Top 5Seen using
c
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Courtney Love. Every item links to its public source.
16 items · Last checked What guitar does Courtney Love play?
Courtney Love has been seen using a Surf Green Fender Custom Shop Venus, her signature Squier Vista Venus, a vintage green Mercury, a Fender Jazzmaster and a Gretsch Chet Atkins. For drive she has said she used an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff and Kurt Cobain's 1976 Randall Commander, plus a Boss DS-1.
Top 5
Where to start with Courtney Love's gear.
01
02
Top 5Seen using
BOSS
DS-1 DistortionSeen in MusicRadar: How Courtney Love created the grunge classic Violet, December 2025
03
Seen in Guitar World: Courtney Love's Masterbuilt Surf Green Fender Venus goes up for sale, October 2022
No store page for this one.
04
Squier
Vista Venus signature model
Top 5SponsoredSeen using
“I didn't want it all teched out. I wanted it real simple, with just one pickup switch.”
Seen in Guitar World: Courtney Love refused to turn Celebrity Skin into a grieving widow's memoir, but she paid tribute with the gear she played, July 2026
No store page for this one.
05
Mercury
Mercury (vintage green, Violet video)
Top 5Seen using
Seen in MusicRadar: How Courtney Love created the grunge classic Violet, December 2025
No store page for this one.
What guitars Courtney Love uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Guitars
Seen in Guitar World: Courtney Love's Masterbuilt Surf Green Fender Venus goes up for sale, October 2022
No store page for this one.
Squier
Vista Venus signature model
SponsoredSeen using
“I didn't want it all teched out. I wanted it real simple, with just one pickup switch.”
Seen in Guitar World: Courtney Love refused to turn Celebrity Skin into a grieving widow's memoir, but she paid tribute with the gear she played, July 2026
No store page for this one.
Seen in MusicRadar: How Courtney Love created the grunge classic Violet, December 2025
No store page for this one.
Seen using
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker electric guitars (early Hole years)
Has said they use
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker electric guitars (early Hole years)“I was really into Rickenbackers when I was starting out, because of the 3/4 neck, but I don't play them as much anymore.”
Said in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: Courtney Love of Hole, March 2025
No store page for this one.
“Kurt would always say, 'I'm gonna get a Chet Atkins.' But he never did.”
Seen in Guitar World: Courtney Love refused to turn Celebrity Skin into a grieving widow's memoir, but she paid tribute with the gear she played, July 2026
No store page for this one.
Gibson
Melody Maker (1958, stolen in Liverpool)
Has said they use
“I actually had a guitar stolen and that sucked. It was a 1958 [Gibson] Melody Maker that I would love to have back.”
Said in Guitar World: Courtney Love has been taking guitar lessons and writing new material over lockdown, November 2020
No store page for this one.
Pedals
Electro-Harmonix
Big Muff Pi fuzz
Has said they use
Electro-Harmonix
Big Muff Pi fuzz“I contend that I was the first person to actually have a Super Fuzz Big Muff, before the rest of the boys.”
Said in MusicRadar: How Courtney Love created the grunge classic Violet, December 2025
Seen using
BOSS
DS-1 DistortionSeen in MusicRadar: How Courtney Love created the grunge classic Violet, December 2025
Amps
Randall
Commander (1976 solid-state head, formerly Kurt Cobain's)
Has said they use
“He did like his Randall Commander.”
Said in Guitar World: Courtney Love refused to turn Celebrity Skin into a grieving widow's memoir, but she paid tribute with the gear she played, July 2026
No store page for this one.
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: Courtney Love of Hole, March 2025
No store page for this one.
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: Courtney Love of Hole, March 2025
No store page for this one.
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: Courtney Love of Hole, March 2025
No store page for this one.
Matchless
Amp (Celebrity Skin sessions)
Seen using
Matchless
Amp (Celebrity Skin sessions)Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: Courtney Love of Hole, March 2025
No store page for this one.
Ampeg
Amp (Celebrity Skin sessions)
Seen using
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: Courtney Love of Hole, March 2025
No store page for this one.
Silvertone
Amp (Celebrity Skin sessions)
Seen using
Silvertone
Amp (Celebrity Skin sessions)Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: Courtney Love of Hole, March 2025
No store page for this one.
Questions
About Courtney Love's gear.
What guitar does Courtney Love play?
She has been seen playing a 1994 Fender Custom Shop Venus prototype in Surf Green, her signature Squier Vista Venus, a vintage green Mercury in the Violet video, a Fender Jazzmaster and Rickenbacker guitars early on.
What is the Fender Venus?
A single-pickup Custom Shop guitar built for Love in 1994 with Fender builder Larry Brooks. Fender then made a signature Squier Vista Venus run in 1997 with a bridge humbucker and a volume knob.
What pedals does Courtney Love use?
She has said she had an Electro-Harmonix Super Fuzz Big Muff before the rest of the grunge scene, and she has been seen with a Boss DS-1 Distortion.
What amp did Courtney Love use on Celebrity Skin?
Guitar World reported she used Fender tube amps, Matchless, Ampeg and Silvertone gear and Kurt Cobain's solid-state 1976 Randall Commander on the Celebrity Skin sessions.
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Named in this guide
CL
Courtney Love
About this guide · Last checked
Courtney Love fronts Hole, the band behind Live Through This and Celebrity Skin. This guide covers the guitars, pedals and amps she has played, from guitar press features and her own interviews.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Courtney Love didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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