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Nirvana - Drain You - Guitar Lesson

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Key A minor
Nirvana - Drain You guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
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Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Nevermind (Remastered) album cover
Nevermind (Remastered)
1991 3:44
Listen on Spotify
Nirvana Grunge 1991 A minor
Capo Advisor 0 A minor · Original key

About Drain You

"Drain You" is one of the more underrated rhythm guitar workouts on Nevermind, sitting in A minor and built around a crunchy, repetitive chord figure that rewards players who lock into the feel rather than overthink it. The verse riff leans on power chords and a driving, palm-muted pulse that you need to keep tight, so if the picking hand is losing control at speed, use the Practice Toolbar to loop the section slowed down until the motion is automatic. The chorus opens up into a fuller strummed attack, and the switch between those two textures, restrained chug versus open crash, is really what the song is asking you to nail. Nirvana also builds in a noisy, feedback-heavy interlude that is less about precision and more about controlled chaos, so do not polish it too clean. Getting the dynamics right, quiet and coiled in the verses, loud and loose in the chorus, is the real challenge here.

  • The song is in A minor and centres on a palm-muted power chord riff that demands a consistent, controlled picking hand throughout the verses.
  • The interlude section uses feedback and dissonance deliberately, so focus on tone and dynamics rather than note-perfect accuracy when practising it.
  • Nailing the contrast between the tight, muted verse feel and the open, strummed chorus attack is the core technique challenge in this song.

How to Play Drain You

Key: A minor · Tempo: 134 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 134 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Cobain used the Stratocaster on several Nevermind tracks, leveraging its bright single-coils to cut through dense arrangements. Though less iconic than his Mustang, the Strat provided tonal clarity for melodic passages within Nirvana's heavy sonic framework.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Cobain deployed the Twin Reverb's clean headroom and natural breakup for softer verses and intros, creating dynamic contrast against his saturated Mesa preamp tones. The amp's warm response complemented his sparse, dry-focused signal chain.

DiMarzio Super Distortion
Pickup

DiMarzio Super Distortion

Cobain swapped DiMarzio humbuckers into his Jaguars and Mustangs to fatten their typically bright single-coils, pushing harder into his Mesa preamp for compressed, fuzzy sustain. This high-output bridge pickup was essential to Nirvana's thick, aggressive midrange distortion.

Boss DS-1 Distortion
Pedal

Boss DS-1 Distortion

The DS-1 functioned as Cobain's heavy-hitting boost pedal, slamming the front end of his already-overdriven Mesa preamp to intensify saturation during explosive chorus sections. Its gritty character helped define Nirvana's raw, in-your-face distortion tone.

Electro-Harmonix Small Clone
Pedal

Electro-Harmonix Small Clone

Cobain's signature chorus voice, heard prominently on Come As You Are and clean passages of Smells Like Teen Spirit, added subtle wobble and width. The Small Clone's lush modulation provided dynamic relief against his otherwise aggressive, compressed overdriven tones.

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