Nirvana – In Utero

Replaced Kurt's DS-1 around 1992. Kurt still used the same settings like his DS-1 and kept it in Mode 1. Can be seen in the Unplugged show, Live at Reading, and a handful of other shows, usually before his Small Clone.

Kurt used the Sansamp as his primary distortion on the In Utero album and tour. His settings were '3 up, 3 down, 2 up' on the switches, both drive knobs were full, high from 11-2 o clock, in normal mode.

Hand-written note with Kurt's settings for the Electro-Harmonix Polychorus, new version of the 1977 Echoflanger, (for Heart-Shaped Box and Radio Friendly Unit Shifter):

ehx.com/blog/ehx-tone-tips-the-sound-of-nirvana

From kurtsequipment.com:

Effects:

10). Electro-Harmonix EchoFlanger (32)(40) and Electro-Harmonix PolyChorus (37)(seen at various photographs/concert footage.).

Despite the different names, the Polychorus and Echoflanger had the same internal circuitry. Kurt supposedly only had one EchoFlanger, despite what is said in (32). Kurt used the EchoFlanger on the Brazil shows (source info? Rio perhaps?) and the song "The Priest They Called Him" (found on various bootlegs, etc.). Both pedals were taken on the "In Utero" tour.

The EchoFlanger sometimes "acted up" and Earnie gave Kurt his PolyChorus as a back-up. This PolyChorus was used on "In Utero" for the "Heart-Shaped Box" solo, "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter," and "Scentless Apprentice" (41). Earnie sent out another PolyChorus to Kurt, hoping to get his back, but the "new" one broke and was given to Eric Erlanderson of "Hole" who had it fixed. Earnie did eventually get his PolyChorus back, but not before Kurt marked his settings on it with nail polish and put Velcro on it.

The EchoFlanger was supposed to be used on "Unplugged" but caused too much 60-cycle hum in the control room. Courtney now has Kurt's EchoFlanger (40).

Sources mentioned:

32). "Guitar World" magazine (and possibly also a later issue for the item mentioned in parenthesis under the "Recording of 'Nevermind'"). March 1995.

37). "From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah," album. (DGC) 1996. Photos from insert and cover.

40). My phone conversation with Jim Vincent, NIRVANA's tour tech from later 1993 through all of 1994. 1/28/97.

41). Chris Lawrence's Equipment Tutorial which also contains information from Earnie Bailey, Kurt's main guitar technician.

Hand-written note with Kurt's settings for the polychorus (for Heart-Shaped Box and Radio Friendly Unit Shifter): ehx.com/blog/ehx-tone-tips-the-sound-of-nirvana

From kurtsequipment.com:

Effects:

10). Electro-Harmonix EchoFlanger (32)(40) and Electro-Harmonix PolyChorus (37)(seen 15).

Despite the different names, the Polychorus and Echoflanger had the same internal circuitry. Kurt supposedly only had one EchoFlanger, despite what is said in (32). Kurt used the EchoFlanger on the Brazil shows (source info? Rio perhaps?) and the song "The Priest They Called Him" (found on various bootlegs, etc.). Both pedals were taken on the "In Utero" tour.

The EchoFlanger sometimes "acted up" and Earnie gave Kurt his PolyChorus as a back-up. This PolyChorus was used on "In Utero" for the "Heart-Shaped Box" solo, "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter," and "Scentless Apprentice" (41). Earnie sent out another PolyChorus to Kurt, hoping to get his back, but the "new" one broke and was given to Eric Erlanderson of "Hole" who had it fixed. Earnie did eventually get his PolyChorus back, but not before Kurt marked his settings on it with nail polish and put Velcro on it.

The EchoFlanger was supposed to be used on "Unplugged" but caused too much 60-cycle hum in the control room. Courtney now has Kurt's EchoFlanger (40).

According to engineer Steve Albini, Pedal X was used for the tremolo on "Heart-Shaped Box." He also shared that Cobain tried out Pedal X for vocal overdubs and a solo on "Heart-Shaped Box", but they were ultimately scrapped, the latter at Krist Novoselic's objection. The solo can be heard in Albini's original mix of "Heart-Shaped Box", which is included on the Super Deluxe edition of In Utero.

