Kurt Cobain lived a short, but very bright life. It can be compared to a flash. There are many versions of his death. He was gone, but his memory remained forever. In his hometown, fans painted many walls with his name, and the guitars on which he played are stored in the museum or become lots at auctions.
First tool
Kurt Cobain’s first guitar was a used electric guitar. It was presented to him by Uncle Chuck for his birthday (14 years old).
For more than a month, a teenager comprehended the basics of guitar mastery. I learned three chords. Then he began to play an AC / DC hit called Back In Black. The guy felt composing talent and soon began to create his own creations.
After a short period, Kurt organized a musical group. Rehearsals took place at a local abandoned meat factory. Once a guy forgot his first guitar there. When he found her, she was thoroughly defeated. Then Cobain replaced the bar, accessories and electrical components, and a new deck was sawn in the school class at labor lessons.
Hardware Upgrade
When Kurt was 17 years old, Pat O`Connor became his stepfather. Once, after a family quarrel, the teenager's mother threw a solid weapons collection into the local river. The son saw this, together with friends, he caught all the guns and sold them.
For the proceeds, a Peavey combo was purchased, complete with 12-inch speakers.
The first Cobain team, called Fecal Matter, actively used this combo, but this device strangely disappeared in 1987.
At the end of that year, the group had a vibrant activity. They often changed names until they settled on the Nirvana. Kurt Cobain’s guitar was then the Univox Hi-Flyers, designed for righties. He often took pictures with her.
The update also happened in the hardware. The Nirvana group has acquired:
- Combo Fender Champ.
- Lotion Univox Syperfuzz.
It is curious that a little later someone stole this lotion directly from the base for rehearsals.
First contract
The Cobain team recorded good things. But these were amateur records. The musicians were lucky that their creations reached the ears of producer Jack Endido, who worked on the Sub Pop label. He was impressed by the material and invited the group as a whole team to sign a contract.
Soon, the Bleech album was recorded. In this work, Kurt Cobain’s guitar was the same Univox Hi-Flyers. He supplemented her:
- original sensors;
- lotion "Distortion", Boss DS-1;
- also in the work used 70-watt speakers Celestion.
Guitars for the stage
In 1989, the group Nirvana went on debut tour of the United States. The following equipment was used on stage:
- Amplifier Randall.
- BFI Bullfrog column with 4 x 12 parameters.
- Lotion distortion Boss DS-1.
Then, at concerts, Kurt Cobain's guitar was the Epiphone ET270. On stage, the performer was so passionate about music and drive that he smashed guitars. This fact was unhappy with people from the label Sub Pop. After all, it was they who had to find new suitable tools.
In the pauses between the tours, Cobain often visited music outlets. His favorite items were only two: Guitar Maniacs and Danny`s Music. There he made bulk purchases of Univox Hi-Flyers P90 modifications.
Kurt particularly liked the humbucker model of the designated guitar. It was distinguished by a powerful output signal and sharp tops. But on the stage he used not only her, but also such guitars as:
- Gibson SG blue.
- Greco Mustang.
About "acoustics"
Kurt Cobain’s first acoustic guitar is the 12-string Stella. He bought it in 1989 for $ 31 and 21 cents.
With her, the musician did some “demos” at the Smart studio. Cobain liked her system. After some time, nylon strings were placed on it. It was on it that the musician performed the part of the composition Polly.
Nevermind time
Record Nevermind collective recorded in collaboration with the company Geffen Records. Shortly before the official registration of their business relationship, the musicians received an advance of 287 thousand dollars. With this money you could buy very good equipment and tools.
But Kurt liked to buy in the commission. He went there again and acquired several Japanese-made Strata. They were designed for left-handed people. The musician was impressed by their narrow vultures.
The artist also had significant purchases of guitars during that period. In general, a short list of Kurt Cobain’s guitars purchased at the time looks like this:
- Jaguar for lefties. It was made in 1965. Pickups were mounted on it: DiMarzio Super Distortion and DiMarzio PAF.
- Fender mustang It was produced in 1969.
Mustang Guitar is Cobain's favorite. But he was dissatisfied with her small parameters, poor system retention and worthless tuning of the string heights.
Before recording the album, an impressive set was delivered to Sound City Studios:
- Preamplifiers Mesa / Boogie and Vox AC30.
- Amplifier Crown.
- Marshall cabinets with 4 x 12 parameters.
- Guitars "Mustangs", "Jaguars" and "Strata".
- Lotions Boss DS-1 and Small Clone.
Cobain complained that he did not have an amplifier of the required power. With “Marshals” he was too lazy to communicate, and on the first designated preamplifier he twisted the middle to the limit to achieve the desired sound.
With the help of preamplifiers, the sound engineer achieved volumetric distortion with dense low frequencies.
Thanks to the Small Clone device, the sound acquired a slight chorus and “wateryness”.
Special order for Fender
Since Cobain was quite active on stage and often broke instruments, many guitar manufacturers did not want to collaborate with him. But one of the masters of the Fender company dared to make a special order. This registered item is a Fender Jag-Stang guitar.
In fact, Cobain himself became its author. He developed it on the basis of two Fenders. The first one is the adored by Kurt "Mustang"
And the second is Jaguar. The musician had certain sympathies for him. A photograph of this model is presented below.
