Kurt Cobain's Most Played Mustang: History of Skystang I | Nirvana Guitar History Episode 1
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- Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
- A deep and extensive look into the history, specs and mods of Skystang I. Kurt Cobain's most played Fender Mustang and his #1 guitar for Nirvana's biggest headlining tours.
#kurtcobain #fendermustang
0:00 - Introduction
0:37 - Kurt orders Mustangs from Fender
1:23 - Oranj-Stang/Roseland Mustang overview
2:10 - Skystang I on the US In Utero tour (Oct 93 - Jan 94)
4:03 - What mods I did to my Kurt Cobain Signature Mustang
4:50 - Skystang I on the European In Utero tour (Feb 94 - March 94)
7:46 - Where Skystang I is today
8:04 - Fender Kurt Cobain Signature Mustang overview
10:04 - Conclusion
Sources:
Lomic Guitars
ebay.us/4Luq0j
www.livenirvana.com/
kurtsequipment.com/
offsetguitars.com/
Facebook Group "Nirvana Guitars and Gear
groups/10951...
Roseland Mustang tribute build picture courtesy of John Patrick Holmes
Present day pics of Skystang I at MoPop courtesy of Kalle Keituri
My links:
Vandalism Strat Stickers - use coupon code "nirvanaguitars" to get 2 for the price of 1:
khristore.com/product/kurt-co...
My amazon storefront where you can buy parts/gear Kurt used: www.amazon.com/shop/nirvanagu...
Learn Nirvana songs with Fender Play!
prf.hn/click/camref:1101lpoaU
Follow me on instagram at @nirvanaguitars
Check out my progressive punk band at ithomiid.com
Check out my acoustic project at atlasmn
Tbh this is probably the best nirvana tone channel I have ever saw these videos are so helpful. This channel and Aaron Rash’s Channel are the top tier nirvana channels 💯💯💯
Thank you so much for the kind words!! I love Aaron's channel, so it's an honor to be mentioned alongside him!
I've been getting into Nirvana lately, since me and my band mate wanted our next few projects to be heavily 90s rock inspired, and this channel has helped a ton!! Not only for tones and guitars, but it's also just very entertaining too!!! I'd love to see more videos in this series, keep up the nice work! :D
Thank you so much! The response to this video has been so positive, so I am planning on continuing this and having a guitar history series 🙂
From a dude who lived through it and plays music…get the Boss DS-1 distortion. With the gain all the way up and the tone about halfway (it gets screechy any higher than that) it IS the sound of 90s rock/grunge.
Relatively cheap and good. When it came out, it was the best thing around and decently priced, so everyone had one. So it ended up on tons of records.
You can play any decent alternative rock/grunge song with a DS-1 or a Big Muff.
Love these guitar history videos as they are so interesting and make you even appreciate the instrument so much! Man the tone and sex appeal of the Fender Mustang in the Skystang finish is legendary! Thank you so much! 🎸
As someone who lived through it, it’s cool to see someone your age so into this stuff. Thanks for the videos.
Thanks for watching 🙂
Wow, great video. Love the Skystang info. Always an instant click when I see you have a new video out. Appreciate the incredible content, man!👍🏼👍🏼
That really means a lot, thank you so much!
Wow, you’re video quality gets better with literally every single video! I look forward to all of your videos! You’re favourite Nirvana youtuber, up there with Aaron Rash, absolutely phenomenal!!
I sincerely appreciate that, thank you so much!! 🙏
@@NirvanaGuitars you’re very welcome! I love you and your videos! You’re incredibly helpful too! You’ve helped me a ton on Instagram, thanks a ton man, one of the best, most helpful and respecting person out there, especially on UA-cam!
i cant explain how much i love this channel.
Thank you so much!! 🙏
Scott Zimmerman built my Jazzmaster. Finding the same frets he used to use on the JG and JM models at Fujigen was nearly impossible. Finally found that Sintoms makes a very similar set to the old Hosco frets Scott used back then.
That is crazy that you have guitar Scott built! Beyond cool
Interesting theory on the change to pickguard mount, I didn’t realize skystang 1 took that big a hit before. I always assumed the change was made because the neck was shimmed and perhaps the rout was too deep for the humbucker so it couldn’t be raised enough to give the output/response Kurt wanted, and so was fixed by pickguard mounting. Always great to learn new things!
