Kurdt Cobain used a preamp pedal/poweramp rig!?!

[Gmork]

So weird to think he was running a preamp pedal (sansamp classic) into a poweramp (mesa) rig way back then!
Like.... WHAT? Lol
pretty cool. Just thought some of ya might be interested in this look into his gear.

http://www.kurtsequipment.com/?fbclid=IwAR3hU99g0ScOs8TT3oVPF9Ma4th5JrjNzGX3fXilvaY-aG39L71nZvnOXFs

 

[c7spheres]

Reading through that it looks like he used a little bit of everything. He also use a Mesa Studio Pre into a Crest solid state amp and at one point had a Mesa Strategy 400 stereo rig.
- What's weird to me is he was using Mesa's in any capacity and also a stereo rig. Something I never got a hint of hearing Nirvana. I always thought he was a Marshall guy, which at some point he also apparently used.

 

[ArtDecade]

He was using the Sansamp as a distortion pedal - not as an amp emulation. This was simply a replacement pedal for his DS-1 that broke. He also experimented with the DS-2 as well. Both of them were used live during the In Utero tours. It seems he favored the DS-2 when the the Jaguars and the Sansamp with the Mustang/JagStangs. Also, the Mesa/Crown setup was to replace the Fender Twins he wanted use, but he needed more power when the stages kept getting bigger.

 

[Gmork]

He was using the Sansamp as a distortion pedal - not as an amp emulation. This was simply a replacement pedal for his DS-1 that broke. He also experimented with the DS-2 as well. Both of them were used live during the In Utero tours. It seems he favored the DS-2 when the the Jaguars and the Sansamp with the Mustang/JagStangs. Also, the Mesa/Crown setup was to replace the Fender Twins he wanted use, but he needed more power when the stages kept getting bigger.

I didn't say he was using amp sims, but he was essentially using the sansamp as a preamp into a clean poweramp

 

[akinari]

Those old Sansamps are absolutely bestial sounding. I like the newer ones too, but they sound a lot smoother.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

I didn't say he was using amp sims, but he was essentially using the sansamp as a preamp into a clean poweramp

He wasnt doing that. He was using it as a distortion pedal running into a Mesa Studio Preamp and then into a Crown/Crest power amp.

 

[ArtDecade]

I didn't say he was using amp sims, but he was essentially using the sansamp as a preamp into a clean poweramp

^ Not this.

He wasnt doing that. He was using it as a distortion pedal running into a Mesa Studio Preamp and then into a Crown/Crest power amp.

^ That.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Kurt was a gearwhore like the lot of us. He used to use dummy stacks on stage to throw people off, as sort of an image thing, but he always had fairly large, often convoluted racks of pedals, pres, and power amps. A lot of it is attributed to his techs, but he was the final word on his stage sound.

Part of the psudeo-punk grunge aesthetic was ambivalence and apathy, so the idea that he was playing a random pawnshop guitar into a homemade pedal board into whatever amps the house rented was the image he was gunning for, but make no mistake, everything from the pickups to the pedal order to the cascading of rack gear was carefully curated.

 

[exo]

Kurt was a gearwhore like the lot of us. He used to use dummy stacks on stage to throw people off, as sort of an image thing, but he always had fairly large, often convoluted racks of pedals, pres, and power amps. A lot of it is attributed to his techs, but he was the final word on his stage sound.

Part of the psudeo-punk grunge aesthetic was ambivalence and apathy, so the idea that he was playing a random pawnshop guitar into a homemade pedal board into whatever amps the house rented was the image he was gunning for, but make no mistake, everything from the pickups to the pedal order to the cascading of rack gear was carefully curated.

THIS.

Dave and Krist have both told the story about practicing “Smells like Teen Spirit” hundreds of times in a row to get it nailed down to PERFECTION. Nirvana had a sort of “aloof” presentation, but Kurt was a perfectionist at heart that worked on things until every last detail and nuance was “right”.....and you damn well better believe that extended towards his gear choices.

 

[Gmork]

He wasnt doing that. He was using it as a distortion pedal running into a Mesa Studio Preamp and then into a Crown/Crest power amp.

Ahhh gotcha. My bad

 

[broj15]

I'm pretty sure bleach (aka the best Nirvana album) he used a Sunn Beta as well. Not sure what dirt pedal he was using or if he was even using one. Paper cuts & negative creep are both super heavy and I wish they would've retained more of that sound throughout the rest of thier discography.

