Kurt Cobain

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.

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.

This guitar effects pedal was used for the recording of "Nevermind”.

In this photo, the pedal clearly has the same knobs of that of the first version of the Pro Co Rat, as seen by the thick white lines which differ from the second one, proving that this is the correct model.

Used in the studio for "Lithium", as stated by Nevermind producer Butch Vig in at least three interviews. Nirvana discusses the pedal in this December 10, 1993 MTV interview at 19:01 (a transcription can be found on the fansite Live Nirvana). The version is unknown, but it was likely a V3 or V6 due to Cobain's love of Mudhoney (he sports an official Mudhoney V6 Big Muff t-shirt in at least seven photos: here, here and here, here and here (both from April 19, 1990), here, and here, plus this April 17, 1990 show) and Vig's sonic comparison to his Russian Big Muff, which uses transistors and thusly makes an op-amp version unlikely.

MTV, December 10, 1993

[Kurt Loder] I know I saw you guys at Roseland, I think what I saw is right, the stuff you're using on stage for like little stomp boxes are just little stomp-boxes, right? They're not $300 great big...

[Kurt Cobain] Oh, no, they're old early ‘70s Electro-Harmonix effects boxes.

[Loder] Wow, how do you keep that stuff going?

[Cobain] Batteries.

[Dave Grohl] Earnie Bailey.

[Cobain] Yeah, our guitar friend - this guy who fixes - he can fix anything, a blender or a guitar... He's great. He’s just um…

[Krist Novoselic] He's into old technology.

[Cobain] They're kind of hard to find. Yeah. Those things are kinda hard to find and I guess they're becoming collector's items now.

[Loder] I think there's a store in New York that collects that stuff.

[Cobain] Hm hmm.

[Grohl] And probably sells it for exorbitant prices.

[Novoselic] He knows like, like they use this capacitor, they use this transistor, because they use this poor-grade cheap transistor at the time, that's what gave it that sound like, if you used a modern transistor it wouldn't sound as cool.

[Loder] True.

[Cobain] If you were to use the same schematic but used contemporary electronics you wouldn't get the same sound, you know what I mean?

[Michael Alex] The Soviet Union [unintelligible] Electro-Harmonix was buying them [unintelligible]

[Novoselic] It's a Red Army pedal, they make ‘em out of tanks. Tanks! And you go, koough! and you like, crank on it... koough!

[Alex] Yeah! [unintelligible] That's the technology that made that.

[Cobain] [unintelligible] old tank parts.

[Loder] Really?

[Cobain] Yeah!

[Loder] Oh, Jesus... [laughs]

[Pat Smear] They’re not the same, they’re not the same.

[Loder] Really?

[Novoselic] They're cheap metal, it's about that thick.

[Cobain] It's so heavy, the distortion box, it's just...

[Alex] [unintelligible] Soviet parts?

[Smear] No.

[Alex] Still?

[Smear] No, they’re not the same.

[Alex] They got a Big Muff.

[Smear] No, they're not as good.

[Novoselic] That's a Big Muff, it's a total tank! Tank materials, that's what they're made out of, it's like kay! you stomp on it and the metal around it is like total thick and like that olive, drab... like, Soviet olive green color. It's just like, wow, amazing...

Guitar World, August 1997, "Nirvana: Super Fuzz Big Muff - The definitive guide to Kurt Cobain’s grungy assortment of pawn shop prizes, turbo- charged stomp boxes and blown woofers." (first published online in abridged form on February 21, 2008, later unabridged on February 17, 2021)

But even though Vig wasn’t the biggest fan of effect pedals, he allowed Cobain to use a few on the album, especially since the guitarist felt that the DS-1 was the main factor in his tone. Cobain also used the Small Clone liberally. “That’s making the watery guitar sound you hear on the pre-chorus build-up of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and also ‘Come as You Are,’ ” says Vig. “We used an Electro- Harmonix Big Muff fuzz box through a Fender Bassman on ‘Lithium’ to get that thumpier, darker sound.”

Classic Rock Albums: Nirvana - Nevermind by Charles R. Cross & Jim Berkenstadt (1998)

To achieve the thumping, darker sound on "Lithium," the band employed an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff fuzz box through a Fender Bassman amplifier. “As I recall,” says Vig, “we used a U87 microphone on that. We wanted something that was not so bright, a heavier sound.” The U87 was a microphone that the producer usually reserved for capturing low-frequency instruments like bass guitar. Two tracks were devoted to Krist’s bass part. An additional three tracks recorded Kurt's guitar, all gauged to beef up the sound.

Guitar.com, December 10, 2020, "Butch Vig shares the guitar recording secrets of Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters and more"

“I think when we did Nevermind, Kurt had a Mesa/Boogie, and I rented a Vox AC30 because, as I said, I love the clear tones on those. I also rented a Fender Bassman. We had one at Smart Studios that we used all the time. One of the engineers called Doug Wilson had modified it. I don’t know what he did, but it was the fattest, crunchiest, thickest guitar tone. So I rented one in LA when we did Nevermind, and although it didn’t sound quite the same, we used that on Lithium and for some of the really heavy tones as the main guitar amp.

“And we only used a couple of pedals. Kurt had a Big Muff. And I think I had a Russian Big Muff, which is, you know, very close. And he had a RAT. And then he had a Small Clone, which is sort of the watery effect on Teen Spirit in the verses. Come As You Are as well. But that was it; a pretty simple setup, really.”

