Drain you amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Drain you”, dialed in for a Marshall MG30CFX with a Squier Classic Vibe 60s Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991) - Main distorted rhythm track

Original rig

Fender '65 Jaguar / '69 Mustang (bridge humbucker/single), Boss DS-1 / ProCo Rat, Mesa Boogie Studio .22 / Studio Preamp into Marshall 4x12 cab

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

Amp settings — Marshall MG30CFX

CHANNELOD1BOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	7
Mid	6
Treble	5
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Marshall MG30CFX? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

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

Tone 5 · Level 7 · Dist 8

Why these settings

Because you don't own a DS-1, we run the MG30CFX on the OD1 channel with gain pushed to 8 to capture Cobain's saturated crunch straight from the amp. The Strat single coils are brighter and thinner than Kurt's humbucker-equipped Jag/Mustang, so treble is pulled back to 5 and bass boosted to 7 to add bottom-end body and prevent harsh fizz. Clean bridge/intro section: switch amp to Clean channel with guitar volume rolled back to 7.

PRO TIPHit power chords aggressively with heavy downstrokes near the bridge to compress the Strat's single-coil attack and emulate Cobain's percussive, wall-of-sound tracking.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG30CFX. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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