to loosen all the strings and completely
remove the bridge."
By the 1993 tour for In Utero, Cobain's
guitar preferences seem to have solidified
somewhat, with the Fender Mustang
being his staple stage instrument. His
Mustangs were typically outfitted with a
humbucker in the bridge position, either
a DiMarzio Super Distortion or a Seymour
Duncan JB, and at least one of them had
a DiMarzio PAF in the neck pickup slot.
He also had the rather primitive Mustang
vibrato replaced with a Gotoh tune-o-matic
AMPLIFIERS AND
CABINETS
In the early days of Nirvana, Cobain
pretty much used whatever was available
for amplification, and was particularly
nonchalant about speaker cabinets, often
using PA cabs or any other handy box with
bridge to remedy the tuning stability issues
that plagued these guitars when played
in a ham-fisted, punk rock fashion. For
recording In Utero, Cobain primarily used
his 1966 Fender Jaguar, which he prized
above his other instruments enough that
he only rarely used it in a live setting,
saving it mostly for studio sessions. Before
his death, he also designed a guitar for
Fender that combined elements of his
two favorite axes, dubbed the Jag-Stang.
It was produced from 1995 to 2001, and
then reissued for two more years,
beginning in 2003.
a speaker in it. Photos from this era show
Cobain seemingly using a different amp and
cab for every show. By the time Bleach was
recorded, he was using a solid-stat R&