Man you’re one of the only people I’ve seen on UA-cam and Instagram that knows so much about Nirvana and Kurt’s guitar tones, this is where I learn my Nirvana facts no kidding!!
That really means a lot, thank you! I've been obsessively taking in every piece of information I can find about Nirvana gear for the last 10+ years, and I am so happy I can put this knowledge to use through my channel!
awesome series this is why i love your channel, and also the jagstang is my favorite :)
I was at the 11/15/1993 show at Roseland. Super dope.
You're an absolute legend!! Thx so much for you in depth obsession about these guitars.
Amazing videos!! 🤘🤘🔥🔥❤️
This was such a well-done video! Thanks :)
Thank you! Currently working on another guitar history video 🙂
I'd love too see more of these style of videos. Great, informative video my guy!
Thank you so much! Will definitely make more history videos 😊
I can thank you enough for doing this! 🙏🏻 Precious, Amazing 👌🏻
Can't thank you enough for watching and the kind words!
Holy shit I was never expecting such good kurt guitar content! Just bought a jagstang and doing a rabbithole dive into learning more about my guitars
Bro you put so much research and effort into your videos and it shows. thanks man🤘
Thanks for the kind words and for watching!
Very well done and fascinating!
Thank you!
AHHH ITS MY ROSELAND MUSTANG!! thanks for the shout out!!
Yes it is and it is gorgeous 😍 thanks again for the pic!!
Great video man! Thank you! ❤
Thanks for watching!
Ever since i started digging into Kurt's gear I've always had a liking to the skystang 1, it pretty much sums up Kurt's taste in gear and the skystang really reflected that, It also wasn't just any ordinary mustang either, as you mentioned in the video it was modded to Kurt's likings and it became one of the ultimate nirvana guitars alongside the jaguar and the jagstang. Great video with tonnes of detailed and accurate info, keep making content like this!
Edit: that filed down treble side was most likely done because Kurt probably hit the pickup accidentally while strumming i think.
Very happy you enjoyed it! I plan on making this a series 😃 I think skystang doesn't get as much attention in general because almost all of the officially released shows are from the Nevermind era, with the Jaguar and Vandalism Strat upfront and center. Also that's a great theory about the chewed up pickup side! Kurt did go hard when strumming, could've worn it down after playing it consistently for so many shows
Excellent video and research! Very informative, great job!
Thank you so much! Thanks for always watching 🙂
@@NirvanaGuitars thanks for great content!
This video is great! You deserve more subscribers dude
Thank you!
That was a very informative video. Thank you for compiling all the information for nerds like me who like to see this stuff. Such an iconic axe.
Glad you enjoyed it! 😃
This is great! I hope to see the history of Kurt's Jaguar 🤘😎🎸
Nice to know some history and facts about the Sky stang,
Awesome job dude
Thanks!
Really awesome!
Skystang II is my favorite
The Skystangs just have a magic about them, such beautiful guitars
@@NirvanaGuitars yes! They started my fender offset addiction the moment I saw the first one for the very first time
totally love ur videos man
Thank you so much!
Beautiful guitar and great info.
We need more guitar history vids
I have the live and loud complete concert on vhs cassette from the day he passed MTV played nirvana all day wirh rare shows and interviews. Sadest day
Great video man!
Thank you!
@@NirvanaGuitars no problem man
I saw Skystang III at the RnR hall of fame in June 2020. Not much longer after they added Kurt’s Mosrite Gospel… Now I have to make a return
Dude, you are the man!
😁 Thank you!
You can see the Skystang I stock pickup (meaning without the jb) at Auditorium de Verdun, Verdun 1993 btw your channel is amazing I learned so much about Kurt's tone from your channel
Thank you 🙂 Skystang I has the JB at that show, you can see it in the live pics. It has the JB since the first show it’s seen at in Phoenix on 10/18/93
Man that is a stunning guitar. I'm really considering getting myself another Mustang.
I have two mustangs and don't regret either of them 😏
@@NirvanaGuitars i have seen yr Mustangs on yr channel. I did own a Mustang about 3 years ago. It was a Squier i got new. And i didn't get on with the neck that was on it. But i think if i was a bit more selective about what Mustang i got i could end up with a really nice one.
