Love at First Stang

Fender Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang

- By Chris Gill

SOMETIME IN 1993, Fender approached Kurt Cobain about collabo rating on the design of a guitar. Cobain was amused but also flattered by the proposal, and he quickly conceived and sketched a new design that combined features of his favorite guitars: a modified 1965 Fender Jaguar and a 1969 Fender Competition Mustang. The Nirvana guitarist called his creation the Jag-Stang. Fender delivered the first Jag-Stang prototype to Cobain in early 1994, and the guitarist used it for a handful of shows that year before he took his own life on April 5, 1994.

Fender produced the Jag-Stang from 1995 through 2005 when it was discontinued, but Fender recently revived the model in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s breakthrough Nevermind album. The new version differs just slightly from the original run, but it still offers players seeking Cobain’s iconoclastic brand of musical rebellion a tonal palette that stands apart from the crowd.

FEATURES