Kurt Cobain Guitars

kurt-cobain-guitarEach Kurt Cobain guitar is memorable because of a specific performance or recording. his guitars matched his style of music and taste for art. In this article, we’ll look at the different guitars he used throughout his career and how they shaped our lives.

Born on February 20th, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington. Upon getting a guitar on his 14th birthday Kurt first started to learn songs from bands such as Led Zeppelin before moving on to composing his own music.

After dropping out of high school and playing in a couple of ‘joke bands’, he eventually formed Nirvana in 1987 with bassist Krist Novoselic. Later recruiting drummer Dave Grohl in 1990, who these days is best known for his work in the band ‘Foo Fighters’.

Nirvana pioneered a new style of music, which would become known as ‘grunge’. They would go on to achieve massive commercial success. Their second album ‘Nevermind’ sold over 30 million copies and the song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was placed as the 9th greatest song of all time in Rolling Stones’ ‘the 500 greatest songs of all time’.

Utilizing high gain, muddy sounding guitars that provided an atmospheric base that did not focus on technicality. Coupled with emotional lyrics that touched on topics such as depression and loneliness, their music resonated heavily with a new, younger generation of music listeners.

Kurt and Nirvana were also well known for their wild live performances, often smashing their equipment on stage. Let’s take a look at the guitars Kurt used, and abused, during his musical career.

Ultimate List of Kurt Cobain’s Guitars & Gear

Contents

Here’s the complete list of Kurt Cobain’s guitars that he played on every Nirvana album, live show, performance, and magazine cover.

Kurt Cobain’s Electric Guitars

1970s Univox Hi-Flier Phase 3

As a gift for his 14th birthday, Kurt was given a choice between a second-hand electric guitar or a bike. Thankfully, he chose the guitar.

The guitar was a Univox Hi-Flier Phase 3. As Kurt plays guitars left-handed, in order to play this right-handed model he flipped it over and used it similarly to how Jimi Hendrix would have.

The Hi-Flier model went through many changes during its ten years in production from 1967-1977. Going through a total of four ‘phases’, each phase signifying several feature changes. Kurt’s Hi-Flier was from Phase 3 of production, which was produced between 1974-1977.

Unfortunately, these guitars cannot be dated exactly by the serial number, as it’s not known if Univox ever kept records of them.

The ‘Phase 3’ Hi-Flier was the first to feature a dual humbucker configuration and was wound to be far higher output than the P-90’s on the earlier models.

Kurt’s guitar had the pickguard painted pink. It’s unknown whether he did this himself or if it was the work of the previous owner. He had also covered the body almost entirely with stickers.

He used this guitar heavily for live performances with Nirvana up until around 1988.

Kurt had this to say about the guitar:

I really like Univoxes, and that’s what I play all the time. But they are hard to find because they are Mosrite copies that were made in the late 60 and the early 70s.

Greco Mustang

One thing you will quickly come to learn about Kurt is that he liked to smash guitars on stage.

His second guitar, a Greco Mustang, was purchased as a direct replacement for his Univox Hi-Flier. Which had become a victim of Kurt’s smashing habit during a show in Olympia in 1988. Shortly after he began to use the Greco Mustang.

Unlike his first guitar, which was a right-handed model, this one was a left-handed production model. Meaning all the electronics and cutaway were orientated correctly for a left-handed player.

Kurt had made a couple of modifications to the guitar himself. It was purchased with a red finish, which he sanded back to reveal the natural wood grain. He also added a Soundgarden sticker to the body.

Originally it did not have a pickguard until a year after initial purchase when he added one himself. It was cut out from a Christian sermon named ‘Where Are The Dead’.

He later repainted the guitar green and replaced the vinyl pickguard with a white one.

Kurt used this as his main guitar for a couple of years. Eventually, it was smashed on stage. But you can still see the remains of it on display at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. Washington.

1970 Univox Hi-Flier Phase 3 with a Maple neck

Upon the Greco Mustang’s retirement, Kurt needed a replacement. Clearly fond of the Univox Hi-Flier series he purchased another ‘Phase 3’ model.

This one was in a natural finish, which was only available during Phase 3 of production. It was also the first time they offered the guitar with a maple neck.

Kurt’s first appearance with this guitar was in 1989 at the Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington. A few months later he was seen using the same model but it had a red burst finish on the body and headstock.

Univox as standard didn’t offer this finish so it’s believed that he had spray-painted this by himself.

Unsurprisingly, Kurt smashed this guitar just a few months after its initial purchase.

The remains have since been auctioned off a couple of times, first at Sotheby’s in 2014, then later at Juliens in 2016. The second auction of the guitar would see it sell for a whopping $56,250.

These guitars were designed as cheaper Mosrite copies and were considered budget guitars. So Kurt’s use of it added tremendous resale value, despite the fact it was broken.

