Reverb has announced that legendary producer Steve Albini is opening his first Official Reverb Shop with the microphones used on Nirvana’s final studio album.
The sale will include two separate auctions: one for a stereo pair of Lomo 19A9 tube condensers and one for an Electro-Voice PL20.
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.
As recounted in the video above, Albini first recognized the significance of these microphones after seeing a photo taken by Bob Weston included in the 20th anniversary reissue of In Utero that showed the PL20 and one of the 19A9s along with a Sennheiser 421 next to Kurt’s music stand holding the lyric sheet for “Rape Me.”
Electrical Audio is well known for its robust microphone collection, but from Albini’s perspective, the historical significance of these pieces makes them a liability in a professional studio setting.
“They stopped being microphones and now they’re artifacts,” Albini said. “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.”
Reverb will launch both auctions on September 21st, the 24th anniversary of In Utero’s original release. They will end on September 30th.
The starting prices on both auctions will reflect current market prices for these models.
More information: Reverb.com
