First off, I will clarify a few things about this project. This endeavor was started because of the lack of really in-depth information on the internet pertaining to Jerry's instruments. Also, this project was strictly for instruments alone, not at all about the electronics. There is plenty of information on that topic in multiple books, especially Blair Jackson's "Grateful Dead Gear." I talked with Blair for this project to try to confirm some information that we were questioning. He was as helpful as he could be, I might add, but unfortunately could not answer some of the questions.
I was assisted on this project by a few other scholarly Heads named Mike Weber and Christopher Martin. For details on the banjo and pedal steel information, I was helped by my friend Corey Woodcock, who plays banjo and steel. Also, we were lucky enough to be given access to the photo archives compiled by German Deadologists, Volkmar Rupp and Uli Teute. They have done extensive work over the last few years compiling a vast archive of photos that is constantly being added to, date-confirmed, and updated. They were as important to this project as the rest of us that participated, and I would like to give them a special "thank you."
Corrections from Jerry's Brokendown Palaces have been included.
Corrections from Jerry's Brokendown Palaces have been included.
The list below is all confirmed through photographic and video evidence. I have tried to make the notes as clear as possible. This is pretty much a show by show guide to what Jerry played through the years; hopefully you will appreciate it as much as we do. If there are any discrepancies noticed, please feel free to comment.
GARCIA’S INSTRUMENTS THROUGH THE YEARS
GUITARS
1957
Danelectro U-1
1960
Sears Silvertone
(Not pictured.)
1962
Sears Silvertone
(Not pictured.)
1962
Acoustic Guild F-50
1963
Acoustic Martin D-21
1965 - 5/20/67
1965 - 5/20/67
Red '62 Guild Starfire III
(He had two. There was a second Starfire III, a '64-65 model, after the first one was broken at the Trips Festival in January '66.)
(He had two. There was a second Starfire III, a '64-65 model, after the first one was broken at the Trips Festival in January '66.)
1966
Acoustic '58-'66 Epiphone Texan
5/29/67 - 10/31/67
1st Black '57 Les Paul Custom
(He had two - the first one bought at Draper’s on 5/27/67. The second, with Bigsby vibrato, bought from Mike McKenna during the Cafe A Go Go shows 6/1-10/67.)
(He had two - the first one bought at Draper’s on 5/27/67. The second, with Bigsby vibrato, bought from Mike McKenna during the Cafe A Go Go shows 6/1-10/67.)
By August '67 he's using the Bigsby tremolo:
9/24/67
Les Paul Junior Double Cut
This is seen being played off to the side, but we do not believe it was actually played in the show, only the black Les Paul.
(Hand-painted by Garcia. Owned by Peter Grant.)
(Hand-painted by Garcia. Owned by Peter Grant.)
11/1/67-5/18/68
'52 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop
5/24/68 - 10/18/68
2nd '57 Black Gibson Les Paul Custom
10/20/68 - 10/17/69
'67 Gibson SG Standard
1969 - 1970
Martin acoustics
A couple different acoustics are seen this year – a 1936 Martin 000-18S guitar in the 1/18/69 Playboy After Dark TV taping:
And a Martin 00-45, used in the Aoxomoxoa/Workingman's Dead studio sessions and later '69 live shows, and apparently in the early 1970 acoustic sets as well.
And a Martin 00-45, used in the Aoxomoxoa/Workingman's Dead studio sessions and later '69 live shows, and apparently in the early 1970 acoustic sets as well.
7/11/69
Guild Starfire XII Electric 12-string
(This was used for Dupree’s Diamond Blues; it was likely played in earlier 1969 shows as well.)
10/24/69 - 4/19/70
'63 Rosewood Fender Stratocaster
By February '70 he's added a flag sticker.
(An unknown Stratocaster is seen on 12/28/69 - it looks lighter but is possibly the Rosewood pre-flag sticker.)
4/24/70 - 12/31/70
'66 Gibson SG Standard
Different flag sticker on this one...the third guitar he's put the flag on!