1973 Fender Mustang

The Fender Mustang is one of the models people commonly associate with Kurt Cobain due to how many of them he has used throughout the length of his career. It was also used as the base for his signature model much later on.

The 1973 Mustang was the first of this type he would own.

This guitar was a right-handed model, which was used upside down as a left-handed guitar similar to the Hi-Flier. It featured a three-tone sunburst finish, a humbucking bridge pickup with a single-coil neck.

Fender Mustangs were also well known for having two control switches above the pickups, which was a design unique to this model.

In terms of how Kurt used this guitar, he actually only ever had it for a single show. He used it during Nirvana’s gig at The Sonic Temple in Wilkinsburg PA on July 9th, 1989. It was smashed at the same show.

Then, due to also smashing the aforementioned ‘Maple Neck Hi-Flier’ on the 13th. He was actually left without any guitar at all to use during Nirvana’s show on the 14th and opted to sing the entire set without a guitar.

1970 Era Univox Hi-Flier Phase 3

After destroying the Fender Mustang, followed by his second Univox Hi-Flier (the one with the maple neck). Kurt obtained a third Univox Hi-Flier, which was gifted, to him by Tracy Marander, who was his girlfriend at that time.

The guitar featured a white finish and two humbucking pickups. The neck pickup was also angled to give it a warmer tone in the lower register and a brighter tone in the higher register.

“I’m just gonna keep breaking them every time I get one.

Luckily, Matt brought me another one from Seattle that my girlfriend bought for me, and I made sure I had the new one in my hands before I break this one”

Just a few days after the show playing acapella he began using this one for their next performance at the Pyramid Club, New York on July 18th. Additionally, he would also use it during their first European tour.

The current whereabouts of the guitar are unknown, there’s no record of it being smashed and it also hasn’t been put up for auction. After Kurt’s passing, many of his possessions were put into a secret storage location so it’s theorized that it remains there.

Hagstrom II F-200

This guitar was purchased while Nirvana was touring Europe, specifically in Germany. It was first played at their show in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in October 1989.

The Hagstrom II F-200 is a right-handed guitar that Kurt had strung to play left-handed.

The guitar featured 2 soap bar style pickups with rather unusual proprietary metal mounting rings and a ‘Roller Bridge’ tremolo bridge.

The switching system on the guitar was also unique. Instead of regular knobs, it had a series of switches to turn each individual pickup off/on. A master defeat for the tone knob and a master on/off mute for the entire guitar. The singular rotary knob on the lower electronics was a combined volume/tone circuit for additional tonal shaping.

It also featured a killswitch on the top of the guitar roughly where you would find the pickup selector on a Les Paul.

The guitar model was inspired by a Gibson SG for the body and a Fender Stratocaster for the headstock.

Kurt used the guitar for a few shows in Europe before destroying it just a month later in November 1989 during a show in Italy at the Piper Club.

Washburn Force 31

After the destruction of the Hagstrom II, F-200 Kurt needed a new guitar to continue using for Nirvana’s European shows.

This guitar, a Washburn Force 31, was purchased for him by Jonathan Poneman of Sub Pop Records in Geneva, Switzerland. The guitar would be destroyed at the final show of the European tour at the Lame Fest hosted by Sub Pop records.

The Washburn Force 31 is a Strat-style guitar that was manufactured in Japan during the early ’80s.

It was designed as a budget Stratocaster copy retailing for just a few hundred dollars. The headstock and body shapes have clear nods towards the traditional Stratocaster. But it had just a single humbucker in the bridge, no neck pickup and a single volume control. It was a very minimal and simple guitar.

The bridge at first glance looks like a fixed bridge. However, if you look closely at the pictures of Kurt playing this guitar, you will see a small hole in the bridge as this is actually a floating bridge (which can just be depressed as opposed to a tremolo that can be moved both up and down).

The guitar was available in a range of colors, the one Kurt used had a black body, headstock and volume knob contrasted by a plain white pickguard.

1970 Era Gibson SG

With the Washburn Force 31 now destroyed and new show commitments for 1990, Kurt was in need of another guitar.

The next guitar would be a restored Gibson SG.

Nirvana was due to play a show in Boston at the Green Street Station on July 15th, 1989. Unfortunately due to Kurt smashing the guitar, he didn’t have anything to play with during that show so just performed the vocals. Letting fellow band mate Jason Everman play all the guitar parts.

At the time Nirvana was staying in the apartment of the guitarist of ‘The Grannies’, Mr. Sluggo Cawley. Sluggo had a Gibson SG hung on his wall, which he had also smashed at a previous show. Kurt asked him if he could have the guitar as he thought the damage was minor and he could repair it. In exchange, he gave Sluggo his very first 1973 Fender Mustang, which Kurt had also smashed.

