Kurt Cobain's Hagstrom Deluxe up for charity auction

Nirvana tech Earnie Bailey with Kurt's Hagstrom Deluxe

Nirvana tech Earnie Bailey with Kurt's Hagstrom Deluxe

Over 20 years since the Nirvana's frontman's death, another of Kurt Cobain's guitars is set to go under the hammer, this time, a Hagstrom Blue Sparkle Deluxe.

Set to appear on eBay as a charity auction, the Hagstrom was owned by Kurt from late 1992 until his death in April 1994, after which Courtney Love gave the guitar to a close friend - a member of another Seattle grunge band, apparently - before it ended up in the hands of Portland-based collector, Nathan Fasold.

The guitar has been authenticated by Nirvana tech Earnie Bailey, who hand-delivered the Hagstrom to Cobain in Seattle in 1992 and converted the guitar to a left-handed orientation.

Vintage guitar expert George Gruhn has identified the model as a 1958-1960 Hagstrom Deluxe Model 90.

The guitar goes up for auction on eBay tomorrow and runs for 10 days, ending on 26 February. Proceeds will go to Transition Projects, a Portland-based nonprofit that helps more than 10,000 people every year transition from homelessness to housing.

This isn't the first Cobain guitar to go under the hammer in the past year; other recent auctions include a Fender Stratocaster, played on the final Nirvana tour, as well as a smashed 1989 Univox.

For a closer look at Kurt's gear, check out our guide to his key guitars in Nirvana.

Michael Astley-Brown

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.

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