Drain you amp settings — Roland Cube 20

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Drain you”, dialed in for a Roland Cube 20 with a Squier Bullet Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991)

Original rig

Mesa Boogie + Fender Bassman (multiple overdubs), Fender Mustang with Seymour Duncan JB humbucker, Boss DS-1 Distortion

Aggressive mid-heavy grunge crunch with compressed saturation and punk edge

Amp settings — Roland Cube 20

CHANNELR-FIER (amp model selector)

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Why these settings

Original used Mesa Boogie with Boss DS-1 stacked for saturation. Your Cube's R-FIER model approximates the Mesa rectifier voicing. Pushed gain to 8 because you lack a DS-1 — the Cube must provide all the dirt. Raised mid to 7 (vs original's 5-6) because Strat single coils are thinner than Cobain's humbucker-equipped Mustang, and mid presence defines the Nirvana wall-of-sound. Rolled tone knob to 7 to tame Strat ice-pick highs.

PRO TIPCobain tuned to Eb standard (half step down) — this adds low-end thickness and string slinkiness that's essential to the feel; retune before dialing in or the tone will feel thin and stiff.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Roland Cube 20. 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.