 

[DudeManBrother]

I agree that Bleach is the best. Though I love Incesticide and In Utero too. I don’t hate Nevermind, but I never listen to it. I still put on the others on occasion.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

I'm pretty sure bleach (aka the best Nirvana album) he used a Sunn Beta as well. Not sure what dirt pedal he was using or if he was even using one. Paper cuts & negative creep are both super heavy and I wish they would've retained more of that sound throughout the rest of thier discography.

I think that was only during the tour. Bleach was recorded with a DS-1 and Fender amp.

 

[Drew]

Holy fuck, a Nirvana thread that hasn't devolved into hatred?

Kurt used a LOT of stuff over the course of his career, some expensive, some not, but he pretty clearly had a sound in his head that he was chasing and would use whatever he could to get there - as do, I suspect, most of us.

Dave and Krist have both told the story about practicing “Smells like Teen Spirit” hundreds of times in a row to get it nailed down to PERFECTION. Nirvana had a sort of “aloof” presentation, but Kurt was a perfectionist at heart that worked on things until every last detail and nuance was “right”.....and you damn well better believe that extended towards his gear choices.

Nirvana was caught between two competing aesthetics, really. They were heavily influenced by punk rock and the nihilistic devil-may-care attitude that came with that, but at the same time Kurt grew up loving the Beatles, and wanted to write really intimately crafted songs, not just make noise (which they wanted to do too).

If somehow you guys haven't seen this, it's awesome - both because Beato is totally geeking out about "Smells like Teen Spirit" and there's some real passion here, but also because he does a really good job of laying out just how complex Cobain's melodicim was in something that comes across with all the subtlety of an apathetic sledge-hammer.



The irony that he actually gets the opening wrong with those suspended chords that I absolutely do not here isn't lost on me, but bear with me here.

 

[Bearitone]

Kurt was a gearwhore like the lot of us. He used to use dummy stacks on stage to throw people off, as sort of an image thing, but he always had fairly large, often convoluted racks of pedals, pres, and power amps. A lot of it is attributed to his techs, but he was the final word on his stage sound.

Part of the psudeo-punk grunge aesthetic was ambivalence and apathy, so the idea that he was playing a random pawnshop guitar into a homemade pedal board into whatever amps the house rented was the image he was gunning for, but make no mistake, everything from the pickups to the pedal order to the cascading of rack gear was carefully curated.

This is one of the coolest little factoids I’ve ever learned about Kurt.

There’s this interview where Kurt is pretty apathetic in his responses to basically every question but lights up right when he’s asked about his new signature jagstang. He probably would have loved to have more people to talk gear with.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

This is one of the coolest little factoids I’ve ever learned about Kurt.

There’s this interview where Kurt is pretty apathetic in his responses to basically every question but lights up right when he’s asked about his new signature jagstang. He probably would have loved to have more people to talk gear with.

There were some pretty neat snippets about guitars and stuff in his journals.

How he went about designing the Jagstang and what he wanted it to do, which bridge he preferred, the pickups and switch schemes available, etc.

One of the guitar magazines did a piece on the Jagstang at its 10th or 15th anniversary and they had a column with the A&R guy at Fender who spoke about how much of a guitar nerd Kurt was.

 

[Abominorg the Grotesque]

A lot of Kurt Cobain interviews I've read over the years lead me to believe he was probably a much more talented guitarist than Nirvana's music would lead one to believe. He seemed like the kind of guy who spent hours sitting around playing the thing and nerding out about gear and music as a teenager.

 

[jonsick]

I've read a lot on Kurt Cobain as I grew up with Nirvana.

Kurt bought a Mesa Studio Pre when he first got signed and got a bit of a budget in along with some cool pedals. He did have Crown power amps, but there was nothing very special to his rig. There was a single cable between the Mesa Studio Pre and the Crown Power amp. The dirt was generated by a Boss DS-1, add in the Small Stone Chorus and job done.

When they were starting the In Utero cycle and they got Pat Smear in, Kurt gave his old Mesa Studio Pre to Pat. They then bought three more Mesa Studio Pres, two for Kurt and one to Pat. That way each of them had a main and a spare. They also switched from the Crown power amps to the Crest power amps.

Kurt also bought a couple of new pedals, e.g. the PolyChorus which you hear on Radio Friendly Unit Shifter which was a frequent show opener and the Sansamp pedal. He also replaced the DS1 with a DS-2 but this was left on the non-turbo setting. The general rule of thumb is that most of the Nevermind songs were done on the DS-2 and the In Utero stuff was done on the Sansamp. The Sansamp was really just used as a distortion pedal.