The musician cut two photos of these guitars and connected them. In "Mustang" he was enraged by the decline in the system, but he liked the chic sound. "Jaguar", on the contrary, held the line perfectly, but did not possess a similar sound. Therefore, combining their strengths into one model for Kurt was a very important event. Read more about this in the part of the article on the work of Cobain with Larry Brooks.
Since 1994, the release of the Jag-Stang has been launched. It ceased in 2001. Two years later, they began to produce a modification with a pair of humbuckers. These are two devices:
- Di Marzio P-3. This is a bridge with Tune-matic technology.
- Texas Special is a certain.
True, the runs were small. And their release ended in 2005.
Also in the Jag-Stang series there are models of "Fiesta" red and "Solid" - blue.
Univox Hi-Flyers Model
Cobain was often purchased at the commission. He once acquired the Univox Hi-Flyers model. She attracted the musician with her price and the fact that she completely copied the Mosrite Ventures modification.
Her deck was made of maple. Maple was used to make the neck. It was arranged pickups reminiscent of the P-90.
It was a convenient guitar for rehearsals and performances in small venues.
Collaboration with Ferrington
As already noted, many guitar manufacturers were reluctant to deal with Cobain. The exceptions were Danny Ferrington and Larry Al Brooks.
It was in a detailed conversation with Ferrington that Kurt confessed his love to the Mustang. He also spoke about its lack, and asked a specialist how to fix it.
When Nirvana was on a tour in Australia, Cobain faxed Danny a picture of his model with his comments. The product looks more like a Mustang, only equipped with the following:
- Tune-o-matid device.
- Bartolini pickups. Their 3. The location of the first - near the lower sill. The location of the second is in the middle and a little diagonally. The third is in the upper nut.
The second sensor has an option to turn off the coil.
Cobain wished his guitar had the maximum number of pickup switching options.
The rear indicator coils can be switched using a small toggle switch. It is slightly elevated above the potentiometers - volume and tone curtain.
There is also a switch to the likeness of the device in the guitar "Strat". He has five positions.
The tool body is made of American linden. Vulture - from maple. It has a rosewood pad.
Also, at the request of the musician, the guitar is made in the color of "baby blue", equipped with a tortoiseshell panel. On the neck, the position designations are depicted by hearts.
This Kurt Cobain guitar was equipped with the thickest strings in the likeness of the E - 058 bass string.
The guitar turned out a short scale and powerful strings. This became the basis of Cobain's signature sound.
Work with brooks
What kind of guitar did Kurt Cobain play with special trepidation? Of course, on the Mustang. He also had considerable sympathy for the Jaguar.
One day, Mark Wittenberg and Larry El Brooks, representatives of Fender, arrived on a business visit to Kurt. Their goal was to communicate with the musician, discuss important aspects on request.
Cobain intelligibly and objectively explained his intentions. He took polaroid images of the Jaguar and Mustang. Each cut in half and glued. It turned out the top from the Mustang, and the lower part from the Jaguar. Such a hybrid was called Jag-Stang.
Master Larry Brooks, returning to his workshop, circled this model on tracing paper, cut out the outline of the case and sent the result to Cobain. The musician made some adjustments to the balance of the deck.
Brooks listened to wishes, because an instrument was created for a specific artist. This is a very responsible task. For the manufacture of decks used alder.
The vulture was created with 24 Vintage frets and a rosewood trim. All accessories were borrowed from the Japanese Mustang model.
On the recommendation of the guitar engineer of the group, Ernie Bailey, a tune-o-matic instrument was put on the model. Also installed:
- Brand Single (from Fender) Texas Special. According to Brooks's explanation, it has a warmer sound when compared to many singles.
- DiMarzio H-3 Humbucker device. It is mounted on the sills.
Thanks to this combination, the lower nut began to have an amazing sound.
Two guitars and sad news
Cobain ordered two guitars - Solid Blue and Fiesta Red. From the first he worked on tour in 1993. And the second was at the creation stage, when the masters received the sad news of the death of Cobain.
The guitar was completed and sent to the Fender Museum.
And the Jag-Stang modification itself was put into circulation.
Guitar Sales
Kurt Cobain’s guitar, on which he performed songs during the band’s debut tour, became the acquisition of one private collector in 2016. For it, he laid out $ 100,000.
This is a broken Fender Mustang. He was sent to the auction by Sluggo, a former friend of Cobain, the leader of The Grannies.
According to him, he and Kurt changed tools after the show in New Jersey. Then Cobain defeated the Fender and needed a new working guitar. Such was found at Sluggo.
He helped out a friend, because Nirvana then did not have a suitable budget for frequent purchases of tools and equipment.
The guitar is badly broken, glued with a special tape. And it shows off the autograph of a cult artist. This is a true rarity that the collector decided to purchase - a fan of Cobain's work.
In 2006, another guitar of the Nirvana leader was sold at an auction. This is a Mosrite Gospel Mark IV. The price of Kurt Cobain’s guitar "under the hammer" was $ 131,000. Its new owner was an anonymous person.
And on February 2, 2017, on the famous eBay trading site, visitors could see a tempting ad for the sale of the legendary "Stella" - the acoustic "friend" of Cobain.
This is a unique tool. It was made specifically for the left-handed musician. After the death of Cobain, his widow gave "Stella" to her friend.
In early 2017, a guitar was discovered in Portland, at a local music store. And on February 2, the guitar already became a lot at auction. It closed on February 26th. The tool was sold for $ 25,000. All proceeds were sent to one charity fund.