Tone library / Nirvana / The Man Who Sold The World

The Man Who Sold The World amp settings — Line 6 Pod Go

The Nirvana guitar tone for “The Man Who Sold The World”, dialed in for a Line 6 Pod Go with a Epiphone Les Paul Studio. MTV Unplugged version, November 18, 1993 — the iconic acoustic performance

Original rig

Martin D-18E electro-acoustic with Bartolini 3AV pickup added, Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion (used on acoustic for this song), Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus, into Fender Twin Reverb (used as monitor only — signal went direct to board)

Warm, slightly gritty acoustic-electric tone with subtle chorus shimmer and light dirt from the DS-2 adding edge without full distortion

Amp settings — Line 6 Pod Go

CHANNELUS Double Nrm (Fender Twin model) — closest to the Twin Reverb monitor toneBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	5
Mid	6
Treble	5
Presence	4
Reverb	2
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPneck TONE6 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Scream 808 (Tube Screamer block — approximating the light DS-2 grit)

DS-2 was used for light grit on the acoustic, not full distortion — the 808 block at low drive approximates this edge

Drive 3 · Tone 5 · Level 6

02Gray Flanger (Small Clone/chorus substitute)

Set for subtle watery chorus — Cobain used the Small Clone for shimmer, not heavy modulation

Speed 3 · Depth 4 · Manual 5 · Regen 2

Why these settings

The original was an electro-acoustic direct to board with a Twin as monitor. Your Les Paul neck humbucker is darker and hotter than the Martin's DeArmond/Bartolini setup, so treble stays neutral and gain is kept very low. The US Double Nrm model replicates the Twin's clean headroom. Roll tone knob to 6 to soften the humbucker's brightness and approach the acoustic's warmth.

PRO TIPCobain picked closer to the neck on this performance for a rounder attack — try positioning your pick hand over the neck pickup area and using lighter pick attack to capture that softer, folk-inspired dynamic he brought to the cover.

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These settings are for a Line 6 Pod Go. 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.