Reddit, “steve albini AMA here is the thread” by u/steve_albini (May 30, 2020), reply to u/rock-phillistine

rock-phillistine 4. Once you mentioned he used a Sansamp, a Boss DS-2 and a Big Muff for distortion. Recently his guitar tech said he shipped two homemade fuzzes as well. Do you remember if he actually used the Big Muff or the homemade fuzzes? If so, for which tracks?

steve_albini - I only saw Kurt use regular commercial effects pedals, the ones you mentioned, and a box I brought with me that was a kind of ring modulator/overdrive called Pedal X made by a friend of mine. That might be what his tech (Ernie?) was referring to.

Caio Leme, LiveNIRVANA.com, Live Nirvana Equipment Guide, "Kurt Cobain's Amplifiers and Effects Pedals" (citing a "[p]ersonal communication" with Steve Albini)

Pedal X

First and last recording:

02/02-26/93 - Pachyderm Recording Studio, Cannon Falls, MN (In Utero sessions)

Notes:

Steve Albini recalls Kurt using a Pedal X, made by a friend of his. He describes it as "kind of a ring modulator/overdrive." (3) It was auditioned on the Heart-Shaped Box solo (28), but Krist hated it and it wasn't used in the final mix. (35)

YouTube, Al Church, "Steve Albini talks Kurt's guitars and Heart-Shaped Box I Permanent Record plays live at Pachyderm" (November 14, 2023)

Al Church: Like you said though, his pedalboard, he— it's not like he had a pedalboard, like do you—

Steve Albini: No, no, there were one or two pedals on the floor, ever.

Church: Yeah... Did you bring pedals in for him to use at all?

Albini: There was one pedal that I brought that a friend o' mine had made, Pedal X, and we actually used that on a guitar solo and on the vocal overdub. Pedal X was a, it's a kind of a brutal tremolo effect, which if you dial the speed up high enough, it becomes a ring modulator.

Church: Oh? Huh.

Albini: Like, there's also, the preamp for it has a relatively low headroom, so it drives into overdrive pretty easily, so it can be... You could use it as just an overdrive pedal, but its main function is this sort of ring modulator overdrive combination.

Church: Interesting.

Albini: And, yeah, Kurt used that for a couple o' songs for like little... neebly noisy guitar parts. And then he sang— We, he used it as an effect, like, to sing through. The... There was a... What else? Oh yeah, there was a guitar solo on... "Heart-Shaped Box" where he wanted this sort of seasick, bendy quality to be exaggerated in the... of the guitar solo, he wanted that exaggerated. And we used the Pedal X for that, but that ended up, that was one of the things, that was some contention in the band, like, Krist Novoselic hated that effect, he really didn't like it.

Church: Really?

Albini: And in the end, that song, that noisy solo, it did not get used on the final version of it.

Church: On "Heart-Shaped Box", or on the...?

Albini: Yeah.

Church: 'Kay, 'cause there is a tremolo on that, like the bowrrr.

Albini: Yeah, that's... that's the Pedal X but in a more subtle setting.

Church: Ooh, okay.

Albini: There's a version of it, s—

Church: There was a version done where that solo had like a really blistering, burning... ring modulating kind of sound and that was the, that was the version that Krist Novoselic hated.

Church: [laughs]

Albini: I just had the opportunity to talk to him last week....

Church: Oh, wow!

Albini: and, uh, I mean, he still remembered, like... "When you guys did— put that effect on that solo, it was like you put a turd in it."

Church: [laughs]

YouTube, Aaron Rash, "How Steve Albini recorded Kurt Cobain's guitars on In Utero - an in depth interview" (@ 16:21)

There was a solo in Heart-Shaped Box, yeah, where Kurt wanted a really wild sound. Like, he wanted it to be a really uncontrolled sound that would then, like, sort of snap into that sort of tremolo, that pretty tremolo. For that we used the box that my friend Mr. Bill made for me that was ring modulator overdrive pedal that he caused "Mr. [X]" or "Pedal X" and it was a ring modulator pedal that had an amplifier that could be overdriven in it. At its lowest settings it was a tremolo, at its highest settings it was a ring modulator and anywhere along that path you could turn the gain up and it would overdrive. But it only had an on/off switch, it wasn't like you could turn off the tremolo and then turn on the gain – it was always one or the other, you know. It was always on or always off... and Kurt played around with it for a while and he came up with this really brittle ratchety sound for that solo and he loved it. And then when he played it for Krist, Krist absolutely hated it. He was like, "Why are you putting this big smelly turd in the middle of this great song?" Like, he really thought Kurt was trying to sabotage a beautiful song. Like, "Oh you think you've got a hit here? Here, let me fuck this up for you so you can't play it on the radio or whatever." And he thought that was like a strategy of Kurt's. I'm certain it wasn't. He was just— Kurt was just enjoying this freak sound.