Kurt repaired the guitar, painted it light blue and also installed a humbucking pickup taken from one of his Univox guitars.

He used it for just 2 shows before smashing it while playing in Tijuana, Mexico on February 19th, 1990.

1990 Blue Fender Mustang

From February to April 1990 Kurt played (and destroyed) 3 Fender Mustang guitars in just a 4-month period. All 3 featured a light blue finish with some small differences in specs.

The first of which was a left-handed ‘Frankenstein’ Mustang. It’s believed that the guitar was pieced together from parts specifically so there was something he could smash at the end of a show.

Additionally to its light blue finish; it also had a black pickguard with a graphic of Jesus Christ on it.

It was destroyed while playing at the Kennel Club in San Francisco on February 14th, 1990.

The second Mustang was very similar in specification but did not feature a pickguard.
It was only played for a day. They played 2 shows in a single day and it was destroyed during the second show.

The third Mustang had no pickguard and a single Maxon humbucking pickup but seemed to have a Stratocaster neck and headstock.
This guitar, in particular, can be seen on the alternative music video for the song ‘In Bloom’. This third Mustang was destroyed on April 30th, 1990 during a show at J.C Dobbs, Philadelphia.

Epiphone ET270

Kurt started to use the Epiphone ER270 in early 1990. It featured a cherry red finish, two single-coil pickups, a bolt-on neck, and rosewood fingerboard. This model of Epiphone was manufactured way back in the early to mid-1970s so Kurt would have purchased this second hand.

This guitar is also featured in the music video to ‘In Bloom’ along with his third light blue Fender Mustang.

However, eventually it would meet the inevitable fate of being smashed. This one was smashed on April 26th, 1990 at the end of their show in the Pyramid Club, New York. The band was frustrated with the numerous sound issues present throughout their set and trashed the entire stage, with the Epiphone being a victim of the carnage.

Kurt had this guitar for a little longer than his Mustangs and has frequently been seen swapping to it mid-set if there was an issue with another of his guitars. So it seems this guitar wasn’t purchased with the intention of it being a throwaway ‘smashable’ guitar. Perhaps Kurt just destroyed it in the heat of the moment.

But this model of guitar was relatively cheap retailing for just a few hundred dollars, so was not a substantial loss.

Aria Pro II CS-350

This was the next guitar Kurt would use after his Cherry Red Epiphone had been smashed. He was first seen using it in May 1990 towards the end of their ‘Bleach’ tour.

Manufactured in Japan during the early ’80s, Aria produced several modern (for the time) electric guitars with heavy nods towards features found on a traditional Les Paul and Stratocaster.

The guitar had a double-cutaway like an SG, but with 4 control knobs like you might find on a Les Paul. Along with 2 additional switches to flip the phase of the pickups and also split the coils for additional versatility. It had an Ash body that was finished to look like Walnut.

Kurt eventually smashed this guitar during Nirvana’s show at the Motorsports International Garage in Seattle, WA on Sep 1990.

Interestingly, remnants of the smashed body were picked up by Richard Newland who was working security at the event. He originally loaned the guitar to be displayed at the MoPop museum in WA from 2011 to 2017. Later retrieving it to sell at auction to fund his medical bills. The guitar sold for a whopping $81,250 just for the destroyed body!

Mosrite Gospel Mark IV

Out of all the guitars Kurt had used throughout his career, the Mosrite Gospel Mark IV was one of his favorites. The Univox’s he had previously used were essentially budget copies of the considerably more expensive Mosrites.

These guitars were considered extremely premium, and extremely rare. Used by many other notable musicians such as Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains and Johnny Ramone of the Ramones.

There are only 2 known instances of the exact model Kurt used, the ‘Gospel Mark IV’ ever existing. Kurt bought this guitar in San Francisco in 1990 from ‘Real Guitars’ owner Chris Cobb. A letter was included with the guitar addressed to the original person it was built for.

This was one of the few guitars that Kurt did not smash; he played it from roughly August 1990 to early 1991 before selling it to a Los Angeles pawnshop. The person who then purchased the guitar from the pawnshop is quite active on the Steel Guitar Forums and posted that he purchased the guitar from the pawnshop for $125.

The guitar would later be auctioned off several times, the last auction having a closing price of $131,450. It was then later displayed at the MoPop museum in Seattle, WA from 2011 to 2017.

The guitars’ current whereabouts are unknown.

Fender Stratocaster ( Color: White with a “K” Sticker)

Previously we have seen Kurt using guitars with features that nod to the Fender Stratocaster, but this was the first real Stratocaster.

It was a left-handed guitar that had a white finish and a rosewood fingerboard. Stratocasters were known for having three single-coil pickups with a 5-way selector switch. However, this guitar used a humbucking bridge pickup, which had a black cover and silver pole pieces. Making it contrast heavily against the white body and pickguard. It’s unknown what brand of pickup it was, but the two single-coil pickups are assumed to be the factory stock ones.

