“I don’t believe he had any idea how rare it was before he bought it”: Kurt Cobain's $6m MTV Unplugged Martin was a historic guitar even before its Nirvana association, but a mod inspired by one of his guitar heroes made it one of a kind

Kurt Cobain performs onstage with Nirvana at Sony Studios in New York City on November 18, 1993.

In 2020, the guitar universe was left slack-jawed by the blockbuster sale of the Martin D-18E Kurt Cobain used for Nirvana's seminal MTV Unplugged set. Headlining a Julien's Auctions lot, the guitar fetched an incredible $6,010,000, making it by far the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction.

One of just over 300 of its kind produced, the Martin D-18E in question was a rare guitar in anyone's hands, but its association with the haunting apex of Nirvana's final chapter gave it legendary status in guitar lore, even before its record-shattering sale.