KURT COBAIN'S 1959 MARTIN D-18E PLAYED ON NIRVANA'S HISTORIC "MTV UNPLUGGED" PERFORMANCE

Kurt Cobain's 1959 Martin D-18E, played with Nirvana in their historic "MTV Unplugged" performance.
Not since John Lennon and The Beatles had a songwriter and his band so completely personified the musical and cultural zeitgeist of an era.
Kurt Cobain and Nirvana gave voice to the social and political angst of a disaffected cohort rising from the shadow of 1980s orthodoxy. Nirvana and their unique music were unlike anything that had come before them. With the release of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," popular music was set on a completely different trajectory. Much as the Beatles had some 28 years earlier, Nirvana simultaneously changed the musical landscape of Rock ‘N’ Roll and became the voice of their own generation with the 1991 release of their second studio album, Nevermind.
Nirvana’s emotionally raw, unvarnished, and unflinchingly iconoclastic sound and style resurrected Rock ‘N’ Roll and altered the course rock music forever. In the process, Cobain became the reluctant spokesman for a generation in open rebellion against a music industry that had lost its way. In an inescapable irony, Kurt Cobain’s success would go on to be measured by the over 75 million Nirvana records sold, their industry awards and accolades, and their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2014. By any metric, Nirvana ranks as one of the best-selling and most influential bands of all time.
Cobain’s mastery of this guitar along with Nirvana’s flawless acoustic and vocal performance propelled the MTV Unplugged in New York album to multi-platinum certification and it won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996.
Kurt Cobain’s approach to his MTV Unplugged performance seemed to be a break from all that came before it. Fundamentally, it was all about Cobain; and without compromise. Nothing about the event - from the lighting and stage dressing, to the setlist, the sound, and Cobain’s choice of the Martin D-18E - none of these critical decisions were made to please either the audience or MTV itself. Cobain’s choices were all as personally significant as they were deliberate.
At its heart, Cobain’s MTV Unplugged performance was about taking control and being himself; memorializing what his music, his career, and his life were all about. It was not a mainstream performance, nor was it about pleasing the mainstream. The critical and commercial success of his MTV Unplugged performance was likely not even a distant concern to Cobain. Cobain’s purpose was to be seen and remembered for who he was and what he valued.
Twenty-six years later, Cobain’s MTV Unplugged performance remains the definitive self-portrait of a generation’s most transformative artist. Cobain’s Martin D-18E guitar survives as the most recognizable and important artifact, not only of Cobain’s MTV Unplugged performance, but of Cobain as an artist.
1959 Martin D-18E
Serial Number: 166854 (No. 7 of 302)
Body Style: Dreadnought
Wood Composition: Mahogany Back and Sides, Adirondack Spruce Top, One-Piece Mahogany Neck
Design Elements: Two DeArmond Pickups, Three Control Knobs, Pickup Selector Switch, Tortoiseshell Pickguard
MODIFICATIONS
Voltage Guitars recut the nut so it could be played by Cobain left-handed.
John Saba filled in the bridge and routed a new slot for the saddle.
Bartolini 3AV pickup added to the soundhole.
This was one of the first Martins to have electric pickups and marked Martin Guitars’ earliest foray into electric guitars.
ORIGINAL ACQUISITION
According to Cobain’s guitar technician, Earnie Bailey, Cobain bought the Martin D-18E at Voltage Guitars in Los Angeles.
GUITAR CASE
The guitar is accompanied by a vintage black hardshell case used by Cobain to carry his Martin D-18E guitar.
The neck of the guitar case was personalized by Cobain with a flyer for Portland Oregon based band, Poison Idea’s 1990 album Feel the Darkness. The flyer is duct taped to the case.
Nirvana and Poison Idea both played at the September 1992 “No on 9” benefit in Portland, Oregon.
The case also has two Alaska Airlines Fragile stickers; one attached to each side.
Included in the case compartment are: three Dunlop 60mm guitar picks, a partial set of Martin & Co. Phospher Bronze guitar strings, and a small black velvet pouch containing silvertone knife, fork, and spoon lapel pins each with pinbacks. Three baggage claim ticket stubs are affixed to the handle of the case.
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