This was the first of three ‘Olympic White’ Strats he would be seen using.

Kurt also added a sticker to the body of the guitar, which was the logo of the independent record label ‘K records’. He also had this same K logo tattooed onto his left arm.

Last seen using the guitar in March 1981 during their show at the London Astoria, UK.

The current whereabouts of it are unknown, but it’s reasonably safe to say it was probably destroyed at some point.

Memphis (Matsumoku) Stratocaster

Without a doubt, the destruction of musical equipment had become a part of Nirvana’s ‘shtick’. It played a significant role in their live shows and was a distinct part of the bands’ appeal. Kurt obviously embraced this and would make a conscious effort to acquire guitars that were ‘smashable’.

Like the Gibson SG mentioned earlier which was already damaged. Kurt knew he could repair it just enough to use during a single show so that he would be able to smash it without a heavy monetary cost.

He would avoid destroying the more expensive guitars he owned such as the Mosrite Gospel Mark IV.

It’s assumed that his Memphis (Matsumoku) Stratocaster, essentially a red standard strat, was obtained specifically to destroy at the “No More Wars” benefit concert on January 1991 in Olympia, WA. He used the previously mentioned Olympic White ‘K’ Stratocaster for the majority of the show but then swapped to this one towards the end.

Smashing it with a hammer, photos of the guitar show the pickguard and bridge pickup very badly damaged.

This was the only show the guitar was used on, it was never repaired.

Fender Stratocaster ( Color: Black, was destroyed on “Endless, Nameless” )

Another Fender Kurt used was a black, left-handed Stratocaster. He obtained it in early 1991.

This guitar, much like his Memphis ‘Matsumoku’ strat had two stock single-coil pickups in the neck and middle position, but it utilized a humbucker in the bridge. It had a black finish and bridge pickup with a white pickguard and single-coil pickups.

He first used this guitar in March 1991 during their show at ‘The Zoo’ Boise, ID.

Kurt also had this guitar when Nirvana went back to the studio to finish up tracking guitars for their ‘Nevermind’ album. Kurt was struggling to nail the riffs for the song ‘Lithium’ and grew considerably frustrated.

We tried in vain to track one afternoon and it just didn’t feel right and that’s when Kurt went crazy after the third or fourth take

the rage and frustration on his face was so f***in’ scary.

Later on, during the session, they were recording the bonus track ‘Endless, Nameless’. Kurt’s’ frustrations boiled over and he ended up smashing the guitar inside the studio. The audio of the destruction was recorded.

The guitar was actually repaired later and used again live, until eventually being destroyed during their show at the Cabaret Metro, Chicago, IL on October 1991.

Fender Stratocaster “Vandalism”

This is one of Kurt’s most iconic and recognizable guitars. At its core, it was a regular left-handed Stratocaster, similar to the other Strats in his collection with a dual single-coil middle and neck pickup, but a humbucker in the bridge.

Featuring a black finish along with a black pickguard this time. It’s also known for sporting a large sticker on the upper area of the body which read “Vandalism: As beautiful as a rock in a cop’s face” then underneath in smaller text “Courtesy of Feederz: Office of Anti-Public Relations”.

Kurt began to use the guitar during the second half of 1991 during the touring cycle for the Nevermind album at the Reading Festival in the UK on August 1991 and ‘Live at the Paramount’ on October 1991.

It was also famously used on their 1991 Top Of The Pops performance where the band was expected to mime to their own music, which they didn’t like doing at all. So they turned the performance into a parody against artists who mime to their own songs.

At some point during its use, Kurt had damaged the neck and it can be seen on the later shows with a new neck that had a ‘Fernandez’ logo on.

Ferrington Custom

From what we can tell this guitar was only played during a single live show at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland on June 21st, 1992.

This guitar was a custom build by luthier Danny Ferrington. The guitar loosely reflects the specs of both Kurt’s Fender Mustang guitars and his Stratocaster. It has a Mustang shaped basswood body with a light blue finish, but a Stratocaster style maple neck and headstock. The fretboard inlays on the neck were shaped like hearts.

Much like the setup Kurt had on his Stratocasters, it featured two single-coil pickups on the middle and neck with a humbucker on the bridge. All of which were Bartolini pickups. It also had a Gibson style Tune-O-Matic bridge.

Danny communicated with Kurt by fax after they finished their Australian tour in order to design and spec out the guitar.

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.

When Kurt picked the guitar up from Danny he described it as his ‘dream guitar’. When asked if he was going to destroy it, he said that he would keep as his recording guitar.

1969 Fender Competition Mustang

This was the guitar that was used in the music video, a 1969 Fender Competition Mustang.

