Tone library / Nirvana / Drain You (Live at The Paramount, 1991)

Drain You (Live at The Paramount, 1991) amp settings — Flamma FG-200

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Drain You (Live at The Paramount, 1991)”, dialed in for a Flamma FG-200 with a Gusta GLP-05C. Live at The Paramount, Seattle, October 31, 1991 — from the iconic concert film

Original rig

Fender Mustang (SD JB humbucker) → Boss DS-1 → EHX Small Clone → Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp (clean) → Crown Power Base 2 → Marshall 1960A 4x12

Aggressive, buzzy grunge distortion with scooped mids — all gain from the DS-1, amp set clean and loud

Amp settings — Flamma FG-200

CHANNELUS HI-GAIN (closest to clean-platform-with-pedal setup — set gain LOW, let the DS-1 do the work)BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	5
Mid	5
Treble	6
Presence	5
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Flamma FG-200 Distortion Block (DS-1 type)

This is the PRIMARY gain source — Kurt's DS-1 was maxed on distortion with the tone rolled way back (8 o'clock position = dark/filtered). Enable the DS-1 or 'Distortion' effect block in the FG-200

Dist/Drive 10 · Tone/Filter 3 · Level 8

02Flamma FG-200 Chorus Block (Small Clone type)

Subtle watery chorus — engaged during verses for width, can bypass for tighter chorus sections

Rate 4 · Depth 6

Why these settings

The FG-200 is a modeling unit — select a clean-ish American high-gain model and keep the amp gain at 2-3 since the DS-1 block provides ALL the saturation. Your GLP-05C has humbuckers vs Kurt's JB-modded Mustang, so the output is comparable, but roll tone to 7 to tame the LP's natural brightness. The original amp was literally a clean preamp into a solid-state power section — the grunge tone came entirely from the DS-1 pedal.

PRO TIPTune to Eb standard. Kurt's picking attack was loose and aggressive with the pick angled hard — dig in on downstrokes and let the DS-1's compression do the sustain work. The tone knob on the DS-1 being nearly off is critical; turning it up makes it fizzy and thin, not heavier.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Flamma FG-200. 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.