Want to Buy Mics Used for Nirvana’s In Utero Album?
A couple of years ago, I was given a tour of Abbey Road. When we got to Studio 2, the place where the Beatles recorded virtually everything they did, there were a bunch of ancient microphones laid out for an upcoming session with a string quartet.
“See that one?” asked my guide, pointing to a vintage ribbon mic from the 1940s. “That was one of John Lennon’s favourite vocal mics. If you were to take it apart, you’d find his DNA in there somewhere.”
Coooooool.
Between February 12 and 26, 1993, Nirvana was in wintery Cannon Falls, Minnesota, to record the follow-up to Nevermind with Steve Albini at his Pachyderm Studios. The result, In Utero, was much rawer than Nevermind, which was exactly what Nirvana wanted but greater annoyed the record label. Now Albini is selling a couple of microphones used in those sessions, including two othat Kurt Cobain used to record the vocals for songs like “Heart-Shaped Box.”
To be specific, the sale includes an Electro-Voice PL20 and a Lomo 19A9, which were both used by Kurt. A second 19A9 was used as part of the overhead array for Dave Grohl’s drums.
Albini considers these mics to be artefacts and not gear that should still be used every day in the studio. He wants them to go to someone who will preserve them.
Damn, I want one. Sign up for an alert about the auction here. (Via Michael)
