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Nirvana - Riffs & Solo Come As You Are - Guitar Tab

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Key F# minor
Nirvana - Riffs & Solo Come As You Are guitar tab video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Nirvana Grunge F# minor
Capo Advisor 0 F# minor · Original key

About Riffs & Solo Come As You Are

"Come As You Are" is one of the most immediately recognisable riffs in Grunge, and the good news for guitarists is that it sits in E Standard tuning at a steady 120 BPM, making it very approachable once you understand how it feels. The signature riff is built on a hypnotic, slightly chromatic figure that repeats with a thick, chorus-drenched tone. The real challenge is not the individual notes but keeping the riff even and locked-in: every note needs the same weight and the same amount of ring, so sloppy fretting hand muting will immediately expose itself. The solo is short but demands smooth string bending and controlled vibrato in F# minor, and hitting those bends in tune consistently takes real work. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the riff and solo sections slowed down so you can hear exactly where your timing or intonation drifts. Nirvana kept the arrangement deceptively simple, which means there is nowhere to hide.

  • The main riff uses a chorus-heavy clean tone, so dialing in that swirling, slightly detuned effect is central to getting the right sound.
  • Playing the riff in E Standard at 120 BPM, the challenge is keeping each note evenly weighted and the picking hand relaxed throughout the repetition.
  • The solo sits in F# minor and relies on precise string bends and vibrato, making intonation the main technique to practise here.

How to Play Riffs & Solo Come As You Are

Tuning: E Standard · Key: F# minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 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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