Kurt Cobain used two Vox V829 Tone Bender Germanium Charged Fuzz pedals during the "In Utero" tour. These pedals are visible in a poster where Cobain is seen kneeling and pressing one of them while playing his sonic blue Mustang. The name "Vox Tone Bender Fuzz" is reportedly visible on the pedal boxes in the image.

According to Steve Albini, a Univox Square Wave pedal was used during the "In Utero" sessions. This is evident in songs such as "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" and "Very Ape." A video by Aaron Rash on YouTube, titled "the in utero square wave pedal Cobain used," further supports this claim by highlighting the unique sound of the pedal that Kurt Cobain used during recording.

Cobain used a 1966 Jaguar during the Nevermind tour and In Utero tour. He got this guitar with a Dimarzio PAF and a Dimarzio Super Distortion already in the guitar. But later he would put a Tune o' matic Bridge in the guitar, this guitar can be seen throughout the video.

The Kurt Cobain Equipment F.A.Q. extensively documented Cobain's Fender Mustangs, his favorite guitar model. Mustangs featured prominently throughout the Nevermind and In Utero eras of Nirvana.

Guitars Page

A). Fender Mustangs. Kurt said that his favorite guitar was a Mustang (9).

1). One of the most note-worthy of the assorted lefty Mustangs he used was a 1969 Lake Placid Blue "competition" Mustang, serial # F 279651 (59). It was purchased around the same time as his Jaguar (discussed later), just prior to recording "Nevermind" (57). This is the guitar from the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video; however, Kurt had been seen using it often during shows (seen 2,10,15). Fender produced the Mustang competition series from around 1968-1973 and they are easily identifiable by the three racing stripes on the body. The "Fender Book" says that the competitions, quote, "sometimes" came with matching headstocks.(11). Kurt's Mustang was lake placid blue with matching headstock. It had two black, single coil sized pickups with a white mother-of-pearl pickguard; the bridge was replaced with a Stewart MacDonald Gotoh Tune-O-Matic (Kurt's favorite)(57) before the Argentina trip. Despite his babying this guitar, he trashed this guitar during the infamous Tree Club show (seen 2). As a result, it had lower edge damage and a broken neck joint (41). This guitar can also be seen on the relatively well-known "Hollywood Rock" festival concert footage shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1993 (seen 13, 10). This guitar remained in storage during the "In Utero" tour because Kurt really liked this guitar (57). The Australian Hard Rock Cafe claims they have this guitar, but Earnie Bailey says he saw a photo of the guitar they had and it was right-handed. "The photo said that it had come from Courtney. Either she or Eric had a right-handed one exactly like Kurt's, I'm not sure whose it was, but this is mostly likely that guitar." He goes on to say, "The Hard Rock Cafe does not own Kurt's competition blue Mustang. I recently worked on the real one and its preset owner allowed me to photograph it in detail. Courtney gave it to him a month after Kurt's death, and it is eaxctly as I remember it, ever nick, ding, and solder joint" (59).

2). The March 1995 issue of "Guitar World" magazine mentions Kurt sent out 4 new, stock, Mustangs to be routed for humbuckers (32). Three were sonic blue and one fiesta red (41). The way Earnie modified these guitars is as follows:

First, the nut had to be cut for heavier strings, then the neck shimmed for a better bridge angle with the cardboard backings from hotel stationery pads, and a Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge was installed. Earnie also had to modify the tailpiece to block the vibrato, which Kurt hated. He would remove the two springs for the vibrato bar, add washers to the posts beneath the bridge plate, which locked it down to the plate. Lastly, Earnie would flip the tailpiece around allowing the strings to feed directly through the tailpiece, not under, and the ball ends of the strings would fit in the tailpiece's recesses (41).

• Fiesta red Mustang (seen 1). Kurt received this guitar right before the first Roseland show. It came with a red swirl pickguard with white pickup covers. Earnie Bailey replaced the red tortoise pickguard with a white pearl pickguard from Chandler. It was used during the In Utero tour, most often seen with the white pearl pickguard. For the first Roseland NY show, Earnie switched the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan JB Hot Rails model in white, which is a fairly unusual pickup. When he received the Chandler pickguard, he decided black pickup covers would look better with the pearloid. This guitar was to be Kurt's first Japanese Mustang to get routed for a humbucker, the stock neck pickup only had the cover changed (59), and was fitted with a Seymour Duncan JB. Kurt later wanted all of his Mustangs routed for the JB., that is, except for the '69 competition (41).

