Kurt Cobain's Obscure Amp
Вставка
- Опубліковано 30 лип 2024
- In this video, I play through a rare amp setup Kurt Cobain once owned. Kurt used the Hiwatt LA412 during some Nevermind live shows, and the Randall Commander head for Bleach and In Utero.
It's very likely the Hiwatt LA412 was not used on In Utero, but I think it sounds great for the In Utero tone.
This video was a collaboration with my friend Aaron Rash. Check him out!
/ @aaronrash
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
0:27 The Guitar Choice
1:30 The Amp
2:22 Hiwatt LA412
3:19 Aaron's Hiwatt
5:47 Other Speaker Comparison
6:17 In Utero Tone Matching
7:25 PolyChorus Demo
8:16 Thanks for watching!
8:29 Outro Jam
ironic when kurt smashes the neck off his compstang and you say he didnt want to damage it. Great video and great tone.
If you watch the show you’ll see why he smashed it. The audio was terrible at that show and he was trying to smash the soundboard, not necessarily his mustang.
@@NerveSeesAss i already knew why he smashed it.
Its almost like he did that on purpose 😨😨😱😱😱
@@revengeof1307 relax getting all high strung over nothing
@@bearhogg im not getting high strung on anything ☠️ it was just a naive comment of you
This is the infamous amp shaped that unique tone on in utero, sounds fantastic.
Also production in your videos have definitely seen a improvement, very informative!
Love Aaron playing a Nada Surf's Popular inspired riff
I was looking for this comment, brilliant song
I picked up a Randall Commander head because I was chasing an 80s nirvana tone. Had no idea that it was so integral to the In Utero tones as well!
Gotta say I am SERIOUSLY impressed! 🙌🏼🤯🤘🏼
I was such a Nirvana nerd in high school that people called me Kurt, when he OD'd in Rome ppl were comforting me, and when he died not much later they were consoling me.
I played every song, even bootlegs which were hard as hell to get back then, and I consider myself an expert on Kurt's playing style.
And of all the amazing info in this video, the thing that impressed me the most is that YOU ACTUALLY HOLD KURT'S POWER CHORD THE RIGHT WAY!! 🙌🏼
I almost never see anyone flatten their ring finger to sandwich down 3 strings like Kurt did and it's ESSENTIAL for reproducing his sound and getting all the notes. So I was seriously impressed (and relieved 🤣) to actually see someone get it right for once.
Plus, when it comes to the tech side of his gear, you guys are way beyond my expertise, so seriously great job and thanks for the great video.
I hope more people will watch you guys and get some legit info about Kurt's playing, instead of the absolute 💩 so many people post.
🤘🏼💙🙏🏼🤘🏼
LOVE to watch your videos and the dedication you have to the tones and equipment
Great video, love nerding out over gear!
Very cool video, I love the sounds you get out of that setup!
At the beginning of the video, I thought I was listening to the record for a moment. You nailed the sound, man. I am wowed by how close that is.
Can't wait for your Ferrington Mustang vid, i keep checking your channel every other day for it, it's one of the most fascinating guitars in Cobains long line of interesting instruments. It was a great idea on your part, especially seeing as how that guitar was FAR more involved in the recording of In Utero than we all previously assumed, we know about the Skystangs, Orangstang, Jag Stang, 66' Jaguar, Compstang, but basically nothing about his Ferrington Mustang
love the tones you get in this vid!
I love chasing Kurt’s guitar sound. I love hearing other people’s chase too. But I always keep the idea in mind that every sound we hear is just a snapshot of that particular time. If we could go back in time, take Kurt’s set up into a different room, turn all the knobs to zero and set it all back up after that it would likely sound different. And if we got our hands on a rig that Kurt used right from his hands the difference in players would likely made a change in sound. That being said it’s a great sound to chase. I love the feedback he was able to strangle. Sometimes it seemed like he had it on command and sometimes it seemed like the feedback had the upper hand and he was just playing through that. I like both instances.
this is cool to me it looks like most people here either were babies or not born yet when Nirvana was changing the music world forever. a whole new generation of fans. just warms my fckin heart man
Speak for yourself I was 14 the first time I saw nirvana in concert
I was around when music changed forever a multitude of times before Nirvana.
@@kidkique I said most ppl here. where did you see them play
2:34 "If I had to guess, it's probably because he didn't want to ruin it" That comment brought a smile to my face. Miss you Kurt...
Holy fuck. That’s the tone. I thought that was an isolated track for reference till it cut to you playing it
Well done thank you for posting!
I had that head, back in the mid 90's.
My first head. Ran it through an Ampeg 4x12 with an actual real deal RAT distortion.
Fun times.
Thanks for the video. 🤙
amazing job on thos video
This is well done!
Excellent editing and sound design and very interesting content.
Thank you!