Fender released a run of 3 Mustangs in their ‘competition’ series, which were based on colors used on Mustang Cars of the late ’60s. This one had a Lake Placid blue finish.

It featured a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails (a humbucking pickup that took up a single pickup space) in the bridge. Kurt had also replaced the bridge with a Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge.

It was used on a select few shows throughout 1991-1993 but he would often opt for his Jaguar instead, presumably due to wanting to keep the guitar safe and off the touring cycle. Kurt also used it to write a lot of the material for their ‘In Utero’ album.

This seemed to be one of the few guitars Kurt took good care of and never smashed.

After Kurt’s passing his wife had gifted the guitar to a close friend and it can still occasionally be seen in various Museum of Pop Culture exhibits around Seattle.

1965 Fender Jaguar

This was a guitar Kurt was very fond of and made an effort not to smash and damage. But he was still willing to take it out on tour and use it for live shows. He originally acquired the guitar second hand through a magazine advertisement. The previous owner had customized the guitar quite extensively.

The bridge had been swapped out for a Gibson Tune-O-Matic bridge. We know Kurt actually prefers this kind of bridge so that may have been a factor in him deciding to purchase it.

The pickup holes had been routed out to fit humbucking ones. It had a Dimarzio PAF in the neck along with a Super Distortion in the bridge. Also, some of the electronics had been modified so that the Jaguars’ unique switches were replaced with a standard, traditional toggle switch as well as an extra volume control.

As mentioned previously, Kurt would not shy away from using this guitar live. It has notably been used on their performance on Saturday Night Live, Live at Reading in 1992 as well as Rock in Rio in 1993.

In 2011 Fender put into production a ‘Kurt Cobain’ model of Jaguar based on this guitar.

1991 Fender Stratocaster (Color: White)

As Kurt accumulated guitars that were worth more money and that he felt a stronger attachment too (he described his 1965 Fender Jaguar as his baby). He would often use these ‘nicer’ guitars for the majority of the set. Then he would change to a cheaper instrument towards the end of the set to use for the last song.

These guitars were often intentionally allocated as ‘disposable’ instruments. The band did not plan ahead of time to smash their instruments, sometimes they didn’t feel like doing it at all. But more often than not they did, so it was a good idea to swap to a cheaper instrument just in case.

One of the disposable guitars Kurt used was a 1991 white Fender Stratocaster. The guitar was completely stock. There was no need to modify it as it was probably going to get smashed at some point anyway. He would use his Fender Jaguar for the majority of the set and then swap to this.

This particular guitar was smashed on November 23rd, 1991 during their show in Ghent, Belgium where Kurt and Krist (the bassist) smashed their guitars together in a ‘guitar battle’. Snapping it along the neck before handing the guitar to the audience.

It’s currently unknown where the guitar is located.

Fender Stratocaster (Color: Black with SD Hot Rails)

After the destruction of his white one, he then obtained another Stratocaster. This time in black, which would become another of his ‘disposable’ guitars. He would play the Jaguar for the majority of the show and then swap to this towards the end should he feel inclined to smash the guitar.

This was, for the most part, a stock Stratocaster, except for having a black-covered Seymour Duncan HotRails pickup for the bridge position.

You can see this guitar being used on Nirvanas’ performance on Saturday Night Live in January 1992. They played two songs on that set, the first of which he used the Jaguar and then swapped to the black Stratocaster for the second song. Which he then destroyed at the end.

It’s not exactly clear what happened to the guitar after that. However, Earnie Bailey (Nirvana’s guitar tech) has mentioned that they were constantly repairing broken guitars. Or swapping out entire necks/bodies in order to get as much value out of the ‘disposable’ guitars as possible.

So it’s very likely this guitar, in some incarnation, has been seen again on their live shows but perhaps with different parts due to something being repaired or replaced.

Fender Telecaster “Heart Courtney”

This was the first Telecaster Kurt would be seen using. Most noted for its unique finish. As stock, the guitar had a sunburst finish. However, Kurt refinished the entire body with blue latex spray paint in which he drew the name Courtney (his wife’s name) and a heart.

The guitar originally had two tele style lipstick pickups. The neck pickup was kept as stock while the bridge pickup was removed and a Seymour Duncan Hotrails was installed.

It was mainly used live during the tour of Australia in early 1992. The guitar would then be put to the sidelines for a while until 1993 when it was used on their 1993 show in Rio where he smashed the guitar and threw it to the audience.

The guitar would actually be seen again on a television show called Californication. It was never officially confirmed to be the guitar but the paint job on the body looks identical. The actor in the series lives in a house that is owned by producer Rick Rubin in real life. So there is every possibility that Rick is the owner, had the guitar repaired and then allowed the actor to use it in the show. But this is just speculation.

