Kurt Cobain

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.”

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

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.

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.

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.

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.