Two Mustangs @ Hard Rock - NOT KURTS

Two Lake Placid Blue (LPB) Competition Mustangs

Melbourne, Australia - Hard Rock Cafe

Oslo, Norway - Hard Rock Cafe

These are not the more well-known Smells Like Teen Spirit (SLTS) video Mustang but sure look similar. Furthermore the Oslo HR Mustang is right handed and autographed. Kurt was left handed and did not autograph his own guitars (at least not with his own name).

Perhaps these were fan submitted guitars or another Courtney Love - Hard Rock transaction.

Earnie Bailey, the most qualified expert on Nirvana's gear, has confirmed that neither of these guitars were ever played or owned by Kurt.

Kurt's REAL SLTS Competition Mustang is owned by a private owner and it is currently on loan to the Seattle Experience Music Project. My guess is that it's owned by a friend of the Cobain family (Mark Arm, King Buzzo, someone like that).

From kurtsequipment.com;

"The Australian Hard Rock Cafe claims they have this guitar, but Earnie Bailey says he saw a photo of the guitar they had and it was right-handed. "The photo said that it had come from Courtney. Either she or Eric had a right-handed one exactly like Kurt's, I'm not sure whose it was, but this is mostly likely that guitar." He goes on to say, "The Hard Rock Cafe does not own Kurt's competition blue Mustang. I recently worked on the real one and its present owner allowed me to photograph it in detail. Courtney gave it to him a month after Kurt's death, and it is eaxctly as I remember it, ever nick, ding, and solder joint".

I'd really like to get a copy of the photographs Earnie is talking about!

- UPDATE - GOT EM!!

I'm working on a post regarding Courtney Love's transactions with the Hard Rock. It appears that she sold the Hard Rock curators a boat load of guitars and possessions of both Hole and Nirvana. Some legit and some not. Any leads appreciated. Thanks !

Special thanks to Mike J for the Melbourne HR photo above.

Epiphone ET270

There is an Epiphone ET270 on display at a Hard Rock.

It probably wasn't Kurt's but it does have have his autograph on the body. Kurt used an ET270 in the Sub Pop era In Bloom video and on the recording of Bleach. Also used for shows in the 1989 and 1990.

Update:

Kurt smashed his ET-270 at the Pyramid Club in New York.

Photographs depicting the event can be found here.

Thanks you Brian from livenirvana.com for the clarification.

Source

http://www.kurtsequipment.com/

No Name Guitar and Mustang

Guitar #1 - No name

Apparently the Hard Rock Cafe found it "appropriate" to alter Kurt's writing on one of his guitars. Rather disturbing that they would do that. Regardless out of the two on display here, this one is the most likely to have belonged to Kurt. Besides Kurt's graffiti on the guitar, the modifications done on the guitar are typically of Cobain's. The tremolo was replaced with a fixed bridge, and the arrangement of the strings has been flipped to accommodate a left handed player.

From article;

"Cobain in the wake of the Gulf War had written out an obscenity on the guitar: "Fuck Our Troops." Any Nirvana fan familiar with Cobain's journals, his music, and the culture he came out of would not be surprised by what he wrote. But obviously with a nation at war this is not an appropriate way to greet guests at a casino. And the Hard Rock rulers are business guys more than music fans. The guitar now reads "Our Troops" with the offending word permanently removed."

Guitar #2 right handed Fender Competition Mustang

I've never seen any photos of Kurt playing this. Perhaps this is another Courtney Love - Hard Rock scam (see post about Jazzmaster @ HR) It could also simply be on display not as one of Kurt's guitars, but an autographed guitar. The guitar is signed by all members of the band and it has a Nirvana backstage pass adhered to the body.

Anyone have any photographs of Kurt playing either of these guitars?

Full article here.

Video clip of the guitar on display in Las Vegas here.

Known locations of display; Las Vegas (1990s) and Seattle (2000s).