Come As You Are

Watery, chorus-drenched riff, murky and hypnotic.

What is the Come As You Are guitar tone?

The Come As You Are guitar tone is watery, chorus-drenched riff, murky and hypnotic, heard on Nirvana's 1990s grunge recording. It is a clean riff tone, and Nirvana reportedly tracked it with a Fender offset guitar through an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus, most likely into a Vox AC30 for the clean parts, with a Boss DS-1 for the louder sections. The point here is a raw, barely controlled tone, so cleaning it up too much moves it away from the record rather than towards it.

You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a clean channel on a modelling combo and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.

Come As You Are amp settings: a starting point

On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 6, Middle 4, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the neck or middle position.

Gain

Bass

Middle

Treble

Presence

Reverb

Signal chain: Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus
The control that matters most: Chorus depth. The watery wobble is the sound, so keep the amp clean enough that the chorus is not buried under distortion.

These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own.

Adapt these to my amp

Pickup: Neck or middle position

These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.

Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue Fender Blues Junior IV Vox AC15C1 Boss Katana 50 MkII

What gear did Nirvana use on Come As You Are?

A Fender offset guitar through an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus, most likely into a Vox AC30 for the clean parts, with a Boss DS-1 for the louder sections.

Sources: Wikipedia: Come as You Are, Guitar.com: the gear Kurt Cobain used on Nevermind

Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.

How do you get the Come As You Are tone on your own amp?

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Come As You Are tone questions

What amp settings do you need for Come As You Are?

On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 2, Bass 6, Middle 4, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the neck or middle position. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same watery, chorus-drenched riff, murky and hypnotic from different positions.

What is the most important control for the Come As You Are tone?

Chorus depth. The watery wobble is the sound, so keep the amp clean enough that the chorus is not buried under distortion.

Can you get the Come As You Are tone without the original gear?

Yes. The original was tracked with a Fender offset guitar through an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus, most likely into a Vox AC30 for the clean parts, with a Boss DS-1 for the louder sections, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.

Is Come As You Are a rhythm or a lead tone?

It is a riff part with a clean character, from Nirvana's 1990s grunge catalogue.

Does Tonelify cost anything to try?

Both plans start with a 7-day free trial and nothing is charged until it ends. Stage is metered and Headliner is unlimited within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both; the current prices are on your account page once you have one. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.