Great video!
woah, that sounds really close! i love it!
You play Kurt's riff perfect my friend. That amp has a nice flavor for sure! If you lived in southern Nevada I would say let's jam, Nirvana and the 90s and 60s rock is what got me into playing guitar. I also have a Univox phase 3 in perfect condition and a bunch of gear you'd likely dig.. anyway, cheers!
Thanks brother! I'm from Texas, quite a bit away. Those Univox Hi Fliers are great guitars, definitely a favorite of mine.
@@jq.guitars im from texas as well
Sad day for me.. I had to sell the Univox. 😔
it's not hard.
Im same way, Las Vegas, lots of gear. Lots working toward that time frame, as well as many that work everywhere else music wise.
Love the sounds your getting there, the outro jam reminds me of something off of Slint, Spider land.
One other factor not alot of people take into consideration is the huge effect mic choice, placement and what it's signal chain, channel strips eq and compression, do to the sound. great video thanks!
Good to know people still dig and remember him and the band, keep Rocking.
Yeah, it does get shoved down our throats a bit tho
@@SentiMental5414 it really did back in the 90's😊
@@iammine7325 it was always the same 2 songs for me, I don’t even think I need to say the names, but those were the only two I ever even heard up until I started listening to them myself. My favorites are about a girl and breed. I got a new amp for Christmas, and I want to have a “grungy” sound, which shouldn’t be too hard to do on a Laney amp.
great video dude!!!! Congrats!
nice video bro, youtube just recommended it for me, you got a new subscriber
Sounds pretty much perfect to my ears, I always though he stopped using the Randall after the Bleach era and got rid of it, but to find out he kept it and used it on In Utero is pretty cool to know. I've always been more fascinated by the quad reverb though, especially since Albini has confirmed that most of the tubes were broken in it, which contributed to the weirdly distorted clean sounds on some of In Utero. I've always loved how gnarly his guitar sound was on the record.
that Randall Amp is awesome.
Great video, thanks
That cab is the most important part of that chain.
Yup!😎
Cool vid!! 💚🎸
great video as always!
Thank you!
great video
Can’t believe he brought on Aaron, but of course who else but the speaker tone man
love the vid! know its a long shot cuz Its nearly been a year. but I have one of these bass heads and would love ur settings
Amazing video!
Thanks for watching!
I saw Kurt smash 3 compstangs but I didn’t know he had a special one he didn’t tour with. Nice to know
He only had one Compstang, the one he smashes against the soundboard. It was reportedly his favorite guitar. After it was repaired, he only used it for studio work. Kurt had many Mustangs, but only the one Competition Mustang.
Happy new year
What a brilliant Video
the poly chorus tone in RFUS sounds amazing! it's so accurate
Hiwatt rules. Nothing beats their sonic punch.
aaron always introduces himself gorgeously
The Rape Me Tone Is 100% Accurate. I Always Loved Your Videos!
i appreciate it!
@@jq.guitars thanks!
@@treylyde999 Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen
Astounding tone and video! You deserve a lot more subscribers!
great video, man i wish kurt were here singing some folk tunes live lol
Very interesting video. Basically as close as you can get to the original studio recording Rape Me. Also interesting outro song.
Lots of people don't really realize that the speakers in an Amp used are more important than the Amp itself when it comes to tone chasing, and so many musicians will use customized shit in the studio that they don't use live. luckily Kurt was pretty minimalist so I doubt there were any crazy customized items in his arsenal and he becomes the exception to the rule here. Sounds to me like you nailed it
Amen. That's why I keep so many speaker varieties in the studio. Even different years of the same speaker.
@@fredvahldiek738 yessir, every speaker is slightly unique and a quality one is necessary otherwise your Amp ain't shit. Was crazy to learn how much all the other stuff doesn't matter. Pickup brands, "tone woods", cables, brands, it's all pretty much bullshit that people fall for and waste money on
I realized that in 1980 the first time I changed the speakers in my car
nice video! by some weird chance i actually own this amp, although I never use it. maybe I’ll plug it in tomorrow and give it a spin.
Whoa. Awesome video. 🙏
Thank you!
I love how the tone sounds more and more clearer to listen, so soothing with headphones… I also hear a lot of bass from the amp, and nice job! It makes sense why he used a different amplifier when the Twin Reverb couldn’t make much sense, but it’s fine for the similarity.
You guys did fantastic on the tone...
I'm amazed...best video imo on UA-cam pertaining to Kurt's tone.
Thanks, that means a lot! Glad you enjoyed!