Fender Stratocaster MIJ ( Color: White )

This was another of Kurt’s disposable guitars that he would use towards the end of a set in case he wanted to destroy it. It was essentially a standard Fender Stratocaster but the bridge pickup had, again, been swopped out for a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails.

He first used this guitar during Nirvana’s show in Osaka, Japan in 1992. This guitar was actually purchased in Japan for this show (hence the term ‘MIJ’ which means it was made in Japan). He destroyed the guitar at the end of that show. But it was later repaired as he can also be seen using it during their shows in Honolulu, Stockholm Sweden and the MTV Music Awards.

However, it’s unconfirmed whether this is the exact same guitar or if some parts had been swapped out due to the damage.

The guitar was last seen being used during their show in Buenos Aires where Kurt seemed to be having trouble with it. Eventually, he lost his patience and smashed it. It was never seen again.

Fender Stratocaster (Color: Sunburst, Played at Reading Festival)

This guitar has a slight inconsistency in its story.

Firstly, it was simply used as another disposable Strat. This was a standard left-handed model with stock neck and middle pickups, and as usual, the bridge pickup was swopped out for a Seymour Duncan hot rails.

This guitar was famously used during their show in Reading, England on August 30th, 1992. He used his Fender Jaguar for the majority of the set and then swapped off to this one.

The entire reading show was captured on video. At the end of the set, instead of smashing the guitar Kurt can be seen walking to a member of the audience and giving them the guitar as a gift.

The guitar was intact and without damage.

However, there is a guitar that claims to be his ‘Reading Strat’ (as it was the only one he used with a 3 tone sunburst finish during that show) on display at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. But it cannot be that guitar as it was clearly seen being given away.

It’s possible that it may have been a second 3-tone sunburst Strat Kurt had used and destroyed at some point in time. But it could not be the real Reading one.

Fender Stratocaster ( Color: White, Played at Seattle Coliseum)

This was another one of Kurt’s disposable Stratocasters. Left stock aside from the black Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickup in the bridge. It’s theorized that the pickup was taken and repurposed from his black Stratocaster that he had destroyed just a few weeks earlier.

This guitar was only used for one show on September 11th, 1992 at the Seattle Center Coliseum, WA. It was smashed at the end of the show and doesn’t seem to have been repaired, as many years later it was shown at an exhibit organized by the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle.

It’s not exactly clear why the guitar was not recycled for further use as a ‘disposable guitar’ as the pictures from its display at the exhibition do not show any significant structural damage. Just some surface level gouges in the body and a crack along the pickguard.

It’s possible the neck might have been broken and then replaced for display purposes. But this is just speculation.

1960s Univox Hi-Flier Custom

Several years after owning his first Univox Hi-Flier, Kurt purchased another one. Whereas the others were from ‘phase 3’ of the Hi-Flier production run, this was a ‘phase 1’ version.

The phase 1 Hi-Fliers all feature a 3-tone sunburst finish, a white pickguard as well as P-90 sized pickups in both the bridge and neck.

The phase 1 versions were also considerably different in construction to the other 3. They had much thicker bodies, which would have been very noticeable when playing. They also had some other minor differences such as different fret markers and a raised “Univox” brand logo on the headstock.

Kurt would also modify this further by himself by swapping the pickups out for a Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 in the bridge and SH-1 59 neck along with an Ibanez Gibraltar bridge. He would also put tape over the electronic switches to avoid hitting them by accident.

It’s theorized that this would have been used during the ‘In Utero’ recording sessions as he seemed to favor it around that period.

He can also be seen using it live for a few shows Nirvana performed in Brazil in 1993 as well as their show on Saturday night live on Sep 2th 1993.

Fender Mustang ‘Oranj-Stang’

After Nirvana had finished tracking for their album ‘In Utero’, and just before they were scheduled to go and tour in support of the album. Kurt had acquired four new Fender Mustangs. Three of them were known as ‘Sky-Stangs’ as they all featured a blue finish. And this one was known as the ‘Oranj-Stang’ for its orange finish.

Kurt played this guitar first on July 23rd, 1993 at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. It was used stock.

After this show, Kurt had made several modifications to the guitar. Most notably the pickup slot in the bridge position was routed out to accommodate a full-size humbucking pickup. A Seymour Duncan JB was installed in it.

Similar to his previous guitars he also changed the bridge with a Gotoh Tune-O-Matic one.

Kurt would be seen using these guitar post-modifications sporadically throughout 1993-1994, but considerably less frequently than his other ‘Sky-Stangs’.

It doesn’t appear that the guitar was ever smashed as Fender would later use the ‘Oranj-Stang’ as a base for the Kurt Cobain Signature Mustang series years later. But it’s not known where the original is kept and who owns it.