If you would like a good gear walkthrough, check out the Youtube video for Nirvana-UK. They're a British cover band for Nirvana but they've gone to extreme efforts to use very period correct gear, that is pedals from that era, etc.

You'll also find mention of the Dod Grunge pedal. Kurt had one as a joke. You can hear it on at least one live recording which is the show that they did for MTV's Live and Loud. It's towards the end of the set and very noticeable as Kurt's tone sounds like total bum. Legend has it that he threw it (gently I might add) into the crowd during the destruction scene.

As for cabinets, Kurt used four Mesa 4x12s for the States during the In Utero cycles and generally Marshalls almost everywhere else both Nevermind and In Utero cycles simply as they were cheap and easy to get hold of. There were no fake cabinets other than those used as rather obvious parody decorations. E.g. the red Marshall mini stacks you see dotted around the stages during the In Utero live cycles were obviously not plugged in but were more there simply for the lols.

Anyway, here's a pretty good video that goes through the gear and how it's used. Note that these guys even went as far as getting a custom hihat stand made up to emulate Dave Grohl's set up! And yes, they're pretty damn good live!



As an aside, I have one of those old Sansamps and of course a DS-1. To me, the Sansamp is really where that Nirvana tone is at. The direction to go with the DS-1 to me is not really correct... well it is and it isn't. But if you want Nirvana style distortion, to me the Sansamp is what does the job over pretty much any other piece of gear mentioned.

 

[Gmork]

I've read a lot on Kurt Cobain as I grew up with Nirvana.

Kurt bought a Mesa Studio Pre when he first got signed and got a bit of a budget in along with some cool pedals. He did have Crown power amps, but there was nothing very special to his rig. There was a single cable between the Mesa Studio Pre and the Crown Power amp. The dirt was generated by a Boss DS-1, add in the Small Stone Chorus and job done.

When they were starting the In Utero cycle and they got Pat Smear in, Kurt gave his old Mesa Studio Pre to Pat. They then bought three more Mesa Studio Pres, two for Kurt and one to Pat. That way each of them had a main and a spare. They also switched from the Crown power amps to the Crest power amps.

Kurt also bought a couple of new pedals, e.g. the PolyChorus which you hear on Radio Friendly Unit Shifter which was a frequent show opener and the Sansamp pedal. He also replaced the DS1 with a DS-2 but this was left on the non-turbo setting. The general rule of thumb is that most of the Nevermind songs were done on the DS-2 and the In Utero stuff was done on the Sansamp. The Sansamp was really just used as a distortion pedal.

If you would like a good gear walkthrough, check out the Youtube video for Nirvana-UK. They're a British cover band for Nirvana but they've gone to extreme efforts to use very period correct gear, that is pedals from that era, etc.

You'll also find mention of the Dod Grunge pedal. Kurt had one as a joke. You can hear it on at least one live recording which is the show that they did for MTV's Live and Loud. It's towards the end of the set and very noticeable as Kurt's tone sounds like total bum. Legend has it that he threw it (gently I might add) into the crowd during the destruction scene.

As for cabinets, Kurt used four Mesa 4x12s for the States during the In Utero cycles and generally Marshalls almost everywhere else both Nevermind and In Utero cycles simply as they were cheap and easy to get hold of. There were no fake cabinets other than those used as rather obvious parody decorations. E.g. the red Marshall mini stacks you see dotted around the stages during the In Utero live cycles were obviously not plugged in but were more there simply for the lols.

Anyway, here's a pretty good video that goes through the gear and how it's used. Note that these guys even went as far as getting a custom hihat stand made up to emulate Dave Grohl's set up! And yes, they're pretty damn good live!



As an aside, I have one of those old Sansamps and of course a DS-1. To me, the Sansamp is really where that Nirvana tone is at. The direction to go with the DS-1 to me is not really correct... well it is and it isn't. But if you want Nirvana style distortion, to me the Sansamp is what does the job over pretty much any other piece of gear mentioned.

Sansamp settings? Any idea? I'd love to try it out for fun

 

[jonsick]

Sansamp settings? Any idea? I'd love to try it out for fun

This is purely memory as the thing is packed somewhere in my boxes of effects, doing some renovating at the mo.

But left hand drives up, top dipswitches were from left to right up up up, down down down... I don't remember the last two. I think one was up and one was down. I don't remember what the right hand knobs were set to.

OOOH actually just came across a Youtube video someone else did, it looks fairly similar to the settings I had.


Have a play based on that and you should get close to most of In Utero.