Drain You amp settings — Storm Cd 100

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Drain You”, dialed in for a Storm Cd 100 with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Nevermind (1991)

Original rig

Fender Mustang (early 70s, Competition Blue, Seymour Duncan JB humbucker in bridge) → Boss DS-1 Distortion → Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp → Crown Power Base 2 power amp → Marshall 1960A 4x12 cab

Raw, aggressive mid-forward grunge crunch with scooped low-mids and cutting high-end bite

Amp settings — Storm Cd 100

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

Don’t have a Storm Cd 100? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Storm CD 100 is an unrecognized amp model—knob names on your faceplate may differ. Kurt's tone came primarily from a Boss DS-1 into a clean Mesa preamp; without a distortion pedal, I've pushed amp gain to 7 which will give you gritty breakup but not the full snarling saturation of the original. Your Strat's single coils are brighter and lower output than Kurt's humbucker-equipped Mustang, so treble is dropped to 5 and bass bumped to 6 to compensate for the thinner low-end.

PRO TIPDig in hard with downstrokes on the power chords and let the pick attack do the work—Kurt's tone was as much about aggressive right-hand dynamics as it was gear. A Boss DS-1 or any basic distortion pedal would get you 80% closer to the real thing.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Storm Cd 100. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Drain You on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Nirvana tonesALL SONGS Squier Affinity Stratocaster 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.