Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ Microphones Being Auctioned By Reverb Are Further Affirmation That Used Gear Have Immense Historical Significance
by Ian Linde, Collectionzz Co-Founder
They are irreplacable. You can’t get another 19a9 [microphone] that Kurt Cobain sang into and is historically important. You cant — there just isnt. They are irreplaceable.
When Reverb and Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins offered close to 150 unique items from Billy’s personal collection, we touched upon an area of the music memorabilia market that we are extremely passionate about; artists’ personally “owned” or “used” equipment.
There is amazing depth to these items, as they were an essential part of the musician’s creative process or the fabric of their artistry — especially when the provenance is strong. These items are usually sold by dealers or collectors for many multiples of what the underlying instrument itself is “worth” (a $1,000 guitar selling for $10,000 etc), as the “artistic” value greatly trumps the “asset” value.
Our friends at Reverb have a real knack at getting these items out of the hands of the artists or those in the industry, and into the hands of collectors. Of course, Collectionzz is the place where those items live on forever in the virtual home of our members’ collections!
Reverb is auctioning off three microphones owned by Steve Albini (‘In Utero’s’ producer and engineer) that were used in the recording of Nirvana’s final studio album ‘In Utero’:
“Since that photograph came out, these microphones have become historical artifacts” — Steve Albini
When ‘In Utero’ was re-released, an image by Bob Watson was included as part of the reissue showing three microphones next to the hand written lyrics to “Rape Me.” Once the photograph came out, Steve Albini realized that these microphones instantly went from simply being audio recording tools to extremely important musical artifacts that should be in the hands of collectors. Using the photograph, he was able to distinguish the microphones from the others in his collection, using such things as the bars in the grill, spots of oxidation from saliva, wire baskets, knobs and switches. There is no greater authority on the pieces used in the recording studio.
The first microphone in the photograph (going left to right) is the Electro-Voice PL20 Microphone pictured above. This specific microphone was used by Albini during the tracking sessions for Nirvana’s In Utero as one of three vocal microphones for Kurt Cobain’s vocal tracks. It also happens to be one of the first professional microphones purchased by Steve Albini, and part of the original package he bought when recording A-tracks. Then, many years later, one of the most iconic figures of a generation sang into it, using it for the band’s last studio album.
The second and third microphones are a pair of Lomo 19a9 Tube Condenser microphones. This pair in tandem were used as overhead microphones on Dave Grohl’s drum kit, and one was used as a vocal microphone for Kurt Cobain’s vocal tracks.
In my experience, in order for microphones to maximize their collectible & artistic value, the provenance has to be immpecable. I have seen several “great” similar pieces go to auction or become offered for sale, but I personally never felt front-footed as a buyer, and always had questions as to it being 100% “the” actual microphone. They don’t often have the same recognition factors as a guitar, for example. These particular pieces have the luxury of strong photographic support, and a very strong expert opinion behind it, who was intricately involved in that actual “moment.” That’s rare.
We will be watching these pieces as additional “data” for us on the artist “owned” and “used” arena. This post-90’s era of collecting is getting more and more legs, and striking the right chord with the right audience.
You know how we feel about it, and we will continue to convey it through much of what we do and offer through Collectionzz and The Reserve.
