The sale will be made in two separate auctions – the first is for a stereo pair of Lomo 19A9 tube condensers, which were used as overheads on Dave Grohl’s drum kit, and one of which was also used to record Kurt Cobain’s vocals. The second sale will be for an Electro-Voice PL20, which was also used for Cobain’s vocals.
Albini realised the significance of the items upon seeing a photograph of the studio sessions included in the 20th anniversary reissue of In Utero. Consequently he then offered them as a gift to the three remaining members of the band, who all refused them.
“They stopped being microphones and now they’re artifacts,” Albini said in the below video for Reverb. “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.”
Both auctions will begin on Friday September 21, which is the 24th anniversary of In Utero’s original release — and end on Saturday September 30 with more information available via Reverb.com.