Different flag sticker on this one...the third guitar he's put the flag on!
In fall '70 he adds a skull sticker as well.
Summer 1970
Martin D-18 and D-28 acoustic (during Festival Express & American Beauty sessions)
6/27/70
Guild F-50 acoustic guitar
Although not used onstage after 1970, the '42 Martin D-28 Herringbone guitar was spotted being played as late as '72:
A Small 1970 Mystery...
Photos from 5/15/70 show an unknown Fender propped up behind Garcia in the acoustic set. It does not seem to be David Nelson's or Bob Weir's, so it's possible Garcia used the Fender specifically to play in acoustic sets. It may be the Strat he'd been using the past few months.
Garcia also plays a sunburst Stratocaster during the June/July Festival Express train jams. This could be the same guitar he'd played earlier in the year (the whole body isn't seen onscreen), or a new one.
7/4/70
Telecaster
Played in the Festival Express jam with Ian & Sylvia.
(The Telecaster belonged to Delaney Bramlett, given to him by George Harrison.)
Played in the Festival Express jam with Ian & Sylvia.
(The Telecaster belonged to Delaney Bramlett, given to him by George Harrison.)
7/7/70
Jerry plays an unknown guitar with NRPS instead of pedal steel.
Information from Joe Jupille:
(No picture.)
12/31/70
Unknown White Stratocaster
1/21/71 - 4/29/71
3/17/71
Gibson Les Paul Gold Top
(Garcia played both the Peanut & the Goldtop in this show. A picture of the Gibson from this date was previously mislabeled as 7/8/70.)
4/24/71
Guild S100
5/29/71- 6/21/71
'55 Fender Stratocaster
This was a gift from Graham Nash, later to become Alligator. It's first spotted in Feb/March 1971, possibly used at a Garcia/Saunders show.
Then it turns up in a Dead show at the end of May '71, but is only used for a couple shows.
This was a gift from Graham Nash, later to become Alligator. It's first spotted in Feb/March 1971, possibly used at a Garcia/Saunders show.
Then it turns up in a Dead show at the end of May '71, but is only used for a couple shows.
7/2/71- 8/7/71
Gibson Les Paul Special - TV Yellow
8/14-15/71
'71 Les Paul Deluxe Cherry Sunburst
8/23/71 - 7/26/72
'55 Stratocaster (pre-Alligator)
The Nash Strat returns...
By March '72 it has a couple stickers on it:
The Alligator sticker is added by June '72:
The Nash Strat returns...
By March '72 it has a couple stickers on it:
The Alligator sticker is added by June '72:
1/7?/72
'66 Gibson Byrdland
(Previously thought to be a Gibson 175.) The Byrdland Jerry is playing is from an unconfirmed date. The photos are from a Garcia/Saunders show with Tom Fogerty, so it is only a handful of possible shows. We believe them to be 1/72.
8/12/72 - 9/10/72, 9/21-9/30/72
’56 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster (the “Veneta Strat”)
(This might be the guitar Garcia gave to David Hidalgo in 1987.)
(This might be the guitar Garcia gave to David Hidalgo in 1987.)
(Note: although Garcia switched back to the Alligator on 9/15, during the shows at the end of the month, 9/21-30, he was again playing a sunburst Strat, possibly the same one he'd used in August.)
9/15/72 - 9/2/73
11/18/72 – 12/12/72
Erlewine Stratocaster
Known to be played on 11/18/72, 11/19/72, 11/22/72, 11/23/72, 12/10-12/72 (only on two of the nights, but Alligator was also played), and 5/13/73.
5/13/73
Distinctive as the only known show in which Garcia played three electric guitars (Alligator, Erlewine Strat, 1st Irwin "Eagle").
The "Eagle" was Doug Irwin's first guitar made for Alembic; Garcia later gave it to Ramrod. (This guitar, and the Erlewine Strat, are two that I tried getting more information from Blair Jackson about.)
