“Kurt took the guitar and carved the word ‘SICK’ at the bottom of it”: Two years before he started Nirvana, Kurt Cobain inscribed his friend’s Teisco guitar – now it’s headed for auction

GWS Auctions has announced that its forthcoming Artifacts of Hollywood and Music sale will feature a Teisco Del Ray EV-2T electric guitar that was played and signed by Kurt Cobain, as well as a Franciscan acoustic guitar from the Nirvana man’s collection.

Kurt Cobain gear auctions have become increasingly regular fixtures in recent years, and it’s not surprising given the premium prices fetched by guitars associated with the Nirvana frontman.

Having never been owned directly by Cobain, the Teisco has a more tenuous association with the songwriter than the likes of the Smells Like Teen Spirit Mustang, so we don’t think it will bring in the mega-bucks. 

However, as mentioned previously, frankly, any instrument with a Cobain attachment commands a serious price tag and this one certainly has a few endearing features.

Firstly, Cobain altered it, carving the word ‘SICK’ on the guitar’s body and signing the rear. It’s not the same level of doodling found on Cobain’s characterful Boss DS-1, but the personalization element has gone down well in previous sales – including the world’s most expensive guitar pick – and offers a direct connection to the guitarist. 

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Secondly, there’s a nice tale of provenance from the original owner, Johnny Cooper. 

“[I] did a lot of jamming with Kurt Cobain of the band Nirvana,” writes Cooper. “We spent a big part of the younger years on the road up and down the West Coast doing what we loved, playing music. This Teisco Del Ray EV-2T in Lake Placid blue was used and played and signed by Kurt Cobain. 

“In 1985 while Kurt stayed at my apartment here in Olympia WA. Kurt took the guitar and carved the word 'SICK' at the bottom of it and then after that I had Kurt sign it on the back. There are some nicks on the guitar and one string missing.”

At that point, Cobain had formed a band called Fecal Matter, which at various points featured future Melvins members Dale Crover, Buzz Osborne and Mike Dillard. A demo of that band would later persuade Krist Novoselic to collaborate with Cobain in what become Nirvana.

Finally, it’s a novel design. A $50 catalog guitar that was produced in the late-’60s and inspired by the look of the Vox Phantom, the Teisco Del Ray EV-2T, like many of its peers, has been reappraised by players in recent years.

As such, it’s now increasingly sought-after, particularly by indie players seeking out the guitar industry’s 1960s freaks and geeks and, like many Teisco/Silvertone designs, the quirks in playability are compensated for by its chiming single-coil pickups. 

The Teisco carries a minimum bid of $10,000.

Elsewhere in the same sale is a Kurt Cobain-owned Franciscan CS-19 acoustic guitar, complete with case that was purchased from the 1996 Cobain estate sale, which features a Dean Markley sticker on the lower body – the brand of strings Cobain was known to use.

That one is a Japanese-made model that did not go under Cobain’s carving knife, but does come with the original auction invoice.

The auctioneers seem more excited by the acoustic, giving it a minimum bid of $50,000 – no doubt with one eye on the $6 million price tag of Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Martin D-18E. 

We’re not convinced that the fact it is an acoustic lot is enough to justify such an increased minimum bid – we’d be more tempted by the Teisco, frankly. However, if we’ve learned one thing from Cobain gear auctions, it’s that someone is always willing to pay more than you’d expect… 

Bidding for the Kurt Cobain Teisco and Franciscan acoustic opens on August 26 at 10am PT, so we’ll have to wait to find out final sale prices. 

We wonder if these, like the Mustang, will wind up in Jim Irsay’s billion dollar guitar collection.

For now, you can head over to GWS Auctions to see the Cobain guitar lots.