kurt cobain

Illustration by Kate Koenig

Nashville producer James Cody examines plugins from IK Multimedia, Native Instruments, Line 6, Waves, Neural DSP, STL Tones, Positive Grid, and Universal Audio that can help you take your guitar-recording to pro levels.

There are more audio plugins at our fingertips than ever before. Whenever new products or software hit the market, I always ask myself, “Will I actually use this and will it serve my needs?” On the topic of guitar amplifiers and simulation, I take a “best of both worlds” approach. When performing live, I use solid-state Quilter amplifiers because they sound great to me, and they’re lightweight and easy to transport to gigs. If something isn’t broken, why fix it?

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The body design of this Japan-made, copy-era guitar nods directly to its Mosrite inspirations. Like Semie Moseley's creations, it has a wide tonal palette.

This 1971 Univox model was one of the Nirvana frontman's favorite pawnshop guitars.

Don't even ask me how I found out about this, but on a recent night while stumbling around the internet in a whiskey haze, I discovered an auction for some of Kurt Cobain's hair. Yes, six glorious strands of bleached hair were neatly encased in plastic and accompanied with all sorts of provenance to assure any bidder that this was the real deal. Of course, I immediately set to thinking about the economic ramifications of placing a bid (starting at $2,500), and after a few drinks I was set to put in a last second snipe. Alas, I fell asleep and quickly forgot about it. When I checked back a few days later I saw the final price was … $13,800!

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Kurt Cobain Jaguar

The Jim Root Jazzmaster has got to be the most distinctively minimalist version of the instrument ever devised.

Scottsdale, AZ (January 25, 2014) -- Fender is proud to announce its latest offering of artist signature models, including the Kurt Cobain Jaguar, Jim Root Jazzmaster and Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster guitars.

Fender’s Kurt Cobain Jaguar is a new-looking version of the battered and highly unusual 1965 Jaguar that Cobain wielded during the heady early-'90s era when Nirvana ruled rock and led a musically stunning and culturally subversive movement. Features include an alder body, bound fingerboard with pearloid dot markers, Stratocaster® headstock shape with 1950s-style “spaghetti” logo, DiMarzio humbucking DP103 PAF 36th Anniversary neck pickup and DP100 Super Distortion bridge pickup, triple knurled “chrome-dome” knob configuration (volume, volume, tone), three-position toggle switch, black chrome Adjusto-Matic™ bridge and Gotoh sealed tuners. Available in right- and left-handed versions. Accessories include a black textured vinyl hard-shell case and an exclusive Fender Kurt Cobain book with photos and commentary by Charles Peterson and an insightful interview with Nirvana guitar tech Earnie Bailey.

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