This is my dream guitar, I hope one day fender releases this guitar again.
Hopefully for In Utero’s 30th 🤞🏻
So iconic 👀
Eric I love Skystang I you should do more videos with it. And more videos with my favorite Kurt guitar, the Fender Competition Mustang.
the skystang 1 is my dream guitar
I found this awesome vintage Kurt inspired competition mustang with a duo sonic neck and hot rail pickups. I’m gonna buy it.
It's probably a LOT easier said than done. But could you do an in depth video on Kurt's Amplifier choice through out the years. I've came across some contradictionary info through out the years and despite looking into them I am still no clearer on what the Cown amp is all about.
Awesome channel. you def know your stuff. I'd def be interested in how you locked the tremolo down.
Your videos are amazing and thank you much for the content. I saved an entire summer of 1994 to buy this guitar in 1995. I purchased the then sonic blue standard non-Cobain model model for around $600.00. I remember ordering the guitar through K&S music in central Pa and waiting 3 months for the guitar to be made.
Sadly i sold the guitar around 1999 - 2000 era for a mere few hundred dollars. In life I have no regrets, except one, selling this guitar. I have since purchased a road worn jaguar back in 2015. I know one day now that I make a very good living that I will repurchase the sonic blue mustang. Thank you again for this excellent video.
Thanks for watching and for sharing your story! Hopefully Fender will reissue the KC Signature Mustangs for the In Utero's 30th next year so you can get your sonic blue mustang!! 🤞
That would be sick! I mowed a lot of lawns at age 14 to buy that guitar!!!
6:01 this is a cool photo! You can see the Univox hi flier from the heart shaped box video, aswell as the competition mustang from the teen spirit video!
Awesome! 😃🎸
Great channel I wish I had a videos like this to watch when I was 16 , I'm 47 years old now and was lucky enough to see nirvana live twice , the first time was reading festival 91 before they were famous and then after they became famous in reading 92 .
I was also at a Hole gig in 91 on a school night in Newport Tjs a place in South Wales, Kurt was there and rhe urban legend is, that's the place where he proposed ro Courtney .
Holy shit you saw Nirvana at Reading BOTH times?? Jealous doesn't even begin to describe I felt reading your comment
@@NirvanaGuitars I pretty much surfed the grunge wave and saw most of the best bands by going to those 2 festivals , it changed my life forever , I also saw Babes in Toyland in Newport Tjs summer of 91 they were like the 4th band I'd ever seen and it was unbelievable the atmosphere and the band were just getting drunk by the pool table and playing pool before the show , best years of my life ♥
Great video man, I got the competition blue cos it was impossible to get the sonic blue.
Keep it up!
Thank you! Hopefully we'll see a reissue of the KC Mustangs next year for In Utero's 30th 🤞
Glad the algos led me here. I subed instantly!
Thanks for subscribing! 🙏
As someone who has the signature skystang it is totally worth it, I bought mine for around 3k in near perfect condition and every penny was worth it. I find myself getting near perfect tones from tours other than in utero too which is super cool
I have this guitar F****** love it!
Subscribed. this was an excellent deep dive on Skystang. I have been following this band, studying these songs and soaking up every new tidbit of data that comes from an interview but I've never seen it all so accurately and neatly put together like this. It was fucking funtastic. Who are you in Nirvana Guitar and Gear? I'm in there and pretty active. lol
i wanna get a oranj stang replica so bad lol
IDK why I think Skystang replicas have a more vivid color than the actual Skystang, sometimes I thought it'd looked "better" with the sonic blue finish on your JagStang _(despite being the accurate color)_
Still you can't deny those guitars look amazing
And nice video btw
*:D*
I'm practically forcing my mom to by me a skystang 1 recreation I saw on reverb for my birthday :)
C’mon mom, it’ll be so cool!! 🤞🏻
Love your videos 🎹😍🎸
My fav also but my all time in general has to be a Jazzmaster. Nirvana or not, Jazzmaster on the neck pickup is oh so sweet.
I've got to get this guitar.