Randall heads are amazing i own one myself and tone chasing is a lifestyle :D
Yo I didn’t know that you and Aaron Rash were friends, I watch both of your videos 🤘
Well done bro
These popular amps years and years prior. Kurt was really an artist, more so than guitarist. He thought about every single thing that went into a sound and image. I doubt he sat around fantasizing about himself with like a blonde perm - Bon Jovi 1987 hair, playing some star-shaped guitar, wearing leopard print pants and leather boots! He was more interested in what garage punk bands were doing 1966, like the Count Five and Kinks. I was a bored guitar shredder who had just discovered proto-punk, like the NY Dolls when Nirvana came around. It just made sense. I honestly remember a friend hearing my band in 1989, and saying "why don;t you play a BC Rich with a Marshall anymore"? I had just gotten a 68 Fender Mustang, and had a nice, new pickup in it. I had a delay effect from Boss and and old tube amp. We sounded like a punk version of early Pink Floyd. Nirvana and STP, Lenny Kravitz, etc., all made sense to me. Combing influences from 30 plus years of psychedelic pop, Sabbath, Beatles, Punk into a blender. I also had fallen into a U2 and REM/College Rock scene, but I loved heavy fuzz, delay, etc. Alternative or Grunge was in the air. People were bored with "the next Eddie Van Halen" and his bleach blond singer approach. Van Halen was awesome when they came out, but the impersonators were too sanitized.
I used to play a Randall Titan 300 watt head into a Peavey Ms412 and it got really close to those early nirvana cleans. I hit it with a ds1 for the distortion tones and a early boss power driver for those nearly gated fuzz tones. I miss that old Randall.
If anything, the Hotrail sounds super hot and bright.
Anyway, you absolutely nailed it, and thanks for exposing such an obscure amp.
To me, the hotrail makes the lower strings sound too dark. Thanks for watching!
A lot of the sound will will come down to the microphone Steve Albini used on the amp during tracking. The Speaker and Microphone influence the sound in a HUIGE way and this might be the missing link you are looking for. Here is what Albini said about the microphones he uses TLDR like most engineers he uses 2 mics on an amp blended to taste. But here is his own words. For Electric Guitars Steve's Favorite microphones for amps are: Coles 4038, Royer 121, Neumann U67, Lomo 1909, SM7, SM57, Josephson E22p, various other condenser microphones.
Favourite preamps: Ampex 351, John Hardy M2, Neve 3115, B002, Massenburg 8400.
"Normally I'll have two microphones on each cabinet, a dark mic and a bright mic, say a ribbon microphone and a condenser, or two different condensers with different characters. The idea is that you can adjust the balance until it sounds pretty much the way it does in the playing room. I point them straight to the middle of the speaker cone, the same distance away from the speakers, about 10 to 12 inches. If it's a loud amplifier you don't want the microphone too close. If it's a clean, round sound, or a very bright sound, then I might use a vocal microphone.
"For very distorted but very bright guitars I'll use a brighter mic preamp like the Ampex, but for heavier sounds or sounds with a very important bass content, I'll use the John Hardy, a Neve, or the Massenburg. I don't normally process the guitar while recording. If it doesn't sound right, I'll fix it by swapping or moving microphones, and then it goes straight to tape. I'll talk to the guitar player and ask him whether he's happy with the way his guitar sounds. If he's happy then I don't want to touch it. When I'm working on 16 tracks I'll submix the two guitar microphones before going to tape. With 24-track, I try to leave them separate."
My guess is the SM7 and the Royer 121 or the coles, a budget mic that sounds like the Royer and coles is the ART AR5 active Ribbon mic.and if you look up the shure SM57 mod to pull the transformer out of the mic you will find that it sound like an shure SM7. So that might be the reason you are not exactly sounding the same. To me you sound very close but its the mic selection that makes one of the biggest differences in recording guitars. I have worked on major label records and indie records for over 25 years and I think all you lack is the right microphones. Cheers!!
Cool video, man, you remind me of Aaron rash.
Good job.
Those cabs are really cool. Would be nice if you guys made some impulse responses of them with the different speakers you have available. I don't have to tell you how tedious it is to track down exact examples of esoteric speakers.
dude we need a cover with that pickup
the jam is rea; dope
I had a Commander 1 combo I picked up during COVID shutdowns. Its a great clean solid state. Sold because I had way too many amps
ALL MAKES SENSE!!!!! SOUNDS GREAT!!!!!!!
Randall!!
nice!
Cool.... I have the same RB-120 but in a 15inch combo cab. Along with a 2 15inch cab. Later I got an RG 60 C combo. Both I bought new. RB-120 IN 78...The RG sometime in the early 80's. Both Rock'n still!
Hey man new subscriber here. I too love the rape me tone if I had to pick one tone that best represents Nirvana tone to me it’s rape me. Nice playing by the way. The outro you played reminded me of something that could have been on Brand New’s Daisy album.