• Sonic blue Fender Mustang with a full-sized humbucker in the bridge (seen 15, 7). There were three of these guitars, two of them set-up like below (41), one of them had the serial # 0 016988 (59). One had a red-swirl pickguard (seen 7), another a matte red pickguard. These two were sent out for the In Utero tour. The third one was never set-up or modified and stayed at Kurt's house. It never came out of its box because the "In Utero" tour people were waiting for the other Mustangs to be broken, which they never were. Earnie also never swapped out the 250k pots to 500k's when the humbucker was added as he didn't expect these guitars to last very long (59).

Courtney gave one of these guitars to a young man named Bobby Costello in Florida. Last I had heard, the family was looking to sell the guitar and supplied me these pictures: Note from Courtney, Pic #1, Pic #2, Pic #3.

3). Early 60's sonic blue Mustang, serial # F207901, no pickguard. It was used in Geffen's "In Bloom" video (seen 42, 43)(41)(59). Kurt picked up this guitar at the time of the video shoot in Los Angeles. Earnie saw it at Kurt's house and says it was really clean-- it had no body contours and stock hardware. It never toured (41). The Mustang is visible behind the mannequin in the "Sliver" video but with a single-coil pickup in the bridge (seen 36)(59).

4). Early 60's sanded-down Fender Mustang used when Jason Everman was with the band. Had no contours and no decal with unusual hardware. Had a Soundgarden sticker on it (41)(seen pgs. 95, 96 on (25)). Also said to be visible in the "Incesticide" cd insert, but I don't know if it is really the same guitar ("Incesticide" 44). Said to have a cut-up vinyl record for a pickguard (15). Another picture.

5). 1977 sunburst Mustang with black pickguard, serial # S 714567 (59), rosewood neck, and rusty parts(41). It got a Duncan Hot Rails upon returning home from Rio (59). Earnie Bailey tells me he is "fairly certain" this was used for the encore at the Rio show (59)(seen 13). On the video which many of us own, he plays a Univox for the encore and though there is confusion as to what the "Rio" show really was, most consider it to be the Hollywood Rock Festival, January 23rd, 1993 (41). Aneurysm and Dive from 'Live! Tonight! Sold Out!' were taken from this show (seen 16). However, the 'LTSO' book lists this as being in Sao Paulo, while "Come As You Are" says otherwise (25)." Here is what Earnie tells me, "[This guitar] was brought to Rio by Ron Stone of Gold Mountain Entertainment. We received it the day we arrived in Rio. I am fairly certain Kurt grabbed it for the encore. I am not sure if the encore is on the bootleg video. The guitar had a baseball bat neck and I didn't have a hot rails pickup with me in Brazil to install. I really thought he was going to smash it because it didn't feel or sound right yet, but he didn't" (59).

6). Poorly modified Fender Mustang from the early days. Its control plate and weird bridge currently reside in a pink suitcase of Kurt's (15)(59).

Also, despite how many pictures appear, Kurt never used a white Mustang. The sonic blue tend to look white, especially with the crazy light show NIRVANA had during the "In Utero" tour. Jim Vincent's girlfriend did the lighting for the shows and also designed the sleeve for the band's first single. If any of you have any photos of the whole stage from the "In Utero" tour, please let me know! Jim has been looking for pictures of the stage for his girlfriend's portfolio.

Unknown Mustang from the earlier days of the band.

Recording & Tour Gear

Recording of 'Bleach'

Jack Endino says in the early days a Univox guitar (Hi-Flyer (57)) with stock humbuckers was used (54). Jack bought one of these type of stock Univox pickups from Kurt once. It was in pieces, but Jack was able to stick the wires together (57). The Univox(s) was around approximately until "Sappy" was recorded; a new guitar was seen at least by the time Jack did the "In Utero" demos which he remembers as being a small Fender guitar, "perhaps a Mustang." (...)

Recording of 'Nevermind'

(...) The guitars used were his competition Mustang, his Jaguar, and a new Stratocaster(s) with humbuckers in the bridge positions (6). Kurt purchased a bunch of Japanese Strats (had humbuckers installed in the bridges) and effects for this album from Rick King of Guitar Maniacs. Just prior to recording this album Kurt apparently developed a taste for Fender guitars.

(...) Tour Gear Summary

(...) "Nevermind"-era: Initially only the 1965 Jaguar, '69 Mustang, and Japanese strats for guitars; later the sunburst Tele painted blue. Univoxes continually used occasionally. Dean Markley .010-.052 guitar strings and orange Dunlop picks. (...)

