Kurt Cobain

A Vox AC30 was used on Nirvana's "Nevermind" album, according to Butch Vig:

"Kurt had a Mesa/Boogie, but we also used a Fender Bassman a lot and a Vox AC30 on Nevermind," Vig recalls. "I prefer getting the amp to sound distorted instead of using special effects or pedals, which lose body and the fullness of the bottom end."

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.

Kurt played a left-handed Mosrite a lot. He had a Mesa Boogie amp, and we rented a Fender Bassman, a Vox AC3O and a Marshall stack which we didn't really use.

Kurt only used the Mesa Boogie Studio. 22 Combo Amp once. Kurt mainly used the Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp with a Crown power amp and a variety of Marshall cabinets. In live performances, his Crown power amp was eventually replaced with 2 Crest power amps,

The Only time Kurt used the Mesa Boogie Studio .22 Combo Amp was on October 24, 1991 at Off The Record, San Diego, CA. This was supposed to be an acoustic show, with instruments supplied by the record store, but since they didn't have any left-handed guitars, the band ended up using their own instruments and playing an electric set. So the Mesa Boogie Studio.22 Combo Amp Belonged to the Record Store.

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.

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.

1980s Marshall Red 3005 Lead 12 Micro Stack Red Tolex. Krist and Pat both had ones with Black Tolex.

Kurt used it on the 1993/1994 In Utero tours, they were used as Props, for visual purposes, it was never plugged in or used.

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

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.

Kurt only used this amp for gigs, and just few times.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH HIS 1982 TWIN REVERB BLACKFACE

19). Borrowed Fender Twin Reverb reissue, belonging to Steve Turner, used for the Bellingham show where NIRVANA opened for Mudhoney. Amp was a new blackface reissue (59).

In the live performance of "Territorial Pissings" at the Paramount in 1991, Kurt Cobain used a Marshall 1960A 4x12" Cabinet, as seen in the NirvanaVEVO video.

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 this throughout the European tour in 1989. This is not his amp and it was owned by Gary Thorstensen from the band Tad. (notice in the image how there is no guitar plugged into the Fender Twin Reverb)

Kurt Cobain didn't like Marshalls, but he played the cabs, because he did like the vintage 30 speakers in combo with the Boogie heads. The link goes over his settings.

According to Azerrad, Cobain's amp during this period was a tiny Fender Champ. Also around this time, Cobain acquired a Univox Superfuzz, but it was stolen from his rehearsal space.

In this image you can see Kurt using a Randall Commander II head with a SoundTech 2x12 speaker cabinet.

Kurt Cobain had a Marshall 3005 Lead 12 Mini Stack in Red Tolex during the 1993-1994 In Utero tours. It was used solely as a stage decoration. [User-uploaded photo]

Kurt only used the Mesa Boogie Studio. 22+ Combo Amp once. It was at Off The Record, San Diego, CA on October 24, 1991.

This was supposed to be an acoustic show, with instruments supplied by the record store, but since they didn't have any left-handed guitars, the band ended up using their own instruments and playing an electric set. So the Mesa Boogie Studio .22+ Combo Amp Belonged to the Record Store.

The Studio 22+ is a combo version of the Studio Preamp, that Kurt, used mainly for live.

Kurt using some sort of combo amp at the 1988 Capitol Lake Jam (it is a Sunn Beta Lead 2x12).

Used at Smart Studios while recording Nevermind. Very distinctive sounding amp, bridge the first gain treble channel to the second bass normal channel turn tones up to 9 o’clock and volumes to 4+ keep tremblo modulation and speed at 2 and you got just about every clean tone on the album before the Boss Ds-1 kicks in

Kurt Cobain used Marshall 1960AV 4x12 cabinets from 1990 to 1994, often pairing them with Marshall 1960BV 4x12 cabinets. A 1960AV cabinet, featured in the "Live and Loud" performance, was later sold at Julien's Auctions.

Kurt Cobain used this cabinet in the early days of Nervemind which can be seen in some of the live photos and it was on display at MoPOP Seattle

on this picture taken at the live at Kilburn National Ballroom, London, UK. 1991 we can see a Marshall JCM800 Cabinet 4x12

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. ¨

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."

Kurt used a marshall JCM800 head. The amp actually belonged to Mike Johnson of Dinosaur Jr, for whom Nirvana opened up on june 17 at Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA, and on june 14 at Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA. https://www.groundguitar.com/kurt-cobain-gear/kurt-cobains-marshall-jcm800-amp/

Kurt Cobain utilized a Fender 6G6A/B Bassman amplifier during the recording of the album "Nevermind." This information is corroborated by Dave Friedman, who personally delivered the amp to the studio, as detailed in the "Live Nirvana | Equipment Guide | Kurt Cobain's Amplifiers and Effects Pedals."

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.

As documented by this October 24, 1991 photo taken by Ed Sirrs, Cobain used a Studio .22 for a show that day at Off the Record in San Diego, California. On LiveNIRVANA.com, Caio Leme notes that it was “[p]ossibly a rental”.