I have missed out on a few of these on the marketplace over the last few years. I think thr commander is a hidden weapon for nirvana tone
Very cool to see someone rocking a toronado
These Bartolini pickups starting to get talked about in our circles are amazing
not only the pick up but also the bridge seems to be similar to the custom stang kurt used
That is true also
Also I think in 1990 he was using the Randall or a Sunn Amp with a Plastic Dod compressor pedals on top of it
He used both, the Sunn Beta and the Randall through 1989 and 1990
amazing video!!
Amazing content and the guitar tone is juste perfect !!
My nerd question is, how can you succeed to get this clean/dirty tone? there is no gain knob ...
does the RB-120 breakup really early?
Your tone is a real jewel and those amps and cabs are not available in europe , I'm looking for them but without any success ...
HAppy new year from BELGIUM !!!!
Thank you! The Randall Commander breaks up very easily, It starts breaking up passed 1 on the +6db jack. The volume knob acts as a gain knob, and the master volume acts as the volume. The Randall Commander with volume at 10 sounds like a distortion pedal.
Thanks for watch!
Great video bro🔥🔥🔥 regarding the quad, I’m guessing it was used in heart shaped box?
This stuff just makes you play cool stuff ;) It's haunted. Plug it in for a couple of hours and record an album. I will buy it ;)
That was interesting I`m glad I caught it I like to listen to Nirvana lyrics played in reverse I feel more like I am being addressed by the words when they come out backwards.
I think the demo version of the song actually has a very interesting tone I wish I could replicate
i played thru a head like that....massive beast
Get the Neutral DSP Quad Cortex, then can capture all those sounds!
Hey man, so I found those post bushings for the Gibraltar bridge. They were actually not that hard to find. The thread pitch of the original studs/posts that came with the bridge is 6mm x 32 on the bottom. The length im unsure of at the moment. I was able to go to my local hardware store and get them. Brass threaded inserts is whatthey were called. I think they'll work out just fine. I just wanted to relay the info to you in case you wanted to change yours at some point.
Thanks for the info, I think I'll keep mine as is. I don't want to do any irreversible mods to mine. The method I use already works perfectly and is fully adjustable
that riff from Aaron goes so fucking hard
Nada Surf - Popular is the song
You spot on son !
gotta love that dissonant broken sound
In 1992 I played a gig in Louisville, KY at a bar called Uncle Pleasant's. The band opening was lead by a guy playing the strangest guitar rig I'd ever seen that consisted of the RG version of this head and some kind of PA cabinet that had a huge horn in it. The whole act was so strange that I don't recall what they sounded like as much as wondering how such a concoction ever comes together in the first place. I never knew the specific model until seeing this video but I do remember the vibrato sound was a big part of the guitar player's tone. In my memory, the head was wider than the enormous cabinet but I might be confusing it with a Coliseum bass head that had rather expansive footprint.
Hahahaha wow, that sounds ridiculous
Randall is awesome I stopped more for Randall than Cobain. Seen a pic of him with a combo too
Earnie also sent a 70's MIJ Ibanez Les Paul Custom to the sessions
Great video! Can you make nirvana live Kennel club please.
8:05 I think in the CD sleeve of In Utero there is a specification of Kurt's amp setting.
... or maybe it is in Nevermind ....
"i really like them,
the front comes off
and you got the speakers inside, which is super duper cool
these are really unique cabinets"
brilliant
I think he used a aluminium guitar (or at least the neck was) for all clean tones on In Utero
Can you do a full poly chorus/echo flanger demo? Great vid btw
already planning on it!
thinking about a randall commander for my jm tbh great amp head
definitely a favorite of mine. thanks for watching!
Yeah... that speaker thing is gonna be the most important part.
Hey dude! Awesome video! I noticed you had the polychorus set to filter matrix and the echoflanger set to chorus mode yet they sounded almost identical. Is there any reason for this that you know of? Considering they both have the same circuit I thought both would be set to chorus?
The polychorus was actually set to chorus mode, I just used the wrong footage. I used filter matrix for Pennyroyal Tea's distortion
you got it right
I'm pretty sure hotrails can be split. They are humbuckers in a smaller footprint right? I wonder if he did that to get the chime rather than the thick full on hotrail? Good vid man.
Hotrails can split, but his 1969 Mustang wasn't documented to have that as an option
I notice these amps (the RG or the RB) in some recording studios videos with Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, the Beatles. I'm not sure if it was in Atlantic records studios or another one.
Nevermind, it seems it was a studio workhorse.
Oddly enough Sound City Studio where “Nevermind” was record was a Hiwatt assembly location in the 1960s.
You probably already had the tone nailed that he had. But the recording studio makes changes while recording. I stopped chasing people's actual tone I hear on the recording.
Very true, so many variables go into studio recordings that it really is pointless trying to do it with out tweaking in post. This fella did do very well here though i have to say.
@@dunxy True they should just be chasing the live sound, the studio tone is layered in a way you can't create.
sound track instrumentals are great