"In Utero"-era: Everyone knows Kurt's usual guitar of choice was the Mustang. New sonic blue (red pickguard) and fiesta red (red swirl changed to white pearl) Mustangs used almost all of the time. (...) All the work to his new Mustangs (and Mexican Strats) was done before the band went on this tour. Sometimes Kurt would want one of his Mustangs to smash at the end of a show, instead of the predetermined black Mexican Strat, but they talked him out of it! Kurt agreed by saying, "Yeah, all right, I don't want to break that guitar because it feels really good" (57).

Sources

I'm sure there are still some mistakes here and there..

1. Still photographs: Roseland new music seminar performance in NYC, 7/24/93.
2. The infamous Trees Club show video footage shot in Dallas, Texas on 10/19/91.
3. MTV Studios performance of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Polly," and "Territorial Pissings" taped in New York, NY 1990.
4. Guitar World Online, soundcheck. Web address is: http://www.guitarworld.com/jan96/soundcheck/scfeature1/sft.page1.html
5. Saturday Night Live rehearsal footage. 1993 NBC.
6. "Guitar World" magazine. May 1996.
7. MTV's New Year's "Live and Loud" concert footage at Pier 47 in Seattle, WA, 12/17/93 shown 12/31/93.
8. "In Utero," album, 1993 DGC.
9. "Musician" magazine interview. January 1992.
10. My and Ralph Smith's discussions through e-mail with various people.
11. My phone conversation with Fender, 8/19/96.
12. Clay Guitars Web Page. Web address is: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1375/fender.html
13. "Hollywood Rock" festival concert footage. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1993.
14. Concert footage; said to be Trenton, NJ, 1991.
15. Various photographs/concert footage.
16. "Live! Tonight! Sold Out!" video. Geffen Home Video, 1994.
17. Saturday Night Live performance, 1993.
18. "Fender Frontline" magazine. Fall 1994 (Vol.14).
19. Still photographs: "Nirvana" (Suzi Black, Omnibus Press) 1992.
20. "Guitar Player" magazine interview. February 1992.
21. "MTV Unplugged" concert video. Fall 1993. Soundtrack released as "MTV Unplugged in New York" (DGC, DGCD-24727) 1994.
22. "Guitar World presents Alternative Guitar" magazine interview. Spring 1994. Ralph Smith feels the interview seems to date from the period right around when "Nevermind" was released.
23. "Doll Parts" music video by Hole. (DGC) 1994.
24. "Guitar Shop" magazine 1994. A review of the 11/15/93 show at the NY Coliseum, NYC.
25. Book: "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana" by Michael Azerrad (Doubleday). October 1993. Either a picture or in the text.
26. "In Utero" sheet music book (Hal-Leonard pub.) 1994.
27. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M. (Warner Bros.) 1994.
28. Book: "Ferrington Guitars, Featuring the Custom-made Guitars of Master Luthier Danny Ferrington" (HarperCollins and Callaway Editions) 1992.
29. "Vintage Gallery: Collectable Guitars & Amps" magazine. October 1994, p. 47.
30. Ralph Smith's telephone conversation with Fender, 11/4/94.
31. "Heart-Shaped Box" music video. (DGC) 1993.
32. "Guitar World" magazine (and possibly also a later issue for the item mentioned in parenthesis under the "Recording of 'Nevermind'"). March 1995.
33. "Nevermind," album. (DGC) 1991.
34. "Bleach," album. (SubPop) 1989.
35. "Guitar Shop" magazine. August 1996.
36. "Sliver" music video. (DGC & SubPop?) Year?
37. "From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah," album. (DGC) 1996. Photos from insert and cover.
38. "Guitar World" magazine. October 1996.
39. "Circus" magazine. December 17, 1996.
40. My phone conversation with Jim Vincent, NIRVANA's tour tech from later 1993 through all of 1994. 1/28/97.
41. Chris Lawrence's Equipment Tutorial which also contains information from Earnie Bailey, Kurt's main guitar technician. Web address is: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/5890/kurtseq.html
42. "In Bloom" music video (DGC). Year?
43. "In Bloom" music video (SubPop). Year? Preceded DGC's video.
44. "Incesticide" album. DGC, SubPop 1992.
45. L.A. Recycler. Web address is: http://www.recycler.com
46. "Lithium" music video (DGC). Year?
47. MTV Video Music Award show, 1992.
48. Reading Festival. London, England. 8/92.
49. "Come As You Are" music video (DGC). Year?
50. Saturday Night Live live performance, 1993.
51. "NIRVANA and the Sound of Seattle," book (more info?).
52. New Year's Eve, 1993, live performance in Oakland, CA.
53. "Goldmine" magazine/newspaper. 2/14/97, Vol 23, No 4, Issue 432. Pg. 16.
54. Jack Endino's web page http://www.nwlink.com/~endino/
55. "Guitar World Presents NIRVANA and the Seattle Sound" magazine. 1993.
56. Information from my conversations with Chris Gill of "Guitar World" magazine, who did the equipment article in the August 1997 issue.
57. "Guitar World" magazine, August 1997.
58. My telephone conversation with Mark Snyder. Mark claims to have built Kurt's amp rack and demoed Kurt Mesa/Boogie gear at the time, Earnie doubts this.
59. My conversations and emails with Earnie Bailey.
60. Various emails.
61. Uncut Legends #2.

