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

[RevDrucifer]

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.

I can’t remember what year Boss moved DS-1 production from Japan to Taiwan, but the old MIJ’s have a chip that makes them a LOT more organic/less plasticy than the MIT’s. I bought one back in the 90’s because Vai used one and it sounded like ass. Then I found out about the MIJ’s and tracked one of those down. HUGE difference in sound. Hell, they were Satch’s main distortion for years until he got the signature Peavey’s.

I wonder if Kurt was using MIJ’s as well.

 

[ArtDecade]

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.

The settings in that vid are the same settings listed as the Cobain tone in the SansAmp classic manual.

I can’t remember what year Boss moved DS-1 production from Japan to Taiwan, but the old MIJ’s have a chip that makes them a LOT more organic/less plasticy than the MIT’s. I bought one back in the 90’s because Vai used one and it sounded like ass. Then I found out about the MIJ’s and tracked one of those down. HUGE difference in sound. Hell, they were Satch’s main distortion for years until he got the signature Peavey’s.

I wonder if Kurt was using MIJ’s as well.

He was. When he couldn't find a DS-1 replacement that sounded like his old pedal, he went with the DS-2 and the SansAmp.

 

[jonsick]

The settings in that vid are the same settings listed as the Cobain tone in the SansAmp classic manual.

Ah perfect. That must be where I got it and that youtuber. Sounds pretty much spot on to me.

 

[X1X]

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.

So all the "mistakes" "better" guitar players heard in the song were deliberate.

 

[jonsick]

So all the "mistakes" "better" guitar players heard in the song were deliberate.

Are there many mistakes? Nirvana is that sort of music that you can play sloppily and so long as it all grooves and has that swing to it, it works! Thus is the appeal maybe for newer guitarists and even high school bands to do the odd cover. I have to admit, it is fun to do! Sometimes... Unless like in my school where I was in a band with a few good players, teacher got wind of it, demanded it was a school band... cue a lunchtime concert with 12-13 guitarists everso slightly out of tune with each other through the worst gear imaginable playing Teen Spirit while the golden child of the choir is out caterwauling for all his worth... no actually that wasn't fun. That was embarrassing.

I digress. The common notion is that Nirvana were this couldn't give a shit reckless types that were somehow catapulted to fame, that they rejected their corporate leanings and were actively anti establishment. While the image of that is there, the reality is not quite there. For instance, Nirvana worked hard to get signed just like any other band. Kurt and co. actually did care about the gear they used. But ya know, caring about that stuff is incompatible with their damn it all to hell image.

 

[ArtDecade]

Just throwing my two cents in...

Nirvana worked hard to get signed. They grinded. Personally, I think Kurt cared way more about the song and emotion than he did tone or perfect takes. The band was so turned off by having to play parts over and over during the recording of Nevermind (Vig) that it led to cathartic one take anger-driven recording of Endless, Nameless. When they had to go back into the studio, they went with a producer (Albini) that was instructed to just record and stay out of the way.

Regarding gear, they played pawn-shop stuff because that was what they could afford at the time. As they grew bigger, the gear didn't really change because it worked towards the sound that Kurt wanted to hear. Who knows? If he was alive today, maybe he would be playing Dumbles and Les Pauls and recording dentist rock-blues albums, but I doubt it. I think the Mustangs, Jaguars, and cheap pedals fit the vibe and style they were going for (ala Sonic Youth). Kurt's songs dictated what he played and how he played it. Everything else was just in the way.

 

[jonsick]

While on their earlier gigs Kurt did use Sunn amps, the idea it came from a pawn shop has never really been absolutely confirmed. They did pawn their gear just after their signing to Geffen and after Nevermind had been released, however there is a year gap there. He did go for Mustangs and Jags simply as they were not a popular guitar at the time. It's a similar reason as to why Dime went with the ML, they were there but nobody wanted them.

According to the various folklores, Kurt seemed to have always intended to buy a Mesa Studio Pre. He actually trashed his Sunn amp the gig the night before. Whether he HAD to replace it because he trashed it and that's all that was there or he always intended on it is really guesswork. Given how hard Nirvana were working to get signed, it's not out of this world that Kurt figured better gear was needed to be more professional and thus destroying his Sunn was not a big deal as he was already going out to buy a Mesa. Personally that makes sense to me. But hey, none of us were there, it's pure speculation.

The source of the pawning of amps really came after Nevermind came out. The album wasn't immediately the hit that it eventually became, it came out in April 91 I think and it took another six months or so to become this worldwide phenomenon. Alas, Kurt (and I believe Dave Grohl?) spent a Christmas living hand to mouth in a rented appartment (possibly Seattle if I remember the documentary right) and that's when they actually had to pawn their amps to basically survive. It was during this late Autumn and early Winter time that Nevermind gained the traction that it did, but of course they had to play the waiting game in terms of seeing any actual money or budget from it as the touring schedule hadn't started yet.

