Quick answer
For the Come As You Are riff, use your Line 6 POD Go as a pedalboard in front of your amp with one block: Chorusat Mix 50%, Speed 3, Depth 6. Keep the amp clean and slightly dark, and play your Strat's middle pickup with a relaxed attack.
These are Tonafy's settings for a Fender Stratocaster into a POD Go and a Fender Frontman 20G. With a different guitar or amp, Tonafy adapts them to your gear.
Step by step: set up your POD Go for Come As You Are
- Run the POD Go into your amp's input and bypass its amp and cab blocks.
- Add a Chorus block: Mix 50%, Speed 3, Depth 6, Tone 4, Spread 5, Predelay 2, Sine wave, Tempo Sync off, Level −6 dB.
- Leave the other effect slots empty and the input gate off.
- Set the amp to its clean channel: Normal Volume 6, Bass 5.5, Middle 6, Treble 4.5.
- Select the middle pickup, guitar volume 10, tone 10.
- Play the riff with a relaxed, light attack and fine-tune by ear.
What Kurt Cobain used on the original recording
Come As You Are was recorded for Nevermind (1991), produced by Butch Vig. Tonafy's research separates what's documented from what isn't:
- Documented: an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus. Butch Vig identifies it as the source of the watery guitar sound.
- Documented for the sessions, not this riff: a Mesa/Boogie, a Fender Bassman and a Vox AC30.
- Not securely identified: the exact guitar, amp and pickup for this take.
The character is watery, chorused, dark and hypnotic, with a clean tone at the edge of breakup. Tonafy rates its research confidence as medium, and the source knob values are estimates, not documented settings.
Line 6 POD Go settings for Come As You Are
This is the main riff (Tonafy's “Riff” part). One block is required: the POD Go Chorus, standing in for the Small Clone.
| Chorus parameter | Setting |
|---|---|
| Mix | 50% |
| Speed | 3 |
| Depth | 6 |
| Tone | 4 |
| Spread | 5 |
| Predelay | 2 |
| Wave Shape | Sine |
| Tempo Sync | Off |
| Level | −6 dB |
Mix 50% makes the chorus a big part of the sound, which is what gives the riff its watery wobble. The slow Speed (3) and moderate Depth (6) keep it hypnotic rather than seasick. Level −6 dB keeps the block from jumping in volume when you switch it on.
Amp and guitar settings
In this example the POD Go feeds a Fender Frontman 20Gon its Normal (clean) channel. On the Normal channel the amp uses Normal Volume, Bass, Middle and Treble; its Gain and Drive Volume only affect the Drive channel, so they don't matter here.
| Control | Setting |
|---|---|
| Channel | Normal |
| Normal Volume | 6 |
| Bass | 5.5 |
| Middle | 6 |
| Treble | 4.5 |
- Pickup: middle
- Guitar volume: 10
- Guitar tone: 10
Treble sits a little below the middle to stop the single-coil from sounding brittle, and the raised mids keep each note of the riff defined.
Using the POD Go as your pedalboard
Many players run the POD Go in front of a real amp rather than as a full amp modeler. That's how Tonafy sets it up here: the POD Go supplies only the chorus, and your amp supplies the amp tone. Tonafy lists the blocks in the order to add them, one after another, with no empty slots in between.
The Frontman 20G has no built-in effects, so the chorus has to come from the POD Go. On an amp with its own chorus, Tonafy may use the amp's chorus instead and leave the POD Go empty.
Common mistakes
- Too much gain. The riff is clean at the edge of breakup. Distortion smears the chorus and loses the hypnotic wobble.
- A fast chorus. A high Speed turns the sound into vibrato. Keep it slow and let Mix and Depth do the work.
- Adding the POD Go's amp and cab blocks. In front of a real amp they stack a second amp sound on top of yours.
- Digging in hard. A heavy pick attack adds harsh transients. Play with a relaxed, even attack.
- Expecting an exact copy. The record used a real Small Clone, different amps, microphones and studio processing. Aim for the character, then adjust by ear.
How Tonafy adapts this tone to your rig
Tonafy starts from the researched original tone, then works out settings for the gear you actually own. Here it matched the Small Clone to the POD Go's Chorus block, chose the Frontman 20G's clean channel with a slightly dark EQ, and picked the Strat's middle pickup.
Choose your own guitar, amp and multi-effects unit, and you get settings for that exact combination. You can also see the Come As You Are original tone and amp settings, read the Voodoo Child HX Stomp guide for another multi-effects setup, the Sweet Child O' Mine Boss Katana guide or Enter Sandman Boss Katana guide for amp-based setups, or the guitar tone finder guide for the full method.
Come As You Are on a POD Go: FAQ
Which POD Go block do I need for Come As You Are?
One: the Chorus block, set to Mix 50%, Speed 3, Depth 6, Tone 4, Spread 5, Predelay 2, Sine wave, Tempo Sync off and Level −6 dB. In Tonafy's result for this rig, every other slot stays empty and the input gate stays off.
Do I use the POD Go's amp and cab blocks?
Not in this setup. Tonafy treats the POD Go as your pedalboard in front of a real amp, so only the chorus block is used and the amp provides the amp tone.
What chorus pedal did Kurt Cobain use on Come As You Are?
An Electro-Harmonix Small Clone. Producer Butch Vig identifies it as the source of the song's watery guitar sound. The POD Go Chorus block is an approximation of it, not an exact recreation.
Which pickup should I use?
The middle pickup, with guitar volume and tone both at 10. The original pickup choice for this take isn't documented, so this is Tonafy's recommendation for a Strat, not a copy of Cobain's setting.
What amp was used on the original recording?
It isn't definitively established. Butch Vig names a Mesa/Boogie, a Fender Bassman and a Vox AC30 for the Nevermind sessions, but doesn't tie one of them to this riff. That's why the amp settings here aim for a clean, slightly dark tone rather than copying one amp.
Does this work without a POD Go?
Yes. Any chorus pedal or modeler can stand in for the Small Clone. Tonafy gives you settings for the exact gear you choose, including a different multi-effects unit or a plain chorus pedal.