Kurt Cobain’s Tech 21 SansAmp (Original Vintage)
Allegedly, Kurt used a Tech 21 SansAmp as his main distortion pedal in the In Utero era. However, it is important to note that at least during the live performances, he also had a Boss DS-2 on stage.
This means that the SansAmp was likely used just on In Utero songs, while the Boss DS-2 was there for songs from Nevermind and Bleach.
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Kurt never used a “SansAmp Classic”, but the original Sansamp without the classic tag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2bTfH2Bmdw – 0:29
” The “original” was built from 1989 until 1992, and we added the word “Classic” in 1993 (to this day). There are essentially no differences in SOUND between the two models, although production methods have changed slightly over the years.” – Lloyd Schwartz, Product Manager
Tech 21 USA, my inquiry with Tech21, 2016
Fixed now, thanks!
I have sansamp ’93 model, and it’s no adding the classic tag. ’93 was the last year of production the vintage orginal.
He had a proco rat that was used on terrestol pissings.
I think the rat was Krist’s, he used it for his bass.
I’ve read he plugged straight into the desk
He did but Vig has mentioned that on the Nevermind sessions he had Cobain use both a Big Muff Pi and a Rat for certain parts (as well as a Vox AC30 which belonged to the studio. Left there since the days that Sound City Studios was the Vox USA plant) and if my memory serves – Vig says that the chain was guitar > Rat > the Neve console which had it’s pre-amp over driven. You’re not going to get the amount of gain you hear on Territorial Pissings simply by cranking the channel’s input gain. It’ll over drive but not that much. A pedal will be needed to get it to saturate like that. You also need the pedal just to get the impedance right because without one, the guitar’s pickups alone won’t provide enough of a signal.