It had two dimarzio x2n pickups and coil splits. He din't use it live 'cause it made him seem like Jimmy Page, but he used it along with his jaguar for the recording of the In Utero albums. It was allegedlly kept years later in a vault with Kurt's possessions, but it had some changes. For more info, this article explains it well: https://www.groundguitar.com/kurt-cobain-gear/kurt-cobains-ibanez-les-paul-copy/

Note: Not the "Blue Courtney Telecaster"

Cobain's last favorite guitar was sold to a private buyer by rockstarsguitars.com

Note that on the photographs of Cobain playing the guitar the pickups are different. This is because Earnie had modified the guitar.

See quotes below:

From rockstarsguitars.com:

"This is the guitar that Kurt wrote his music on and carried with him for months from bus to hotel room to airline toward the end of his career. This guitar was not exclusively used for live performance but more for writing and never left his side. It was used from late 1993 until his death in 1994. It is featured on the cover of the book "Nirvana" and on pages 116-123. There are distinguishable markings on the body that can be matched up perfectly with these photos. It also comes with original prints of Kurt playing this guitar and a notarized detailed letter from a crew member. The pickups, bridge, and tuners were changed at one point, as this was a common practice with Kurt's guitars. This was done by Earnie Bailey, Kurt's guitar tech. This comes with a letter from Earnie detailing the complete modifications done to this guitar. Earnie also supplied the original receipt for the bridge pickup and a letter from Gibson for the neck pickup that he installed, and has signed photos of this guitar ensuring the authenticity of the instrument. And it still has four of the original strings on the guitar."

From kurtsequiptment.com:

"Sent to Kurt by Fender in early 1994 . Japanese made. "Fender sent this out for the In Utero tour to replace the blue one. Stock pickups were very shrill. After Kurt's coma in Rome, I thought modifying this guitar would make it a workhorse and get him away from the Mustang-Jaguar image. Hopefully get him perked up. I put on new tuners (Gotoh's - his favorite). A Tele bridge from Stew-Mac with a humbucker cut-out and individual saddles for each string. In the bridge, I put a Duncan JB - black, and in the neck, a new Gibson PAF, potted with a Chrome cover. He got this back 2 weeks before he died, and said it was his new favorite. He used it for the home recordings he was making with Pat and Eric Erlanderson in March 1994 in Kurt's basement. "

"Near the end he began inquiring about metal neck guitars, after borrowing Steve Albini’s Veleno for several tracks on In Utero, and his being a fan of the Jesus Lizard and Duane Dennison’s extensive use of a Travis Bean."

This guitar owned by Steve Albini and used by Cobain to record "Very Ape" for the "In Utero" album. If you listen to the album & try to recreate the tone on the whole album with his jaguar it does not sound the sames the Veleno

This Veleno was refurbished by Kevin at Electrical Guitar Company in 2015. Kevin re-chromed the guitar, re-fretted, replaced the tuners and replaced the pickups with EGC pickups. He fabricated new pickup covers to fit them in the cutouts. He also did quite a bit of work on the electronics.

Kurt Cobain used the Univox Hi-Flier Phase 2 during his performance on January 23, 1993, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and at the Roseland Ballroom on July 23, 1993. Additionally, this guitar is likely among the ones used during the "In Utero" recording sessions in February 1993, as Steve Albini has noted that the guitars for "In Utero" primarily consisted of the Univox Flier, Fender Competition Mustang, Ferrington Guitar, and The Veleno.