It’s the coolest Kurt guitar if you ask me 😏
My bet is that the reason why the bottom of the humbucker is filed down, is to prevent the thinnest string from catching on the edge of the pickup. which is easier for mustangs as they have a shorter scale and there is less tension on the strings
Tailpiece flipped and locked down is a brilliant move because of the notoriety associated with tuning issues for these. ❤
Hi, I'm 43 now and when I was 13 I got this fender Mustang for a present, the same year same colour same everything as Kurt's, same factory etc I don't have the guitar anymore but I have the Pickguard, the Pickguard is such a particular colour which I've not seen replicated at all in the same way these days, the yellow and bright red are so unique to those years. If you want it get in touch.
My first guitar I got was a 1965 Mustang, purchased in 1991 just before Nirvana broke out. I ended up selling it many years later as I never liked the short scale length, and hated those box switches for the pickups, as I cut my fingers on them constantly. Sounded great though!
In a perfect world you should be the second owner of the guitar , in the Real world its great that you have the Skystang 1 project and had chance to compare it and pass details on in your channel always very interesting to see kurts Guitars and Equipment ,im Going to do a Skystang 1 project Myself, its strange that i already had a lot of the parts before seeing your project ,Thanks For a Great Channel .
Could you do more history videos on Kurt’s guitars?
I've been debating these few months on getting a sky or an oranj, the skystang is definitely more iconic but i just really love the look of the oranj.
Can’t go wrong with either! I personally prefer skystang 🤩
Amazing video!!! Congratulations. One question, for the volume pot do you use 250k or 500k?. Thank you!!!!
Looks good
Thanks!
my dream is to get one of those guitars...
Excellent video and your guitar look amazing! I am building my own too. Lomic refered me to reptile guards to have that litle yellow v shape between the pickups on my pickguard.
But are you shure the nashville gotho tun-o-matic bridge is nickel finish like the one you put on your ebay page? I tought it was chrome.
Thank you!
Who else came back to this vid after his recent community post?
My first history video! The one that kicked off the whole series 🥹
that John dude was in The Exploited
Man spitting nothing but facts in this vid
I’ve been to mopop and saw that guitar, it’s unreal to think that Kurt even touched it because it doesn’t have any scratches on it 😂
Luv it
Thanks!
You should do a build video series and make it the sunburst Stratocaster he used at the reading festival
I love that idea! I've been really wanting to have a Strat with hot rails, that'd be a great one to do
Ur so underrated
🥹🙏🏻
I love Cobain Song..And I Like This Chanel, Nirana Great✨🎶🎸🎶.Thanks..
my fav guitar of all time is either vandalism strat or the competition mustang
could you do a vid like this on his jaguar, i adore that guitar
Hi bro, nice channel. I’m a nirvana fan. I’m planning to buy the Squier Sonic mustang, but still debating between the red Torino and the California blue, which one would feel more like Kurt Cobain’s mustang?? Assuming I can change the pickguard and all pickups as I already have a SD Jb,hot rails and do marzio SD100.
Which one between the 2 sonic mustangs would you advise me to go for? Anyways I’m gonna change the stock pups.
Thanks bro.
Awesome video, I have one question however. What is that yellow stain on the pick guard as seen on 7:46? (in between the pickups) I always wondered, is it just a scratch? Thanks
My favourite will always be the roseland mustang
skystang 1 or the vandalism strat are my favorite of Kurts guitars
is the Skystang still on display? id love to see it in person some day...
I paid I think 500.00 out the door for a Sonic Blue one when it was new. Music store couldn't get rid of them. Wish I still had it.
Hi got an original 1964 mustang in that green blue color In hard shell case from an estate sale in the late 90s. It’s not perfect condition but it’s pretty nice . I dont know much about guitars I was told it’s a “pre cbs” guitar , I bought it bc I’m a huge nirvana fan . I paid around $650 for it do you think it’s worth anything?
Yoo thanks for makin a vid about me
I would say if the throw caused enough damage that the pick guard would have to come off it's likely the tech decided to mount the humbucker properly
Seen them at guitar center but haven't played one yet.