Univox Hi-Flier Phase 4 (Played on Heart Shaped Box)

This was Kurt’s only guitar from Phase 4 of the Univox Hi-Flier production phases. The fourth run of the guitar features a few key changes that set it apart from the Phase 3 run. Which Kurt used more frequently.

Aside from things such as alternate color variants the major changes were that the electronics (volume, tone, etc) were changed from being ‘in-line’, as you would find on a Telecaster. To being angled which helped them be more accessible due to being sat along the natural curve your arm makes as you reach for the controls.

Additionally, they used a new bridge similar to the Gibson-style tailpiece, which would replace/upgrade the formerly used Fender Jazzmaster style ones.

Kurt has most famously used this guitar in the music video for ‘Heart Shaped Box’. However, it has also been seen being used live on shows such as their one at the Kansas City Memorial Hall on October 21st, 1993.

This was the first and only model Kurt had from the Phase 4 run. He was never seen destroying the guitar but its current whereabouts are also unknown.

Fender Mustang ‘Sky-Stang I’

We previously looked at the Fender Mustang ‘Oranj-Stang’ which was one of four Fender Mustangs Kurt obtained for Nirvana’s touring cycles around 1993. The other three were all called ‘Sky-Stangs’ numbered from 1 to 3.

The first one he acquired was just before touring began for the ‘In Utero’ album, Nirvana held a promotional photoshoot at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on October 1993 where Kurt can be seen with it. This was also the one Kurt used most frequently during live shows.

The guitar was also modded quite heavily. For this guitar, he routed out the pickup slot to allow it to fit a full-sized humbucker.

It’s thought that the pickup was a Seymour Duncan JB Model, which he was previously known to favor. However, the pickup cover was in white, which at the time Seymour Duncan did not offer for this model of pickup. Kurt did have a relationship with Seymour Duncan so it could possibly have been a special request, but this unconfirmed.

Kurt would use this guitar on almost all of Nirvana’s live shows up until their last show in Munich, Germany on March 1st.

Fender Jag-Stang

Amidst the many guitars Kurt favored, from the Mustangs to the Hi-Fliers and the Stratocasters. In 1993 he had the desire to also make his own model of guitar, which incorporated recognizable elements of all the guitars he enjoyed, primarily the Fender Mustang and Jaguar models (hence the nickname Jag-Stang).

Kurt’s original design sketches of the guitar can be found in the book “journals” which was Kurt’s in 2003.

What I did is I took a picture of a Mustang, a Polaroid picture of a Mustang and a picture of a Jaguar and then cut them in half and glued them together and told them to build that. So that’s what it is. It’s the Jag-Stang.

The guitar went through some prototyping stages with Fender where he would play a prototype build and offer suggestions and feedback to Fender until it felt how he wanted it to.

The final production model featured an alder body with a Seymour Duncan JB humbucking pickup in the bridge along with a Fender Texas Special as a single-coil in the neck.

Fender Mustang ‘Sky-Stang II’

This guitar was the second, light blue Fender Mustang of the 4 total that Kurt bought. This one went through identical modifications as the Sky-Stang I in terms of having the bridge pickup space routed out for a humbucker. The only difference being that the Seymour Duncan JB had a black cover instead of a white one. The bridge was also replaced with a Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge.

This guitar was used throughout the ‘In Utero’ touring cycle, although it was seen on stage a little less frequently than the Sky-Stang I. Perhaps it was intended as a backup or just something to play when Kurt wanted something slightly different.

Much like the other Stangs, this guitar was not destroyed. Currently, it’s being kept and preserved somewhere in Seattle. The exact location of which remains unknown.

Charles Cross, who worked on Kurt Cobain’s biography had a chance to visit the location where this guitar, along with many other of Kurt’s personal belongings are being preserved. He described it as an underground bomb shelter where he had to have his retina scanned in order to access it. Some of the photos he took of the guitar can be seen in the book ‘Cobain Unseen’.

Fender Stratocaster MIM (Color: Black)

During their 1993 touring circuit, Kurt was taking better care of his Fender Mustangs. But Nirvana still used numerous ‘disposable’ guitars.

It’s thought that Kurt gathered several MIM Fender Stratocaster (MIM meaning Made in Mexico, which were essentially a more affordable version of the American made Strats).

These guitars would be smashed on stage, thrown into the crowd or sometimes just simply given away. As the intention for these was to be affordable and disposable, not much effort was put into maintaining or repairing them.

Kurt’s guitar tech during this period, Earnie Bailey confirmed that these are Mexican made Stratocasters.

However, Kurt was a left-handed guitarist. In general left-handed guitars do not sell as well as right-handed guitars. And as such are harder to produce with the same volume. Due to this high effort to produce the Mexican line of lefties the job was actually outsourced to Japan.

