You Can Buy Mics Used By Nirvana To Record 'In Utero,' Thanks To Steve Albini

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 15, 2017 8:30PM

Nirvana press photo from the 'Nevermind' era.

Lovably gruff indie-rock engineer (not producer) Steve Albini is decidedly not one for rock 'n' roll mythologizing, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he's willing to part with a few relics that have direct ties to the largest-looming rock band of the last 30 years.

The Chicago elder statesman is auctioning off three microphones that he used during the recording of Nirvana's landmark In Utero LP (1993), at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. He follows the similar path of Billy Corgan and Wilco, who auctioned off gear earlier this year, too.

"They stopped being microphones and now they’re artifacts," Albini said, via Reverb, who is hosting the auction. "I feel like I should 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." Also, Electrical Audio, Albini's famed Chicago studio, is more or less a microphone valhalla, so he can spare a few.

There will be two auctions, one for a stereo pair of Lomo 19A9 tube condensers, which were used to mic drummer Dave Grohl's kit, and one for an Electro-Voice PL20, which was used for Kurt Cobain's vocals. (One of the 19A9s was also used for some of Cobain's vox.)

Both auctions start on Sept. 21, which is the 24 anniversary of In Utero's original release, just in case you weren't already feeling super old. They end on Sept. 30. Starting prices "will reflect current market prices for these models," according to Relix.

The future belongs to the analog loyalists, as the fella says.