Drain You amp settings — Fender Champion II 25
The Nirvana guitar tone for “Drain You”, dialed in for a Fender Champion II 25 with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Live at The Paramount, Seattle, October 31, 1991 — the version released as a b-side on 'Come as You Are'
Fender Mustang (bridge single-coil) → Boss DS-1 → EHX Small Clone → Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp (clean) → Crown Power Base 2 → Marshall 1960A 4x12
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 3 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Presence | 0 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 7 |
01Boss DS-1 Distortion
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This is non-negotiable for the Cobain Paramount tone; the DS-1 with Dist maxed IS the sound. A used DS-1 runs $30-40 and gets you 95% there.
02Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Used for the bridge section swirl. Depth switch OFF (shallow). A Behringer UC200 or TC Electronic Corona in 'vintage' mode is a budget substitute.
Your Strat's bridge single-coil is brighter and lower-output than Cobain's Mustang, so I dropped treble from the original 6.5 to 5 and pushed bass from 5 to 6 to fatten the low-end. The Champion 25's gain is set low (3) because all dirt must come from the DS-1 — stacking amp gain with pedal distortion muddies this tone. The original Mesa preamp was run clean and loud; replicate that by keeping amp gain minimal and master volume up.
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These settings are for a Fender Champion II 25. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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