Three microphones that were used to record Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero’ album are now up for auction.
The equipment was used at Pachyderm Studios in 1993 and band’s producer Steve Albini started the auction today, on the album’s 24th anniversary.
“These microphones were brought with me and used on the Nirvana ‘In Utero’ record and they were immortalised in a photograph that appeared in a (20th) anniversary reissue of the album,’ he says in the below video.
“Since that photograph came out, these microphones have become historical artefacts. As soon as I was aware that these things have become important and significant and valuable, I had to take them out of circulation in the studio.”
“I contacted the surviving members of Nirvana – Dave Grohl, who was with Pat Smear when I contacted him, and Krist Novoselic,” he continues, going on to describe how he asked them if they had a repository for memorabilia associated with Nirvana.
“Both of them instantly said, ‘Well you should sell them.’
“I feel like I should sell them and get them into the hands of somebody who would take care of them, and not put them at risk in the hectic environment of a recording studio.”
The auction is split into two lots – one is for a stereo pair of Lomo 19A9 tube condensers and the other is for an Electro-Voice PL20.
According to Reverb: ‘the 19A9s were were used as overheads on Dave Grohl’s drum kit, while the PL20 and one of the 19A9s were used to record Kurt Cobain’s vocals’.
You can bid for the mics here. Auctions end on September 30.