This thread is for all guitar fans who are seeking to emulate Kurt Cobain�s sound. Posted this once before think it fits better in this section though...Sorry if this repost bothers anyone.
Like it�s said on the Fender Jaguar Faq if you�re a person whose working to emulate Kurt and his equipment you should also check out the website link posted below. Keep in mind a lot of the material, which is presented in this thread is taken from the site and synthesized to a certain extent, not to mention what other members have stated as well.
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What kind of guitar was Kurt playing the Smells Like Teen Spirit video? And where can I buy one?
In the video Kurt was playing a 1969 Lake Placid Blue Mustang (left handed). Fender is currently not reissuing the '69 but they are reissuing the '65, but if you really want a '69 you can try looking them up on Ebay (keeping in mind his had a matching headstock). Fender actually reissued the '69 a couple of years back, but has since stopped this reissue.
What kind of Guitars did Kurt Like to Use?
Kurt Cobain is most famous for his use of Fender Mustangs, and Jaguars. But he played a variety of other instruments as well. Some of these instruments are univox hi fliers (Kurt�s plays it in the heart shaped box video) some telecasters, stratocasters (he plays a stratocaster briefly at reading in '92, and one also on snl in '91), and even on occasion Les Paul�s. It�s also important to note that a lot of his home recordings were used with a Fender telecaster he was given in �93.
Is there a good budget model for players hoping to emulate his sound?
There is a budget model currently being produced, known as the Jag-Master. I�d recommend it because of the fact it comes with humbucking pickups already. But any budget guitar built with a humbucker in the bridge will work as well.
What kind of pickups did Kurt's guitars use?
Kurt had the bridge position of almost all of his mustang's (except for the '69) routed for Seymour Duncan JB pickups. For the most part this was the kind of pickups he had in his Mustang. Supposedly he had Hot rails, but I'm not exactly sure, other members will have to confirm this. In his Jaguar (the 1965 w/the 3 knobs). His �65 Jag. had Dimarzio PAF�s in the neck, and Dimarzio Super Distortion�s in the Bridge. For his Jag-Stang he apparently had his dimarzio pickup replaced by possibly a Seymour JB-4 Trembucker, but i'm not 100 percent on this. (the info about the jagstang pickup was sourced from fellow forum members over the years)
Where can I buy a Jaguar, which Looks like Kurt's? Is there a current model, which resembles the sound his jag had?
You won't be able to find easily a Jaguar, which looks like Kurt's, because his model had 3 knobs, which differs from the usual 2-knob jaguar. Apparently a company produced a jaguar, which actually was designed with three knobs. I�m unsure of whether or not it�s still in production. There is no guitar which imitates his exact sound (if there was it�d be a signature model) but the one, which comes closest to it, is a �fender classic player Jaguar Special HH.� <!-- m -->http://s875.photobucket.com/albums/ab31<!-- m --> ... 00copy.jpg
As you can see from the image above the jaguar which comes closest is missing a knob, and the colors of both guitars are way off.
What kind of strings did Kurt like to play with?
Kurt said he used piano strings, but this is highly unlikely. Your best bet is to try 10 gauges.
What kind of guitar straps did he like to use?
It doesn�t really matter, just use what makes you feel comfortable.
What picks did he like to use?
Kurt liked Dunlop Tortex Picks. There�s some great photo�s of Kurt standing next to his mic stand at the reading festival, where you can quite clearly see the tortex logos.
Kurts Pedals:
What were the pedals liked to use?
Here are the big ones to get if you want to use the effects he used. Boss DS-1/DS-2, EH Small Clone, and, EH-Poly Chorus, but there are a lot more. He also used a sansamp distortion pedal on In Utero.
The pedals are so expensive! What�s a good cheap alternative?
Yes as you may have found, these pedals are either discontinued or range in price from forty to two hundred dollars. Danelectro currently produces a series of cheap effects pedals which are from like fifteen to thirty dollars, so if cash is an issue this is a good place to start. Although I�ve not yet tested these pedals for myself personally, so you�ll have to figure that one out.
What settings did he like to use for each pedal?
The Poly-Chorus pedal settings can be found online. For the other�s its all about figuring out what you think it closely resembles. The DS-1/DS-2 worked mainly as a booster for his valve amp overdrive, so using the pedal for distortion will not get you the same tone he had at all.
What kind of Amp did he use?
[/u
]For his live setup he used big 4X12 Marshall amps.
Where can I buy a Jag-Stang?
Go on ebay and look around for one, there�s always one or two for sale on that site. If you�re really adamant about owning a fender original Jag-Stang then don�t check out these guys. But for those who just want the look of the jag-stang you can find a bunch of sites who offer up their version of it. A good site to look at is Warmoth.
What kind of modifications did Kurt use?
Okay, Kurt modded almost everything he played. If you really want your guitar to look just like his guitar did then it�s time for you to head over to �Kurt�s Equipment.�
What's the difference between the reissue jag-stangs and the orignal run one's?
There is no drastic change except for maybe the 'reissue' ones were say crafted in japan and the originals said made in japan. But apparently this change from made to crafted occurred during the original run, so this shouldn't be that great of an issue. The initial runs were made w/bass wood while the reissues with alder, but other than that there aren't many differences.
What is �Kurt�s Equipment?� Is it reliable?
Kurt�s Equipment compiles together a list of almost every guitar Kurt owned, and details the certain mods, which he had on each guitar. It�s an incredibly reliable source, for the Kurt sound Junkie. In fact a lot of the material pertaining to his guitars and pickup types were actually gathered from that site, to answer most of these questions. It�s a great source for Kurt fans, and it even comes with alot of images where you can see directly what they�re talking about.
*Sadly, I can�t take credit for all the information presented above b/c in actuality a lot of this material came from the site Kurt�s equipment, and Guitar Geek. I also condensed some of the material spoken about Kurt and his gear over the years from this site, and synthesized it as best I could. But the purpose of this thread is not for originality it was to provide players who are hoping to emulate Kurt�s sound.
*and I�ll just repeat once more most of the information posted above was taken from kurtsequipment with slight rewordings here and there, and also information from guitar geek.
