Kurt used this amp from around January 1992 for the majority of Nirvana’s live performances. The amp was used together with a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 Preamp – both of which were mounted on a rack shelf often seen sitting behind Kurt on stage.
Prior to January 1992, Kurt used a Crown Power Base 2 power amp instead of this amp.
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This was Kurt main pre-amp, used for live performances ever since May 2, 1990. According to several sources, Kurt trashed his Sunn amps the day earlier, on May 1st at the Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill, NC, and bought the Mesa Boogie on May 2nd before playing at Milestone in Charlotte. I was at this show and bought one of Kurt’s Beta Leads. Nirvana – 5/1/90 – Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill, […]
access_time 1989Kurt was first seen using this amp around July 1989 (search for Nirvana, Hoboken, NJ, June 13, 1989, on Google) – which was just after the release of Bleach album (June 15, 1989). However, according to Jack Endino, who produced Bleach, the Randall amp was used even prior to that. When they recorded Bleach, Kurt’s Randall was in the shop so they borrowed my amp, which was a Sixties Fender […]
access_time 1990This was Kurt’s main guitar amp prior to Nevermind studio sessions and during the album tour. For most of the tour, the amp was seen sitting in a rackmount case, underneath a Mesa Boogie Studio .22 Preamp. This same exact setup was allegedly used during the studio sessions, plus some other amps provided by Butch Vig. Kurt had a Mesa/Boogie, but we also used a Fender Bassman a lot and […]
access_time 1988Kurt used a Fender Twin Reverb to record Bleach album. That particular amp, however, wasn’t owned by him, but by Jack Endino, who produced the record. When they recorded Bleach, Kurt’s Randall was in the shop so they borrowed my amp, which was a Sixties Fender Twin. I’m a tube nut, so everything was tweaked and up to spec on that amp, but it didn’t have speakers because I had […]
access_time 1991Kurt used this amp on a few occasions in June 1991, more precisely on June 17 at Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA, and on June 14 at Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but the amp was either a JCM800 or a JCM900 model. 1991 was the last year that the Marshall made JCM 800 amps, and JCM 900 came out in 1990 – so […]
access_time 1989Kurt was seen using an unknown Fender amp around the time when the band released Bleach, circa May 1989. Based on this photo – Nirvana in Auburn, WA, May 26, 1989, it seems that the Marshall on top with the “Nirvana” was Jason Everman’s, while the Fender combo sitting underneath it was used by Kurt. The amp on the right, sitting on top of a red cabinet, was Krist’s bass […]
access_time 1990Kurt was seen using these amps towards the latter part of the Bleach tour – circa February/March 1990 (for photos see Kurt Cobain’s Sunn amp). They were used up until May 1, 1990, when they were trashed at a concert at Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill, NC, and replaced the day later with a Mesa Boogie Studio .22. I was at this show and bought one of Kurt´s Beta Leads. Nirvana […]
access_time 1989This amp was seen behind Kurt on stage starting with Nirvana’s European tour in late October 1989, in support of Bleach. However, the amp belonged either to TAD or Mudhoney with whom Nirvana toured, and there was never a cable going into the amp while Kurt was performing – meaning, he likely never used it himself.
Last time Crown Power Amp 2 used:
01/11/92 – NBC Studios (Saturday Night Live), New York, NY
Next show:
01/24/92 – Phoenician Club, Sydney, Australia
First time Crest 4801 used
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nGfTgP0NNQ
Kurt used it since the Australian Tour at the beginning of 1992 – Appearing of Earnie Bailey