Drain you amp settings — Gould 10 watt

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Drain you”, dialed in for a Gould 10 watt with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) — main distorted rhythm tone

Original rig

Fender Mustang (bridge humbucker) → Boss DS-1 → Mesa Boogie Mark series + Fender Bassman (multiple overdubs), recorded at Sound City Studios

Raw mid-heavy grunge crunch, saturated but not fizzy, aggressive pick attack with gritty sustain

Amp settings — Gould 10 watt

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	5
Treble	6
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Gould 10W is an unrecognized small practice amp — likely bass/treble only with no mid, presence, or reverb controls (set to null). Cobain's tone came from a DS-1 into Mesa/Bassman stacks; without a distortion pedal, I've pushed gain to 7 which is the musical limit of a 10W solid-state before it turns harsh. This gets you into crunch territory but won't reach full Nevermind saturation — a Boss DS-1 or clone is essential to nail this tone properly. Strat single coils are brighter and lower output than Cobain's bridge humbucker, so I've rolled treble back slightly and recommend tone knob at 7 to tame ice-pick highs.

PRO TIPTune down a half-step to Eb standard — Nevermind was tracked that way and the looser string tension adds to the sludgy feel. Dig in hard with downstrokes on the verse eighth-note pattern; Cobain's attack was percussive and aggressive, not smooth.

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These settings are for a Gould 10 watt. 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.