Nirvana – Bleach

This screenshot from the Julien's Auctions website (slightly altered to make it fit better) shows the auction for Kurt Cobain's Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal. Jeff Toste was the recipient of the pedal after Cobain threw it into the crowd. A letter from Toste accompanying the pedal tells the story:

The third show of Nirvana's iconic Nevermind tour was at Club Babyhead in Providence, RI. It was September 25th, 1991 and The Melvins opened. I was at that show.

During the show Kurt Cobain had technical problems, and at one point he was getting no sound from his gear. He must have thought his distortion pedal (Boss DS-1) had something to do with it. He smashed the pedal on the stage and threw it into the crowd. It landed between the feet of the guy in front of me. I pulled it out from between his feet.

The left hinge on the pedal is broken, but otherwise works. The pedal still has the original duct tape used to secure it to the stage. I've had it ever since.

The winning bid of this particular auction was $8,960 USD. The original source of the auction is here.

13). Univox Superfuzz. Kurt had it before "Bleach" but it was stolen from the band's practice space. Earnie built him a handwired duplicate in a silver, metal box which he humorously labeled the "Yung-Mann Fuzz".

Also commented here: http://www.groundguitar.com/kurt-cobain-gear/

– Univox Superfuzz Used in the very early days, before Bleach was even recorded.

And in this book, "Guitar World: The Life & Genius of Kurt Cobain": http://tiny.cc/kurtssuperfuzz

According to Jack Endino, Bleach was recorded close-mic with a Shure SM58:

I am often asked how we got Kurt’s guitar sound.... When we did Bleach, the Randall was "in the shop" for repairs so we used my ’68 Fender twin... No speakers in my Twin: we used a 2×12 cab, sealed back, with 70 or 75-watt Celestions, that Kurt had. Close-miked with an SM-58, recorded to Otari half-inch 8-track at 15 ips with no noise reduction.

From the Nirvana FAQ on Jack Endino's own website: http://www.endino.com/nirvfaq.html

Now to the actual guitar, which is a Univox Hi-Flier Phase 3.

Kurt’s Univox was a model called Hi-Flier, and it was most likely manufactured sometime between 1968 and 1977. Main guide in determining these dates are the two humbuckers on the guitar which didn’t appear on this model until 1974, and it’s white pickguard which was replaced with a black one on sunburst models in 1977. It was basically a cheap alternative to the Mosrite Ventures model, a guitar Kurt used later on in his career.

Kurt played this guitar presumably from mid 80s to around 1988 on all of the early Nirvana gigs in 1987. He painted the pickguard pink, and had a ton of stickers on the body. He then ended up smashing it at Washington’s Evergreen State College in October 1988. This is assumed to be the first time he ever destroyed a guitar on stage.

In this live preformance, Cobain can be seen with an Epiphone ET-270.

Cobain used this Guitar in Nirvana's early days during the “Bleach” era, it was later smashed while preforming live at the Pyramid Club in New York.

A still shot of this Guitar can be seen here.

In this photo, we can see Cobain with a 1973 Fender Mustang, he used this for two shows during the 1989 Bleach U.S. tour. It appears to have had a Univox Humbucker in the Bridge, and no Neck Pickup.

Cobain used this guitar for at least three shows in a row during the European leg of the Bleach tour. Caio Leme of LiveNIRVANA.com compiles the following reported sightings:

• December 1, 1989 (at Fahrenheit, MJC Espace Icare, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France) (visible throughout this amateur video of the concert starting at 0:23)
• December 2, 1989 (at Democrazy, Ghent, Belgium) (visible in this photograph of Cobain at the concert (unknown photographer))
• December 3, 1989 (at Astoria Theatre, London, United Kingdom for Lame Fest UK '89) - Visible among multiple photos of the concert compiled by Leme, including the one by Steve Double shown here

Kurt Cobain used a Fender Mustang Sunburst (1971) during the Bleach era, incorporating a pickup from one of his smashed Univox guitars, alongside another unidentified pickup. He utilized this guitar for two shows before it was destroyed. For visual confirmation, refer to the image provided on Equipboard.

In early January 1990, Kurt Cobain began using three Sunn Beta Lead amplifier heads, primarily paired with unidentified 2x12 speaker cabinets. These amplifiers became his main choice during Nirvana's February-March Bleach tour and were used until Cobain destroyed them on May 1, 1990, at The Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, NC. The following day, he switched to a Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp and a Crown Power Base 2 Poweramp, along with an Aria Pro II Cardinal Series CS-350 guitar, for a performance at The Milestone in Charlotte, NC. From May 2, 1990, to March 1, 1994, the Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp remained his primary preamp, initially with the Crown Power Base 2 until December 31, 1991, and later with the Crest Audio 4801 Poweramp, which he used for the rest of Nirvana's career.

Before the American In Utero tour, Kurt's guitar tech, Earnie Bailey, gave Pat Smear the Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp that Kurt had purchased in May 1990, along with an additional unit. Cobain then received two new Mesa Boogie Studio Preamps and an extra Crest Audio Poweramp to ensure uninterrupted performances. This information is supported by a user-uploaded photo.

In this article Jack Endino said Kurt used his Randall Comander ii as a head and had used this cab for Bleach era touring

¨In 1989, Nirvana went on its first American tour. According to Earnie Bailey, a Seattle guitar repairman who was friends with Novoselic and who often worked as a technician for the band, Cobain's live rig during this period was a red Epiphone ET270, a solid-state Randall amp head, a BFI Bullfrog 4x12 cabinet and a Boss DS-1 distortion. ¨

According to Caio Leme at LiveNIRVANA.com, Cobain used a PL-20 during the United States tour for Bleach. Leme gives a time frame spanning May 26, 1989 (at the Lindbloom Student Center, Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington) to August 26, 1989 (at the Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, Washington), also providing this photograph taken by P. Edwin Letcher on June 24, 1989 of Nirvana performing at Al’s Bar.

Used mostly on the Bleach USA Tour. A Marshall cab with taped logo was added at the Lindbloom Student Center show and remained in the rig until the Bleach European tour.

"Used throughout the Bleach era." as shared by Earnie Bailey, Nirvana's primary guitar tech.

In the Bleach era, Krist used Peavey 2x15 Cabinets live.

In this image of Novoselic's Ibanez Black Eagle from their Bleach era, the distinct red tops of the Rotosound 66 Brights can be seen.

Used on his Ibanez Black Eagle basses from both the Bleach and the In Utero tours