Kurt Cobain’s Fender Mustang ‘Sky-Stang II’ (Sonic Blue)

This was the second of the three blue Fender Mustangs that Kurt acquired sometime prior to the ‘In Utero’ tour, and one of the four Mustangs in total he used around that time – the fourth one being a red one. All four guitars were modified in a similar way sometime between July and October 1993 – with their bodies being routed out in order to fit a full-sized humbucker in the bridge position.

Mods

As noted, this guitar was fitted with a humbucker in the bridge position – most likely a Seymour Duncan JB model, which Kurt used in many of his guitars. Aside from that, the only change seemed to have been replacing the stock bridge with a Gotoh Tune-o-Matic.

On Tour

Although Kurt mostly used his first blue Mustang – the ‘Sky-Stang I’, this guitar too was seen occasionally during the latter part of the ‘In Utero’ tour. […]

It is important to note at this point that what differentiates this guitar from Kurt’s first blue Mustang, the ‘Sky-Stang I’, is the black plastic cover on the humbucker (compared to the white one on the first).

The Guitar Today

This guitar is owned by the Kurt Cobain estate and is kept in a secret vault somewhere in Seattle, alongside many of Kurt’s stuff. Charles R. Cross, who had a chance to visit the vault while working on the book ‘Heavier Than Heaven’, reported some of his experiences while visiting the vault to Rolling Stone magazine:

It’s at an “undisclosed location.” And it literally was at an underground bomb-proof bunker that Bill Gates stored his stuff in. When I first went to visit it, it was the first time in my life my retina was ever scanned. It was like James Bond. The week Kurt died, Courtney had the sense to tell someone “put all this stuff away,” and it had all been boxed up and never opened. I think I was the first person to open these boxes — and I cannot tell you how freaky that was, to open up a Rubbermaid container and inside were Kurt Cobain’s board games that had been put away.

Behind “Cobain Unseen”: Charles Cross on Kurt’s Private Archives

Cross also hired a photographer, Geoff Moore, to take some photos of the stuff that was in the vault – among them, of course, this blue Mustang. These photos were later published in Cross’ next book ‘Cobain Unseen’.

Fender Kurt Cobain Signature Model

This guitar was also seen briefly during Fender’s promo video made just before they released the Fender Kurt Cobain Signature Mustang – which was largely based on this guitar (it would make more sense if they based it on the ‘Sky-Stang I’, but hey – there’s not much of a difference between the two anyway). Take note of the small yellow-colored underneath the bridge pickup – it’s one of the ways to separate this guitar from its twin – the ‘Sky-Stang III’.

The model was discontinued just a few years after it was introduced and is nowadays only available through second-hand sellers. If you happen to be one of the few lucky ones who bought one, and wouldn’t mind sending some photos, be sure to send an email using the email address posted below.