This week’s edition of Find of the Week comes to you from the master himself, Mr. Steve Albini. If you’re unfamiliar with the work this guy has helped put out, first of all, what the hell? Secondly, he’s produced countless classic records in his time from bands like Foxy Shazam, Cheap Trick, and perhaps most noteably, Nirvana. Now in partnership with the good people at Reverb.com, Steve has decided to auction off three microphones that were used on Nirvana’s final record, In Utero.
The mics being sold are a stereo pair of Lomo 19A9 tube condensers and an Electro-Voice PL20. The pair of 19A9s were were used to record overheads on Dave Grohl’s drum kit, while the PL20 and one of the 19A9s were used on Kurt Cobain’s vocals. If you’re familiar with any of these microphones, you’re probably aware of just how great they are, and these ones in particular have a special historical value because of the incredibly influential record they were used on.
On selling the mics, Steve Albini had this to say.
“They stopped being microphones and now they’re artifacts. 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.”
If you’re a diehard Nirvana fan and need to have these mics in your life, be sure to check Reverb.com when the auctions go live on September 21st, which happens to be the 24th anniversary of In Utero’s original release date. The auctions will end on September 30th, and the starting prices will be based on the current market prices for the specific mics.