This was Kurt main pre-amp, used for live performances ever since May 2, 1990. Kurt trashed his Sunn amps the day earlier, on May 1st at the Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill, NC, and bought the Mesa Boogie, Crown Power Base 2 Poweramp, and an Aria Pro II Cardinal Series CS-350 Guitar on May 2nd before playing at the Milestone in Charlotte NC.

The Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp were run into a Crown Power Base 2 poweramp, Kurt used these to drive anything from a single stack to four 8x12 stacks (depending on the size of the venue). From that point on, the Mesa Boogie was used for the entirety of Nevermind and In Utero tours. During most of the Nevermind tour, the preamp was paired with a Crown Power Base 2 power amp. The Crown Power Base 2 Poweramp never worked out very well and was a particular source of frustration for "Nevermind" tour tech, Nick Close. The output on the Boogie Studio preamp was so hot, the Crown power amp would blow up a lot and have to be repaired. This setup was used until around January 1992, when Kurt kept the Mesa Boogie but switched to a duo of Crest 4801 power amps. Finally, they found amps which could take the beating. Earnie Bailey called these "the amp that wouldn't die"

Cobain said he turned all the midrange up. This was the amp set-up for the latter part of the "Nevermind" tour and all of the "In Utero" tour.

the "In Utero" tour, Same basic amp rig as the end of the "Nevermind" tour.

the Marshall cabs' speakers during the "In Utero" tour were Vintage 30's, Kurt used 8 cabinets, Chris 8, and Pat 4 Pat received Kurt's old 4x12's with the Celestion 75's when Kurt got his new ones with the V30's. The first Studio Preamp Kurt had was given to Pat, and Earnie ordered three more for the "In Utero" tour... two new ones for Kurt and a spare for Pat. "I kept tons of spares of everything on hand to avoid being stranded and unable to get parts, and to make sure the show never stopped due to a dead amp. I really liked the long, drawn out demolition sessions, and the more indestructible the amp rigs were, this part of the show would last as long as the guitar would, sometimes longer" A small,1980s red Marshall 3005 Lead 12 micro stack ministack was on stage, but it was never used. Kurt had one with Red Tolex, Krist and Pat both had ones with Black Tolex, they were used as Props. Pedals included the Sansamp Classic as Kurt's main distortion, Boss DS-2, E-H Polychorus & Echoflanger (whichever worked that day), and Small Clone chorus. Kurt took care of the settings on his pedals, "He knew all the sweet spots really well".

To get Kurt's tones you're going to at least need a closed back 4x12 cab, anything less and you just won't get the required air movement and low end thump. The preamp was set fairly clean, this allowed Kurt to use his distortion boxes to generate all of his signature aggressive distortion tones.

This Marshall JMP 50 was used by Kurt Cobain on Nirvana’s last recording session, January 28-30 1994 while recording “You Know You’re Right”. This amp is very well documented in interviews and comes with a letter from Robert Lang Studios where this session was recorded.

In this interview with Kurt's guitar tech, Earnie Bailey, he explains that Kurt used a Fender Baseman Quad and a Marshall Plexi 100 during the "In Utero" recordings.

Reverb Interview With Earnie Bailey

"For the In Utero recording, Kurt used his competition blue Mustang, his Fender Jaguar and Albini’s aluminum Veleno guitar. I know he used a Fender Quad Reverb with one of the tubes removed to give a distorted tone, and a Marshall Plexi 100 that Krist had also used for bass tracks." Steve Albini can be heard in this interview talking about these facts. https://youtu.be/MjI9IzPLvvw

Kurt used a 1982 Fender Twin Reverb Blackface (not Silverface) on studio session (In Utero and maybe others), MTV Unplugged and (maybe) others.

Kurt Cobain used a Marshall 4x12 cabinet with Celestion G12T-75 speakers, likely from the 1980s, during the recording of "Nevermind" and on tour before "In Utero." This is detailed in an article from "The Kurt Cobain Equipment," created with input from Nirvana's guitar tech. Numerous photos from 1991 to 1992 further document its use, including performances like "Live at the Paramount" in 1991.

Kurt Cobain used a modified Marshall 1987x Plexi 50 Watt, paired with a custom 2x12 speaker cabinet, to achieve clean tones on the "In Utero" album. This setup is detailed in a YouTube video by Aaron Rash titled "the INSANE amp Kurt Cobain used to record clean tones on in utero."

In a video by Aaron Rash titled "the guitar amps kurt cobain used to record in utero - FINALLY SOLVED," it is confirmed that Kurt Cobain used a Fender Twin Reverb II for most of the main tracks on "In Utero." Rash provides photo evidence, sound matching, and a confirmation from Earnie Bailey to substantiate this claim.

