Nirvana

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Kurt Cobain performs using his Sky Stang I Fender Mustang in December 1993

Kurt Cobain guitars now account for 3 of the top 10 most expensive guitars sold at auction as the ‘Sky Stang I’ Fender Mustang used in Nirvana’s final performance sells for $1.5 million

By Matt Parker published

The value of Kurt Cobain-associated guitar sales on the list now more than doubles that of his nearest competitor, David Gilmour

Kurt Cobain

The electric guitar shredded itself to death in the ‘80s. It had to start over, but the ‘90s grunge revolution didn‘t just change the face of guitar playing – it changed the world

By Brad Tolinski published

Guitar World presents a grunge guitar guide to the ‘90s, the decade when Seattle became the epicenter of the musical universe, and resurrected the electric guitar with a raw, dirty sound that gave birth to a whole new generation of guitar players

Geddy Lee Paramount Plus Series

“I’m trying to show the world that a bass player can do many things”: Watch the first trailer for Geddy Lee’s new docuseries, featuring Les Claypool and Robert Trujillo

By Nick Wells published

Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too? also stars Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic and former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur

Kurt Cobain Sky Stang I Fender Mustang electric guitar used a Nirvana's final show

“The workhorse”: The Fender ‘Sky Stang’ played by Kurt Cobain during Nirvana’s last show – and 53 In Utero tour dates – is going up for auction

By Matt Parker published

The Japanese Mustang – aka The Sky Stang I – was used at Nirvana’s final show in Munich, Germany and is expected to fetch between $1 and $2 million

(from left) Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney perform onstage at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 12, 2012

“You know, I've never played slide before, but it just started doing things on its own – I didn’t even have to try”: That time Paul McCartney channeled his inner bluesman – with the help of Nirvana, and a wild 4-string cigar box guitar

By Jackson Maxwell published

Matty Baratto's guitars have been played by Slash, Keith Richards, Zakk Wylde, Prince, Josh Homme, Joe Perry, and countless others. Seeing the Beatle use one of his four-string creations live with Nirvana, though, was a truly "surreal" moment for the luthier

Kurt Cobain Teisco Del Ray EV-2T

“Sick”: In 1985, Kurt Cobain carved one word into this Teisco Del-Ray guitar. Now it has sold at auction for $153,000

By Matt Parker published

The instrument recently sold at auction for a price that far exceeded the $10,000 minimum bid

Kurt Cobain

The surprising secret behind Kurt Cobain’s guitar tone on Nirvana’s In Utero has been discovered, 30 years on from its release

By Jonathan Horsley published

And it’s not a magic pedal, magic amp or a magic guitar...

Kurt Cobain Teisco Del Ray EV-2T

“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

By Matt Parker published

The Teisco Del Ray EV-2T and a Cobain-owned Franciscan acoustic are the latest instruments associated with the Nirvana man to hit the market

Kurt Cobain and Joe Perry, both pictured in the early ’90s

“He loves you guys. He doesn’t like anybody, but he loves you guys”: Joe Perry on the time he met Kurt Cobain – and Aerosmith’s unlikely influence on Nirvana

By Matt Parker published

The Aerosmith man once met Kurt Cobain backstage in Seattle, but says the Nirvana frontman was almost non-verbal

Kurt Cobain (left) and the world’s most expensive guitar pick – used in 1990, to make the Nevermind demos

The world’s most expensive guitar pick? A Kurt Cobain-signed plectrum, thought to have tracked the Nevermind demos, has sold at auction for over $14,000

By Matt Parker published

The pick features Cobain’s doodled take on the Dunlop Tortex logo. “I knew this piece was special when I saw it,” says buyer Shaun Ertischek

Kurt Cobain's stage-smashed Fender Stratocaster sold at auction for $600,000

Is this the most expensive smashed guitar ever sold? Kurt Cobain’s stage-smashed Fender Stratocaster sells at auction for $600,000 – 10 times its initial estimate

By Matt Parker published

The instrument, signed by all three members of Nirvana, er, smashed expectations in the recent sale

Krist Novoselic of Nirvana during MTV Live and Loud: Nirvana Performs Live - December 1993 at Pier 28 in Seattle, Washington, United States.

The 5 Nirvana basslines you need to hear

By Joel McIver published

From Smells Like Teen Spirit to About a Girl, here are Krist Novoselic’s five greatest basslines

Kurt Cobain plays a Fender Stratocaster (left), the aforementioned Stratocaster after it was smashed by Kurt Cobain

A Kurt Cobain stage-smashed Fender Stratocaster is going up for auction

By Jackson Maxwell published

Signed by all three members of Nirvana, the Strat also features a note from Cobain addressed to the Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan

Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl perform live at Safeco Field on July 19, 2013 in Seattle, Washington.

Paul McCartney: “Somebody whispered to me ‘That’s Nirvana. You’re Kurt.’ I couldn’t believe it”

By Nick Wells published

Bassist Krist Novoselic revisits the time the ex-Beatle fronted a Nirvana reunion gig

(from left) Krist Novoselic, Nile Rodgers, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson perform onstage

Nirvana, Nile Rodgers and Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammys

By Sam Roche published

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to those who have made “creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording”

One Hacker Band

An engineer has programmed a terrifying all-robot band – watch it nail Nirvana, Metallica and Deep Purple classics

By Matt Owen published

One Hacker Band is assembling the trio of the future, which has so far made light work of Enter Sandman, Smoke on the Water and even AI-generated original material

Nancy Wilson of Heart, Nile Rodgers and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain

Nirvana, Nile Rodgers and Heart’s Nancy and Ann Wilson all honored with 2023 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards

By Matt Parker published

The Recording Academy has announced the list of honorees for this year, and it’s studded with iconic guitar talent

Nirvana during 1992 MTV Video Music Awards - Rehearsals at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, United States

Krist Novoselic: “The bass got caught in the TV lights – and then boom!”

By Joel McIver published

At the 1992 MTV Awards, Nirvana bassman Krist Novoselic threw his Gibson 25 feet in the air, forgetting it would come down again shortly afterwards

Soldiers from the Indian ASSAM regiment 11th Airborne Division of the US Army perform

Watch soldiers from the US and Indian armies perform Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit

By Matt Parker published

The term 'joint military exercise' takes on new meaning

Aaron Rash's Kurt Cobain The Engine Pedal

A YouTuber has built a pedal to clone Kurt Cobain’s home demo tone

By Matt Parker published

Producer/songwriter Aaron Rash has hand-wired a pedal he calls the Engine