Equipment FAQ

Version 1.3
Last Updated: 27-Nov-94


I'm sure this is document is incomplete, but its a start. Anyone with more information can
contact me at the above addresses. If you do, _please_ cite your sources for all
information - I'd rather have facts than opinions. Thanks.

This document is posted to alt.music.nirvana, alt.music.alternative,
rec.music.makers.guitar, alt.guitar, and the data library of the Rocknet forum on
CompuServe.



GUITARS

Kurt played guitar left-handed, mostly using left-handed guitars, but sometimes using a
right-handed guitar strung for a lefty and played "upside-down." If a right-handed guitar
is mentioned in this document, it was being played this way.

He favored assorted Fender Mustangs; [8] including a medium blue with mother-of-pearl
pickguard [1], red with red-swirl mother-of-bowling-ball pickguard. [2] He said that his
favorite guitar was a Mustang. [7]

Another guitar of long-standing was his tobacco-sunburst '66 Jaguar with red-swirl
mother-of-bowling-ball pickguard. There are humbuckers in _both_ bridge and neck
positions, extra knobs to make four knobs on the guitar, the lower switches taped over
with duct tape - especially seen on tours circa 1991. [6,10] The replacement pickups
were supposedly DiMarzio Super Distortion and Seymour Duncan "Custom"
humbuckers. [12]

There were occasional Stratocasters (Japanese preferred, because of lower price and
smaller frets [10]); an all-white and an all-black have been seen in photos. Occasional
Telecasters (not often, apparently). Also various random, cheap guitars. [3,8] In the
video for 'Heart-Shaped Box' Kurt is "playing" a right-handed Mosrite Ventures guitar (or
a Univox copy of a Mosrite Ventures guitar). [17]

A $20 pawnshop "Stella" acoustic guitar [8] which was supposedly used to record
"Polly."

The MTV Unplugged appearance [9] was done with an acoustic/electric Martin guitar
from the late 50s or early 60s; perhaps a model D-18E ("E" for electric) or a D-28E. Its
a right-handed guitar; the pickups (DeArmonds), control knobs and switch were stock,
even though they look like a home-brew job. [9,19]



THE FERRINGTON GUITAR

The luthier Danny Ferrington made a custom guitar for Kurt in 1992, based on the
Fender Mustang.

"Kurt is left-handed, and he really likes the Fender Mustang he's been playing for a few
years. But his playing style is so rough, and left-handed Mustangs so rare, that it was
beginning to look as if his favorite guitar was going to break apart right out from under
him. I'd talked with Nick Close, one of Nirvana's roadies, about trying to find
replacement necks for the Mustang, but finally Kurt called me to talk about ordering a
new custom guitar.

"Nirvana left for Australia a few days later, and Kurt faxed me a great little picture
showing where he wanted the pickups to be and what shape to use for the body. It was
the first time I'd collaborated by fax, and I thought it was real fun to be designing a guitar
by long distance using such a modern communications technology.

"I built his guitar to be a lot like that old Mustang, except we used a Gibson-style bridge
that's better at keeping the guitar in tune, and I made the neck a little straighter so that it
won't be so apt to break when Kurt plays it hard. It's tricky making left-handed guitars,
though, because everything on a left-handed guitar is counter-intuitive for me. Right off
the bat I made a few mistakes on Kurt's guitar, so finally I took to labeling all the parts
'This Side Up' to remind myself that I needed to do everything backwards.

The guitar turned out real well, and a few months later Kurt came by with his wife to pick
it up. Just after he started playing it he stopped dead in his tracks and said, 'This is like
my dream guitar!' His wife asked, 'Honey, are you gonna trash this one too?' but Kurt got
this horrified look on his face, and in a solemn voice he said, 'No, this one's going to be
my recording guitar.' I was tickled to death, and it was incredibly satisfying to hear that
I'd hit the nail right on the head. [18]

The Ferrington guitar is distinguished by several features. It has heart-shaped fretboard
"dot" inlays, a stylized "f" (for Ferrington) on the peghead, three pickups (which look like
single coil neck and middle pickup, and a humbucker bridge-position pickup), and an
almost-Mustang pickguard where the plastic continues right down to the control knobs
(this section is chrome on actual Mustangs). The Mustang slide switches are replaced
with a toggle switch where the input jack would be. The actual input jack is a
Stratocaster- style jack mounted below the pickguard.

The body is basswood, with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard. Its finished in what
Fender calls sonic blue, with a red-swirl mother-of-bowling-ball pickguard. I don't know
of any pictures or footage of Kurt playing this guitar, but this could be because it was
used only as a "recording guitar."



THE JAG-STANG GUITAR

Another custom collaboration was with Fender, and was again based on the Mustang.

"Cobain worked with the Fender Custom Shop to develop the "Jag-stang," a very
functional combination of Jaguar and Mustang design.