This was discovered by a fan who had been given one of the guitars while at a show and found it to have Asian made components. Even though it was marketed as a Mexican Strat. The exact reason why Fender did this is unknown, but there was probably some financial benefit to doing this.

Fender Mustang ‘Sky-Stang III’

This was the last blue Fender Mustang Kurt used out of the 4 total he acquired for the ‘In Utero’ touring cycle. In terms of its specifications and modifications, it’s essentially identical to the Sky II.

Upon Kurt’s death, his wife had sent out a number of his guitars to friends, family and even fans.

Bobby Costello was one such fan who wrote a letter to Courtney Love Cobain (Kurt’s wife) sharing his thoughts on how much Kurt’s music had made an emotional impact on him.

Courtney, obviously moved by the fan’s letter gave him the Sky Stang III describing it as ‘one of Kurt’s favorite guitars’.

Several years ago Bobby Costello posted on facebook about how he came to acquire this guitar and also that it was sold without his permission. The exact details on how that happened are unclear. However, the new owner, who had somehow purchased it would often lend the guitar out to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum where it has been photographed many times.

Hopefully, the original owner who it was directly gifted to will be able to have it returned someday.

Kurt Cobain’s Acoustic Guitars

Harmony Stella 12-string

One of Kurt’s early purchases, the Harmony Stella H912 acoustic guitar was actually a 12-string guitar. It had been strung with just 5 nylon strings, which Kurt never changed.

In October 1989, while Nirvana was on the USA Midwest tour he purchased the guitar from the Edgewater Pawnshop & Sheridan Jewelry in Colorado for a total cost of $31.23 including tax. This model of guitar was also used by Lead Belly who was a favorite of Kurt’s, which may have influenced his decision to buy this exact guitar.

He can be heard playing it on the songs ‘Something In The Way’ and ‘Polly’ on the Nevermind demo sessions. Both of these recordings were used on the final release.

He only used the guitar live once during a radio performance on KAOS-FM Olympia Community Radio Broadcast in 1990. However, it’s been noted that this guitar war still brought on out on tour, but was only used as a warmup guitar.

1950s Kay Archtop 6868

This is a guitar most people will recognize from Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ music video.

The guitar is a 6 string, steel string acoustic guitar. It had a very striking blonde maple flamed archtop with a mirrored headstock. The neck also appears to be flamed maple. It did not have a traditional soundhole but instead 2 F-holes above and below where strings would sit with a pickguard partially covering the lower hole.

It had a traditional steel string acoustic saddle but then a metal brace behind it that acts essentially like a stop bar. Similar to what you would find on the Gibson Tune-O-Matic bridges.

The guitar had no electronics or pickup systems installed on it.

Kurt was never seen using this live or in recording sessions. But we do know he did keep it as it can be seen on pictures inside Kurt’s home.

It was a very beautiful looking guitar so he may have just kept it as an aesthetically pleasing home piece, even though it might not functionally have been what he was looking for.

1961 Epiphone Texan (Nixon Now Sticker)

Kurt first played this 1961 Epiphone Texan guitar on September 26th, 1992 at the Castaic Lake Amphitheater, CA.

Originally it had a maple body and parallelogram inlays. However, in 1958 Gibson started to produce the ‘Texan’ model, which Kurt used. This would feature several changes including a slightly different body shape.

The wood, instead of maple would now have mahogany back and sides with a Sitka spruce top. Additionally, the tuners were changed to cheaper, white plastic ones.

Several other notable players such a Paul McCartney and Noel Gallagher also used this model of guitar. It would be produced right up to 1970 when it was then discontinued due to Gibson being acquired by new owners.

He would only be seen using it one more time in 1993, where it can be identified as he put a ‘Nixon Now’ sticker on the body of the guitar.

Martin D-18E (Played on MTV Unplugged)

Kurt’s Martin D-18E is most noted for its use on Nirvana’s appearance on MTV Unplugged.

He purchased this guitar in 1993, presumably for this specific performance. For the most part, Kurt used it as stock. However, he did swap out the original DeArmond pickups with Bartolini 3AV ones as he felt the stock pickups did not sound very good.

The Martin D-18E (the E standing for Electronics as it had a pickup system installed) was only produced for one or two years sometime in the 1950s. But it is a very well regarded guitar that has a very dedicated player base.

It features solid mahogany back and sides with a spruce top. Unlike more modern pickup systems where you have the electronics hidden and the pickup mounted inconspicuously in the soundhole, or the bridge. The Martin D-18E has 2 visible pickups, just like an electric guitar, screwed into the body with metal mounting rings.

It also had a toggle switch on the lower left of the body (from playing position) as well as 3 control knobs on the lower right.

This rare guitar retails today for upwards of $6,000, Kurt’s iconic performance using this guitar has played a factor in this. Adding to the allure and collectors value.

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