Veteran recording engineer Steve Albini has approved an auction via Reverb of three microphones used in the recording process of Nirvana's final studio album, In Utero.
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Albini is the owner of Electrical Audio, the famous Chicago recording studio where In Utero was recorded, and where he's recorded countless records over the years with an impressive list of indie artists such as PJ Harvey, Pixies and Neurosis. He is known for his ability to masterfully capture a band's true sound in a room, as well as his DIY ethos and strong opinions on analog recording and the music industry in general.
Recently, Albini picked up a copy of 20th Anniversary reissue of In Utero, and noticed a photograph taken during the sessions where microphones used to record Kurt Cobain's voice and Dave Grohl's drums were identifiable. He pulled the mics from his locker and immediately called Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic, the two surviving members of Nirvana, when he realized the microphones had significance and value.
"They stopped being microphones and now they're artifacts," said Albini. "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."
The three microphones will be sold in two separate auctions, the first for the Electro-Voice PL20 that Cobain sang into on In Utero. The other auction is for the pair of Lomo 19A9s that were used as stereo overheads to record Grohl's widely revered drum sounds on the album. One of the two 19A9s was used also used on Cobain's vocals.
The auction is set to run from Sept. 21 through Sept. 30 on Reverb, a Chicago-based online marketplace for musicians and studio engineers.
