Drain You amp settings — Cort Cm15r

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Drain You”, dialed in for a Cort Cm15r with a Epiphone SG Standard. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) - Main distorted rhythm track

Original rig

Fender '65 Jaguar / '69 Mustang, ProCo Rat / Boss DS-1, Fender Bassman & Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp

Massive, thick, wall-of-sound grunge rhythm with gritty upper-mid bite

Amp settings — Cort Cm15r

CHANNELOverdrive Channel (push Drive switch ON)

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

Don’t have a Cort Cm15r? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; with this pedal, switch amp to Clean channel and set Gain to 2

Tone 5 · Level 7 · Dist 8

Why these settings

The Cort CM15R lacks a dedicated mid knob and presence control, so the missing midrange bite must be shaped by balancing high bass and elevated treble on the built-in drive channel. Your Epiphone SG's humbuckers provide extra thickness compared to Kurt's single-coil/jaguar setup, so keep gain at 7 to prevent the small 8-inch speaker from turning muddy. Adding an actual Boss DS-1 into the clean channel is the ultimate upgrade to nail the authentic aggressive grunge clip.

PRO TIPHit open power chords aggressively near the bridge with a medium-heavy pick; Kurt's wall-of-sound rhythm relied heavily on hard downstrokes and letting the open lower strings ring through with maximum attack.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Cort Cm15r. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Cort Cm15r settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Drain You on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Nirvana tonesALL SONGS Nirvana on the Cort Cm15rSAME ARTIST, SAME AMP Epiphone SG Standard tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

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.