(from the website) "A detailed gear diagram of Kurt Cobain's stage setup that traces the signal flow of the equipment in his 1993 Nirvana "In Utero" tour guitar rig. This rig was compiled from extensive research culled from numerous concert photos, live footage, and old magazine interviews (both with Kurt and guitar tech, Earnie Bailey). This 1993 "In Utero" rig diagram by GuitarGeek.Com was originally commissioned for the May 2014 "Nirvana" issue of Total Guitar (UK)."

This is where Kurt sang In Utero [Pachyderm Recording Studio, Cannon Falls, Minnesota], from left to right: EV RE-20 (dynamic mic), Lomo 19a-9 (tube condenser mic), Sennheiser MD421 (U4 most likely, dynamic mic).

This is where Kurt sang In Utero [Pachyderm Recording Studio, Cannon Falls, Minnesota], from left to right: EV RE-20 (dynamic mic), Lomo 19a-9 (tube condenser mic), Sennheiser MD421 (U4 most likely, dynamic mic).

Kurt Cobain used Schaller Security Locks for Guitar Straps on his Mustangs during the "In Utero" tour, as evidenced by their notable presence on his main Mustang.

Kurt Cobain Used A Black Fort Bryan Guitar Strap during the European In Utero Tour in Feburary 1994, Pictured here. Hes seen in this picture using on his Skystang. Somewhere along the tour Kurt Taped On the Straps iconic gold logo. But the Unique Shape is from a Fort Bryan strap, witch is still produced domestically in the U.S still to this day.

Nirvana guitar historian "Nirvana Guitars" Eric Voltar; who has documented, archived and replicated Cobains music gear with time accure gear, tone and sounds as his profession, has stated in this post that Kurt was spotted wearing one and has created a replica of Kurt Cobains Famous Skystang with the Correct strap for the European In Utero Tour, showing pictures of Kurt using the strap on his Live European tour.

Kurt Cobain used the Dunlop Straplok Dual Design Strap Retainer System during the Nevermind tour on most of his guitars, most notably on his Fender Jaguar, until he switched to Schaller strap locks during the In Utero era. This information is supported by an image available on Equipboard.

According to the image taken from Aaron Rash, earnie bailey claims that Kurt's univox hi-flier custom had a Dimarzio super 2 in the bridge position instead of a seymour duncan JB (screenshot taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuMyifhHAQQ&t=467s)

"Here is the somewhat complex HiWatt saga: I found Krist his first one at a Seattle pawnshop for $300, and it had been previously drilled for a preamp output on the back. Andy Marshall at THD Electronics upgraded the preamp line out and modded the amp for KT-90 tubes (see below for more info). We bought a Groove Tubes speaker emulator to run the entire amp through the power amps and into the array of Boogie & Marshall cabs. The line out direct from the preamp sounded best, so we typically ran the HiWatt not utilizing the KT-90 output section at all, with the exception of the Crocodile Cafe show where I believe we used the HiWatts with 2 Marshall 4×12 cabs, and the recording of In Utero. For In Utero the HiWatts were sent out as was a 100 watt 1968 Marshall plexi Super Lead converted to 6550 tubes."

"Used for the In Utero demo sessions at Reciprocal and the '94 session at Robert Lang Studios." as shared by Earnie Bailey, NIRVANA's primary guitar tech.

Krist still uses his Plexi now paired with a JCM2000.

During the In Utero era, Krist used Ampeg SVT cabinets live.

"Krist's distortion pedal of choice." (as mentioned by Earnie Bailey, NIRVANA's guitar tech, and heard on many recordings (like Nevermind and maybe In Utero).

Revised source: Novoselic’s Pro Co RAT 2 can be clearly seen at NIrvana’s perforance in 1991 at the Paramount at the timestamp, 6:07, identifiable by its knob layout and logo font. The pedal in question is placed near Novoselic’s Mesa amps, so it must be his, not Kurt’s.

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

This Tama Artstar II kit in piano black was Dave Grohl's primary setup for the In Utero tour.

Pat Smear has been using Dunlop Tortex Standard 0.88mm Guitar Picks since the Nirvana In Utero album tour in 1993, as evidenced by a TikTok video posted by Andrew on December 16, 1993. The video is captioned, "Pat Smear’s guitar pick, December 16, 1993. In utero tour. #nirvana #patsmear #kurtcobain #kristnovoselic #davegrohl."