"'Kurt always enjoyed playing both guitars,' says Fender's Larry Brooks. 'He took
photographs of each, cut them in half, and put them together to see what they'd look like.
It was his concept, and we detailed and contoured it to give him balance and feel.

"'He was really easy to work with. I had a chance to sit and talk with him, then we built
him a prototype. He played it a while and then wrote some suggestions on the guitar and
sent it back to us. The second time around, we got it right.'

"The guitar features a Mustang-style short-scale neck on a body that borrows from both
designs. There's a Dimarzio humbucking pickup at the bridge, and a Texas Special
single coil at the neck, tilted at the same angle as on a Mustang. Cobain was quite
satisfied with the guitar.

"'Ever since I started playing, I've always liked certain things about certain guitars but
could never find the perfect mix of everything I was looking for. The Jag-stang is the
closest thing I know. And I like the idea of having a quality instrument on the market with
no preconceived notions attached. In a way, it's perfect for me to attach my name to the
Jag-stang, in that I'm the anti-guitar hero - I can barely play the things myself.'" [4]

The "Jag-stang," was seen starting in mid-to-late 1993. [4] An early Jag-stang or a
modified Mustang w/ humbucking pickups in the bridge position is shown on the MTV
New Year's Show. [5] Its body closely resembles a Mustang and it doesn't look like the
Jag-stang shown in the Fender magazine. [4] But, the headstock only says "Fender", no
"Mustang". Perhaps this was an early iteration of the Jag- stang? It's "Sonic Blue" - a
robin's egg blue - with a red- swirl mother-of-bowling-ball pickguard. A reviewer for
Guitar Shop saw a "cross between the Jaguar and Mustang, the Jag-stang features a
sonic blue Jag body with white pickguard and Mustang bridge." [13] He went on to
mention that Kurt's main axe that evening was a Mustang - again, was it a Mustang with
humbuckers or another Jag-stang?

As of this writing, there are tentative plans for Fender to mass-produce Jag-stangs in
Mexico. They may be introduced at the NAMM show in January 1995. [20]



GUITAR DESTRUCTION

An often unnoted aspect of Nirvana's equipment destruction was that Kurt often
switched to a (presumably) expendable guitar for the last song, then trashed it. It would
be wrong to think he didn't like certain guitars. He even spoke of the '66 Mustang as a
guitar he "babys" and won't let anyone else touch.

In the MTV New Year's Eve show, he switched to a black Stratocaster for the last
song/destruction. [5]

"On tour, they'd find cheap guitars at pawnshops - sometimes fans would give them a
guitar or in a pinch Jonathan Poneman [from SubPop records] would Fed Ex one out to
them - and string them left-handed and smash them that night." [14]

I've seen Courtney Love of Hole switch guitars for the encore (she played only one guitar
up until that point), then stage-dive with the "encore" guitar.



EFFECTS

* Roland (BOSS) DS-1 distortion pedal [7] - Kurt always referred to these as "Roland"
pedals, rather than BOSS
* Roland (BOSS) DS-2 Turbo distortion pedal [6,8]
* "Roland EF-1 distortion" (probably a transcription error for the DS-1) - "I go though
about five a tour..." [10]
* Electro-Harmonix Small Stone phase shifter [7]
* A silver-gray DOD pedal with blue lettering and four knobs on top. Best guess: the
DOD FX75B (or similar model) Stereo Flanger [5]
* Tech 21 SansAmp amp-simulator box [5]
* DOD Phase shifter pedal [12]
* Dunlop Rotovibe [12, 15]

Kurt probably didn't use much chorus, but I'm not sure about that. [12]



AMPLIFICATION

* MESA/Boogie preamp [7,8,10] - he turned "all the midrange up" [10]
* 4 Crown 800W power sources (power amps) [7,10]
* Carver power amp [8]
* Mesa/Boogie Mark III heads and 4x12 cabs [12]
* Small, red vinyl Marshall head and cabinet, along with several large black Marshall
cabinets [5]



MISCELLANEOUS

Nirvana were offered a Gibson endorsement, but Kurt couldn't find a Gibson he liked.
[10]

I've almost always seen pictures of Kurt using Ernie Ball straps, in solid black or solid
white [3]

Kurt claimed to use a Radio Shack burglar alarm [7] and Radio Shack speakers. [10] Its
sounds like he's kidding, though you never know. He also claimed to use strings made
out of piano wire, shipped in long boxes, as he couldn't find guitar wire thick enough for
his taste. [7]

Hole's "Doll Parts" video has guitarist Eric Erlandson playing a left-handed Jaguar
guitar (with neck position humbucker pickups) strung so a right-handed guitarist can
play it. [11] It looks like Kurt's '66 Jaguar. Peter Buck plays a sonic blue lefty Jag-stang
of Kurt's (upside-down) in the video for R.E.M.'s "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" [16]



THANKS TO

Joe Hartley, Mark Saucier, The Rev. Justin A. Redd, and John Dee.