Stupid question... but what size dowels did you put into the post holes when installing the tune-o-matic?
hey man just wondering if you have any clue how to adjust the height for the body mounted bridge JB. its wayyy too hot so i cant get balanced volumes switching between my neck single coil and then when i jump to the JB. is it adjustable since its mounted to the body??? or would i have to mod it to be mounted to the pickguard? its a 2012 left handed cobain mustang model in fiesta red. so its the oranj stang in its final form kinda. except fender used their own like version of a TOM? that screws directly into the body and doesnt have thimbles so its influenced by Cobain's but definitely not 100% on. im lucky i actually picked it up this year for 1200, so i avoided the crazyyyy inflation/scalping going on with em haha. i got a jagstang in the aonic blue and white pearloid combo too which was the only color he was ever known to have had in his lifetime. i do love that guitar. but i gotta make some mods. and same thing with the fiesta red cobain signature mustang. fretboard radius is 7.25 but the fender adjust o matix or whatever theyre knock off TOM was left radiused at 9.5..... that should be a pretty easy fix. but yeah im hoping since you seem to know a lot about cobains axes if you know hiw to balance the volume between the two pups? i already raised the neck single coil as far as it can go without causing the strings to make contact. so im hoping theres a way to adjust the JB's height or at least volume somehow. hope you can shed some light on the sitch. i havent popped off the pickguard yet. and im gonna research adjusting body mounted JBs, cause so far ive only specifically kept asking how to adjust the seymour duncan JB bridge humbucker on the cobain signature mustang and keep coming up empty. fingers crossed. great video man!!! and i knew that some of the older jagstangs looked more like seafoam green than sonic blue and you even answered that burning question. i was kinda pissed that the recent MIM jagstang was such like a pale sorta sonic blue. but that is the color kurts jagstang ended up being. but i def like the surfy vibes of the finish of the skystang and its sick you got yours to sync up. im actually considering one day refinishing thw fiesta red in a deeper maroon hue, mahbe even burgundy. but just kinda want that maroon hue since its not common. and maybe one day ill get a lefty kurt jaguar too and mod the frig out of it. hopefully fender releases some new Lefty runa. cause the short scale community is really suffering. only things available are cobain signature jagstangs or jaguars. im ambidextrous so i have a lot of axes. lefties and righties. lots of projects for rainy days. but yeahh really hope you have an answer about adjusting the JB lol =]
i think the strings he used is an interesting topic, all the equipment articles say ghs boomers but kurt is quoted in an old interview saying he used dean markley since they were the cheapest. a lot of people think the specific set that dean markley says he used isn't made anymore but it's actually been renamed to the signature series with new packaging
I believed ghs boomers for a long time cause of all the info I found said so. All my stangs, jaguars have the signature series now and sounds way better
@@saltybastardgaming5603 yea i love the sound of the markleys, sadly my local shop doesn't have them so i have to settle for earnie ball most of the time
Same, I started ordering mine off Amazon cause our local shops have no real variety anymore.
There is a lot of up in the air info regarding his strings. As far as I know at this point, he used Dean Markely in the Nevermind era and prior, and used GHS Boomers on the In Utero tour
@@NirvanaGuitars yea strings are deff the most vague part of his setup. i've tried both and they sound really similar but the markleys feel smoother to play in my opinion
How often do the red mustangs with the red pickguard show up on the second hand market? Don’t think I’ve seen one for sale that’s not the rose land ballroom one tbh
I'm going to make an assumption about the pickup being changed to pickup mounted. From the throw, what might have happened was the pickup screws got stripped out from the impact, as it looks like the guitar lands string-side down. Cobain's tech might have just decided to pickguard mounted instead of filling and re-drilling the holes. Either that, or due to Mustangs being so thin, the back of the guitar may have actually broken, meaning that wood needed to be replaced. I'm not sure about either though. Also I would assume that the pickup cover being worn down was due to picking, even though I didn't think Kurt picked in that area. Or the pickup cover was damaged from another bout of random violence and Ernie decided to file it smooth to prevent Kurt's hand from getting caught on it
Hello been watching for about a month could you do a unplugged concert guitar tone even if it’s on the electric guitar I would really like to get the settings
The damage to the JB is most likely from Kurt's strumming. Given how often it was used on the In Utero tour, strumming like he did would shave down the bobbins on the pickups. I can attest to this, as I have a few guitars with some shaved pickup covers from how I strum, so I can imagine the bobbins could be shaved down too
Did you have to file slots down on the bridge or were they fine as is?
Hi
I have a question for you
Did you put something under your neck?
I'm also doing a skystang and from my mustang I already have a tune o matic bridge installed but the strings are too high above the neck and the bridge is right next to the vibrato
Do you know how to help me?