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.

The Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp can be seen in David Gilmour's rack during the Knebworth concert. Gilmour had previously had Mark I and Mark III heads in his rack and more than likely moved to the Studio Preamp around 1989 after the Venice concert.

Kit Rae documents Gilmour's use of the Studio Preamp on the Knebworth page of his David Gilmour Tone Building site.

James was using quad preamps and studio preamps during justice - black album era

Used live during the Damaged Justice tour 1988-1989

Paul McCartney is noted for using the Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp, as detailed in the "Amplifiers & Pedals" section of the Hog Hill Mill Blog.

Used live during the "Razors Edge" era 1990-1991

On the Mesa Boogie pages of Whotabs.com Pete is quoted to have said "MESA/Boogie have made a very good front-end tube preamp, and I’m using four of those. It’s the best I’ve ever tried; I’ve tried literally everything on the market..." in the October 1989 issue of Guitar Player Magazine. Towards the bottom of the page a photo of Pete's 4 Studio Preamp equipped rack is shown. The who's stencil can clearly be seen on top of the rack.

This early Foo Fighters show pictures Pat Smear using the Mesa/Bogie Studio Preamp through the Crown Power amp, the same rig that he used while playing in Nirvana. 22:28 into the video you can clearly see the rack.

Used live during the "Razors Edge" tour 1990-1991

In the Premier Guitar article titled "GALLERY: Iron Maiden's 2010 Touring Gear," Janick Gers is shown using the Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp during Iron Maiden's tour.

At 1:59 in the video, you can see Courtney using Kurt Cobain's previous touring rig before his death, which consisted of 2 Mesa Boogie Studio Preamps, and 2 Crest 4801 Power amps. Courtney began using this rig after Kurt died.

Seen in his rack during the 90s