Cheap guitar: The secret to Kurt Cobain and Nirvana’s success
The late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain lists among the most prominent names in rock history thanks to his innovative work over the late 1980s and ’90s that brought grunge to the fore of the rock world. Upon listening to Nirvana’s impressive catalogue spanning three progressive albums, Cobain’s biggest influences are immediately apparent.
Nirvana’s sound was derivative of the post-punk era of the 1980s but also traced back to the 1970s electric stylings of Neil Young, aka the “Godfather of Grunge”. The heavily overdriven guitar style pioneered by Young can be heard throughout much of Cobain’s material, but over their three studio albums, Nirvana created an identity that continues to inspire countless acts in the modern day.
So, what was the secret to Nirvana’s success? Well, besides Cobain’s unique knack for humorous yet harrowing lyrical composition, it appears cheap equipment and a carefree attitude might have given them an early nudge towards the top.
In 1991, Cobain revealed some of the secrets to Nirvana’s sound and discussed some of their equipment choices in an interview with Guitar World. “We’re just musically and rhythmically retarded,” he said jovially, describing how their unique sound comes about. “We play so hard that we can’t tune our guitars fast enough. People can relate to that.”
He added: “We sound like the Bay City Rollers after an assault by Black Sabbath, and we vomit onstage better than anyone!”
When it’s suggested that Cobain favoured low-end models of instruments, the singer confirmed it was a necessity and not a choice. “I don’t favour them,” Cobain answered. “I can afford them. [laughs] I’m left-handed, and it’s not very easy to find reasonably priced high-quality left-handed guitars. But out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favourite. I’ve only owned two of them.”
“They’re cheap and totally inefficient, and they sound like crap and are very small,” the Nirvana frontman added, discussing the pros of the Mustang. “They also don’t stay in tune, and when you want to raise the string action on the fretboard, you have to loosen all the strings and completely remove the bridge. You have to turn these little screws with your fingers and hope that you’ve estimated it right. If you screw up, you have to repeat the process over and over until you get it right. Whoever invented that guitar was a dork.”
Later, the interviewer brought up the Nevermind cut, ‘Polly’, and said the acoustic guitar played on the track sounded a little flat. “That’s a 20-dollar junk shop Stella,” Cobain proudly commented. “I didn’t bother changing the strings. [laughs] It barely stays in tune. In fact, I have to use duct tape to hold the tuning keys in place.”
When faced with the mounting bill of instruments being chewed up, Cobain noted, “Yeah, and I keep blowing up amplifiers, so I use whatever I can find at junk shops – junk is always best.”
Listen to Nirvana’s ‘Polly’, which was given its edge with the sound of junk-shop thrift, below.
