Kurt Cobain’s Boss DS-1 sells for $75,000 – is this the most expensive pedal sold at auction?

Kurt Cobain's Boss DS-1
(Image credit: Julien's Auctions)

Earlier this week, we learned that Cobain’s stage-smashed Mustang fetched nearly $500,000 at a November 13 auction. Now it has emerged that in the same sale a battered Boss DS-1 stompbox belonging to the Nirvana frontman fetched an eye-watering sum of $75,000.

The remarkable figure is higher than that of Jimi Hendrix’s Roger Mayer-built Octavia, which was used on his iconic Band of Gypsys album and sold for $70,400 in December 2020. Cobain’s stompbox could well have set a new record for a guitar pedal sold at auction.

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Matt Parker

Matt is a staff writer for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.