BOOSToff

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

Don’t have a Vox AC10C1? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss CE-2W Chorus

Set to CE-2 mode (vintage). This replaces the Small Clone — CE-2W is warmer than the Small Clone's slightly more metallic shimmer, so push depth higher to compensate. The chorus defines this entire tone.

Rate 5 · Depth 8

02Boss DD-3T

Optional — adds subtle space. Kurt didn't use delay on this track, but a touch of short slapback (Mode: 800ms, mixed low) can thicken the CE-2W to closer approximate the Small Clone's depth. Bypass if you want strict accuracy.

E.Level 2 · F.Back 2 · D.Time 3 · Mode 0

Why these settings

The AC10's Class A chime is brighter and more articulate than Kurt's Mesa preamp, which was warmer and slightly compressed. I've kept treble conservative at 5 (vs the referenced 6) to avoid ice-pick highs through the Vox. Your GRG170DX has hotter ceramic humbuckers vs Kurt's single-coil Jaguar, so the neck pickup with tone rolled to 7 tames the output and adds the necessary softness. Gain stays low—this is a CLEAN tone with chorus, not crunch.

PRO TIPTune down one whole step to D standard (D-G-C-F-A-D) — this is mandatory for the correct pitch and string tension that gives the riff its loose, slinky feel. Pick closer to the neck with the fleshy part of your thumb grazing the strings for that pillowy attack Kurt used.

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