In a July 27, 2007 Two Plus Two forum reply, Steve Albini recalled a Big Muff appearing during the recording of In Utero, although no indication was made of whether or not it was actually used. He affirmed the Big Muff’s presence in a May 30, 2020 Reddit AMA reply.

Two Plus Two, “Ask a music scene micro celebrity”, July 27, 2007 reply to damntang

damntang

Hi Steve,

Can you remember what gear kurt Cobain used when recording In Utero, I'm particularly interested in his pedals.

Cheers,

D.T.

electric

Boss DS3 and ubiquitous Big Muff Pi also a Sans Amp

Fender Quad Reverb broken, but one working tube sounded pretty great

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.

Contrary to rumour, Cobain was never sighted with a Big Muff on stage. In a September 13, 2021 Instagram message replying to Equipboard user eyeseeofficial, Nirvana tech Earnie Bailey reported never having seen it himself.

Which Muff Kurt used on Nevermind is one of the great mysteries and probably the question I see most. Wish I would have asked when the chance was there.

In my time, I never saw on[e] used on the stage. Krist once gave me an early triangle knob circuit board, minus the pots & enclosure. No backstory on it though and I doubt he’d remember it.

If I presented a series of pics of all the Muffs, Krist would be the most likely to remember, but Dave too as he was more of a guitar guy than people realized.

Citing Bailey via a “Personal communication with Caio Leme” in 2020, Live Nirvana reports that “a green Russian unit was among equipment that Krist once brought over to Earnie's house.”

It is used throughout the MTV Live and Loud show at Pier 48 in Seattle. Its next to his Tech 21 Sansamp pedal. You can get a fairly good view of it during Radio Friendly Unit Shifter, Drain You, Rape Me and Blew. The closest shot you get is a couple of times during Endless Nameless when some fans get onto the stage, which I've provided screenshots of for the source.

Later, in 2014, it was tried to be sold on the infamous Pawn Stars show.

Cobain had a Small Clone chorus from Electro-Harmonix in his pedalboard.

Kurt Cobain used the Boss DM-2 Delay pedal both live and in the studio, notably on the track "If You Must." It is also believed to have contributed to the distinctive sounds on his home demos, as evidenced by a photograph from Nirvanaguide.

Kurt Cobain used the MXR M104 Distortion+ pedal during some of his live performances, as confirmed through conversations and emails with his guitar technician, Earnie Bailey. This information is supported by a photo on Kurtsequipment titled "leanover.jpg."

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

From http://www.kurtsequipment.com/ site, who claims the source for this info is Ernie Bailey itself, Kurt's guitar technician:

Sources: 59). My conversations and emails with Earnie Bailey. 60). Various emails.

Effects: 7). Orange MXR Phase 100 which was used for "Curmudgeon." This was owned by Kurt (59) and supposedly purchased at Voltage Guitars at the same time as his Fender XII and blue Mosrite (60).

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).

Kurt Cobain is associated with using the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi fuzz pedal, particularly in the studio at the Nevermind Sessions on the track "Lithium" and likely "Endless Nameless" which stemmed from a failed take of "Lithium." Although sources often debate which Big Muff version he specifically used, comparisons suggest that either the Triangle or the Ram's Head Big Muff sounded closest to his tone. However, the first version of the Ram's Head, featuring similar internal components, is likely the model he used, as noted on www.kurtsequipment.com.

12/03/89 - Astoria Theatre (Lame Fest UK '89), London, UK. Kurt is seen using a MXR Distortion + & an Arion HU-8500 Stage Tuner (1980's) Black Japanese Made.

The website says he had one for chorus effects but didn't like it as much as the small clone and broke it.

Kurt Cobain used a custom-made Yung-Mann Fuzz pedal, which is a clone of the Shin-Ei FY-6/Univox Super Fuzz, crafted by Ernie Bailey. This information is supported by a tweet from livenirvana.

Seen here second down in his rack above his mesa boogie studio.22

According to Caio Leme at LiveNIRVANA.com, Cobain used a uncertain DOD pedal on at least two dates: May 9, 1990 (at Stache's in Colombus, Ohio) and May 13, 1990 (at Duffy's Tavern in Lincoln, Nebraska). Leme includes this photograph from the Duffy's Tavern show (the photographer is unknown), which shows the pedal on top of Cobain's amplifier. Unfortunately, the angle at which the pedal appears ambiguates its identity. Leme explains:

Seen on top of the amp. As it's a red stereo pedal, it could be a FX45 Stereo Reverb or a FX62 Bass Stereo Chorus. Little is known about this particular pedal, please contact me if you have any further information.

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.

First & last show: 12/21/88 - Eagles Hall Hoquaim, WA.

Borrowed from Ryan Aigner. PNW Music Archives Facebook Group.

Used in 01/30/94 at Robert Lang studio for the You Know You're Right sessions

In this September 26, 1992 photograph by Lindsay Brice of Cobain performing with Mudhoney at Castaic Lake Amphitheather, Castaic CA, Caio Leme of LiveNIRVANA.com notes the presence of an Ibanez Soundtank pedal at his feet. He notes the following:

Possibly an Ibanez SF/FZ5 '60s Fuzz borrowed from Mark Arm, as he's known to buy this model every time he finds one. (34) Little is known about this particular pedal, please contact me if you have any further information.

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.

in a email send by @nerdvanaofficial to laundry room studios (where curmudgeon was recorded in 1992) asking about which model of the MXR phase 100 was used, Barrett Jones said that:

Kurt brought his own Small Stone to the session.

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.