What power supply did Kurt Cobain use? (2024)

What power supply did Kurt Cobain use?

Kurt's amplifier of choice for live performance was a combination of the Mesa Boogie Studio . 22 acting as a preamp and a Crest 4801 as his power amp. The first iteration of this setup was the Mesa Boogie paired with Crown Power Base 2 800w Power Amp, but Kurt felt the Crest worked better with the Mesa preamp.

Kurt often used Fender amps - specifically a Bassman head, and also a Quad Reverb for some tracking of 'In Utero'. He also made use of a Twin Reverb 'Blackface' model that you can see on the Nirvana 'MTV Unplugged' session.

Fender Mustang Electric Guitar

extensively documented Cobain's Fender Mustangs, his favorite guitar model. Mustangs featured prominently throughout the Nevermind and In Utero eras of Nirvana.

In addition to using a lot of fifth (aka “power”) chords that only require one or two fingers to play, many of Nirvana's songs worked in chords with easy-to-master shapes for beginners.

Most of the guitar tracks were recorded on a Mosrite guitar through the following amps: a Mesa Boogie Studio . 22 preamp with a Crown power amp and 4x12 Marshall cab, a Fender Bassman, and a Vox AC30 (Butch Vig; Henderson; Simms).

Fender Bassman and Vox AC30

In the early days of Nirvana, the Bassman was Kurt's amp of choice.

If you want to achieve the true amplifier tone of Kurt, then we need to return to Vox's AC30 amplifier. While one of the prominent sounds of Nevermind was the Mesa/Boogie studio preamp, the AC30 was used during other recording sessions.

Although Cobain never liked recording vocals, to begin with, Vig mentioned coercing him to go again because of Lennon, saying (via Classic Albums), “He didn't really like to do any double tracks, so I had to use the John Lennon reference to get it out of him.

Cobain's guitars were lefty (as was he) but he used conventional Dean Markley light top/heavy bottom 10–52 gauge strings. Those bass strings are a good bit thicker than most use, but they're WAY thinner than actual piano strings and not thicker than a normal set of acoustic guitar bass strings.

Kurt Cobain

The Nirvana frontman was a natural left-hander but was taught to write with his right hand. After years of having problems finding left-handed guitars, Fender made him special Mustangs once the band had become famous.

What tuning is Nirvana?

Drop D Tuning in Alternative Rock

Nirvana, the band that gave the world the ferocious drumming of Dave Grohl (who later birthed Foo Fighters), the murky bass stylings of Krist Novoselic, and the late, great vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Kurt Cobain, used Drop D tuning on nearly all of their songs.

He did use scales, he was just not aware of it. You can create a melody with just humming and you have unintentionally created a song based on a scale. Kurt doesn't need to know music theory based on his music genre, he didn't do much complicated playing either.

I don't know the name of chords to play, I don't know how to do major or minor chords on a guitar. I couldn't even pass Guitar 101. Everyone knows more than I do." "I'm not into musicianship at all, I don't have any respect for it, I hate it,” Cobain continued.

Kurt used a 1982 Fender Twin Reverb Blackface (not Silverface) on studio session (In Utero and maybe others), MTV Unplugged and (maybe) others.

Nirvana producer Butch Vig has revealed that Lithium was the only track from Nevermind that was recorded on a click track.

Kurt Cobain used a Randall solid-state head and 4x12 cab at the time, but for the album, Kurt used Endino's Fender Twin Reverb, and the only pedal he used was a Boss DS-1 Distortion.

P-90's are well known for their punchy, heavy mid range output. The first two Black Sabbath records were recorded with a Gibson SG with P-90 pickups. Nirvana's first album Bleach, was also recorded with Kurt Cobain using a Univox HiFlyer, which had P-90's in the bridge and neck.

Cobain, who took his own life in 1994 at the age of 27, was renowned for his frenetic live performances and smashed a number of Stratocasters during his hugely influential career.

Amplifiers used in the studio

Jack Endino recalls Kurt using a Randall solid state amp at the "Dale demo" session, and possibly at the Love Buzz sessions, too.

His Bridge Pickups of choice were a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB and a DiMarzio Super Distortion DP100 (Both of which were also famously used by the late-but-legendary Randy Rhoads who toured with Ozzy Osbourne before his death in 1982).. If I remember right he also liked the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Bridge Pickup..

Did Kurt Cobain use a DS 1?

The Cobain DS-1 that sold this weekend was just one the Nirvana guitarist used throughout the band's career, notably on the group's September 3, 1991 Peel Session.

This video is the only technical one about Kurt Cobain voice,registering E2-F#6,what can consider him as High baritone because how deep was his lows,and Low Tenor because he reached the 6th octave on a raspy voice-and it´s too though to do.

"Smells Like Nirvana" was met with critical praise and helped to re-energize Yankovic's career. Cobain considered the parody as a sign that they had "made it" as a band.