Bear in mind, I'm no biographer, just how I understand it given various things I've read/seen over the years.

A good insight into Kurt's overall mind with regards Nirvana and life is from the About A Son documentary. It's excellent. It's very chilled, laid back and it's just Kurt talking. I'd recommend it as essential easy viewing for even a passing interest in Nirvana. My other half isn't even a major Nirvana fan but she was transfixed with it.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Are there many mistakes? Nirvana is that sort of music that you can play sloppily and so long as it all grooves and has that swing to it, it works! Thus is the appeal maybe for newer guitarists and even high school bands to do the odd cover. I have to admit, it is fun to do! Sometimes... Unless like in my school where I was in a band with a few good players, teacher got wind of it, demanded it was a school band... cue a lunchtime concert with 12-13 guitarists everso slightly out of tune with each other through the worst gear imaginable playing Teen Spirit while the golden child of the choir is out caterwauling for all his worth... no actually that wasn't fun. That was embarrassing.

I digress. The common notion is that Nirvana were this couldn't give a shit reckless types that were somehow catapulted to fame, that they rejected their corporate leanings and were actively anti establishment. While the image of that is there, the reality is not quite there. For instance, Nirvana worked hard to get signed just like any other band. Kurt and co. actually did care about the gear they used. But ya know, caring about that stuff is incompatible with their damn it all to hell image.

Not to mention Kurt's dissection of Beatles songs and his curiosity of how/why they were so popular. I remember reading his journals a while back (felt kinda dirty, really) and you could very clearly see he was focused on writing the "perfect" song. The quiet/loud/quiet/loud notes or even the verse/chorus/verse/chorus thing he had written throughout it. There was a ton of that stuff. He literally applied the exact same things he heard in popular music to his own and it was far from accidental.

I grew up on Vai and Dream Theater, but I'll be the first person to say, there isn't a single "mistake" on any Nirvana recording, live or studio. That's the entire charm of the band. Sure, you can find parts the f*cked up, but that's included in the package of Nirvana, it's not a mistake when they do it, it's Nirvana being Nirvana. Unlike when Petrucci hits a wrong note and the entire audience notices. At the Live Scenes From NY show, he came in a second too late in a pause in "A Change Of Seasons"....guess what we all talked about on the forums he next day?

 

[jonsick]

Not to mention Kurt's dissection of Beatles songs and his curiosity of how/why they were so popular. I remember reading his journals a while back (felt kinda dirty, really) and you could very clearly see he was focused on writing the "perfect" song. The quiet/loud/quiet/loud notes or even the verse/chorus/verse/chorus thing he had written throughout it. There was a ton of that stuff. He literally applied the exact same things he heard in popular music to his own and it was far from accidental.

I grew up on Vai and Dream Theater, but I'll be the first person to say, there isn't a single "mistake" on any Nirvana recording, live or studio. That's the entire charm of the band. Sure, you can find parts the f*cked up, but that's included in the package of Nirvana, it's not a mistake when they do it, it's Nirvana being Nirvana. Unlike when Petrucci hits a wrong note and the entire audience notices. At the Live Scenes From NY show, he came in a second too late in a pause in "A Change Of Seasons"....guess what we all talked about on the forums he next day?

Great points. I was listening to Nirvana on my formative guitar playing years a lot. I guess I have a lot of that in my own playing. Obviously with the metal I play, you do need to have some exactness, but I guess my playing incorporates who I was listening to back then. That is Sepultura, Pantera, Nirvana, Emperor. I wouldn't put myself beside Dimebag or anything and I would also be the first to say that personally I need to work on my own guitar solos a lot more than I did, but that sloppiness yet it's perfectly right Nirvana had going is just a very rock n roll attitude I feel is somehow gotten lost with the last decade or two's worth of bands. Even Dimebag had a devil may care attitude to him messing up. I mean not every solo performed live is exactly "right" depending on your definition of right. But it's close enough and we are all happy, just like Kurt.

I have never really seen the love for Dream Theatre. I enjoy Joe Satriani to a degree as he does mess with stuff live. But having everything note perfect Vai or Petrucci style just isn't my thing. And really, discussing a single mistake on a forum forever and a day, dissecting it and trying to hyper analyse? Nah, not for me

Either way I still listen to Nirvana today. And Pantera. Even my OH who only recently actually started listening to Nirvana for the first time (my fault) totally digs it. I gotta say, in 10-20 years, will we still pay a single mind to a lot of more modern metal? Personally I don't think so. But hey, maybe I'm just an old fart and tired of those damn kids on my lawn!