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.

In this photo, John Frusciante's red Fender Mustang can be seen next to him. In an interview with Vintage Guitar, he says:

I also have a red Mustang, and it’s fun. I feel like a different person on it, too, but it feels really comfortable, like an extension of me… but also that it’s a toy instead of a guitar. The same for the Duo-Sonic.

Interview found here, originally from Vintage Guitar's April 2009 issue.

Used for the Olympic Studios sessions of Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Lady Land. It was auctioned via Bonhams on November 21, 2004, only to be reauctioned via Julien's on April 27, 2007

Bonhams

A Jimi Hendrix Daytona red Fender Mustang guitar,

1966, serial number 126288, with guitar case, with an affidavit from John Mitch Mitchell, who was formerly the drummer with Jimi Hendrix Experience that states the guitar was used by Jimi Hendrix at the Olympic Studio, London for the recording of "Alxis Bold as Love" and "Electric Lady Land" and was used by him on these two album.

The guitar is part of the L series, which were among the last Fenders made before the company was taken over by CBS and these style of guitars are regarded as some of the best guitars made by the company.

Julien's

1966 Red Fender Mustang, serial number 126288, solid maple neck and body, 22 fret rosewood fret board, double cutaway body, the nut has been flipped to accommodate the fact that the guitar has been

Pictures of the guitar can be found here, here, here and here.

In the website, it said in an interview, Flea said he bought a Fender Mustang and started to jam after he felt confident to play bass after he was thought by his Bandmate, Hillel Slovak, from Anthym

Mac can be seen playing his Fender Mustang Electric Guitar in this image.

"This is a great Mustang for anyone looking for a cool looking Mustang. It plays better than any Mustang I’ve ever used! And i’m not just saying that!" says Dan Auerbachs, as quoted in this article.

for some drop d songs and this promotion poster

2.30 In this video he can be seen playing a red mustang

In this tiktok he is using a black fender mustang for the song arabella

Josh Klinghoffer can be seen using a Fender Mustang in this photo.

In this photo, Thurston Moore can be seen playing a Fender Mustang. On this website, it is said:

"Used by Thurston: 1988 1988 -- GABDEG?? NOTES:

A sunburst Mustang almost identical to Lee's that Thurston apparently used for a while in 1988. He can be seen using it at a photograph from the Roxy in November 1988, and it's on display (with the other sunburst Mustang) in the "Put Blood in the Music" documentary. I suspect it may have been in GABDEG... Sunburst body 2 black single coils Rosewood fretboard Pearl pickguard"

Krist Novoselic is pictured with a Fender Mustang Electric Guitar, as shown in a photo shared by Leah the Rev on Pinterest.