Wolf, Tiger, and Rosebud were later made by Irwin after leaving Alembic to work on his own.
9/5/73 - 8/13/75
12/15/73
'53 Telecaster played with NRPS
(This was believed to belong to Dave Nelson, but may be the guitar now owned by Bob Weir. Supposedly it was played on Workingman's Dead.)
(This was believed to belong to Dave Nelson, but may be the guitar now owned by Bob Weir. Supposedly it was played on Workingman's Dead.)
2/2/74
Garcia sits in with NRPS again, not known what guitar he played.
Info per Corry Arnold of the Lost Live Dead blog:
(No photo.)
9/28/75 - 7/21/76
Travis Bean TB1000A
Serial #51 purchased in late August 1975.
8/2/76 - 9/3/77
Travis Bean TB500
Two guitars, serial #'s 11 & 12, given to Garcia after the first TB1000A was damaged and could not be repaired.
9/28/77 - 7/1/79
6/25/78
Ibanez MC-500
Also spotted at a JGB show that year:
11/17/78
Acoustic Guild D-25
12/13 - 12/17/78
Travis Bean TB1000A
Serial #715, a replacement for the earlier Travis Beans.
(Briefly substituted for Wolf on tour.)
(Briefly substituted for Wolf on tour.)
8/4/79 - 8/19/89
1980 - 1982
Takamine EF360S acoustic
Used from the fall '80 acoustic sets to the June '82 Garcia & Kahn acoustic shows.
Used from the fall '80 acoustic sets to the June '82 Garcia & Kahn acoustic shows.
10/15-16/81
Yamaha SC-1000 (borrowed guitar)
1982-1988 - acoustic shows with John Kahn & the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band
Takamine EF360SC acoustic
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20158/lot/3021/
Garcia had two of these cutaway models, one with light wood and a Martin headstock used from late summer '82 to early '85.
Another '85 EF360SC was used from 1985-88.
Garcia had two of these cutaway models, one with light wood and a Martin headstock used from late summer '82 to early '85.
Another '85 EF360SC was used from 1985-88.
8/29/87
Washburn EA20 acoustic
Only spotted in one Garcia Acoustic Band show?
6/1-6/3/85
Washburn EA20 acoustic
Only spotted in one Garcia Acoustic Band show?
6/1-6/3/85
Modulus Blackknife (with JGB)
(Photo pending - possibly this one: https://gdsets.com/84posters/modulus.jpg.)
11/1/86
Supposedly the Steinberger guitar with no headstock was played at the Palace of Fine Arts "Ritual and Rapture" show.
11/21/86
Gibson ES-335
(Played with Los Lobos - belonged to David Hidalgo.)
5/26/89
Gibson Les Paul Goldtop
Gibson Les Paul Goldtop
(Played with Los Lobos - belonged to David Hidalgo.)
(Jerry is also seen in a photo playing a Gibson ES-175 with Bigsby vibrola - photo pending.)
4/24/89
4/24/89
Fender Jazzmaster
(Played during a performance with Elvis Costello - was Costello's guitar.)
1989
Black Stratocaster with MIDI during Space
By 7/12/89 Garcia started using the Wolf in Space instead of the Strat. 
9/29/89 - 12/30/89
Wolf
12/31/89 - 6/26/93
Older guitars continued to be used: Wolf appears on 7/23/90 & 2/23/93 (among others), Tiger and Wolf in the Nov. 1991 JGB run.
1990s
Alvarez Yairi DY Virtuoso acoustic guitar (played 9/24/94, and in shows with Grisman)
(Garcia had five different models of the Alvarez-Yairi.)
(Garcia had five different models of the Alvarez-Yairi.)
1990s - Grisman studio sessions
1939 Gibson Super 400N (along with a Martin D18 and D28)
8/7/93 - 6/4/95
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt was made by Stephen Cripe, and was the first guitar he built for Garcia, prior to "Top Hat" (which was ordered in 1995 and never made it to the stage). Bolt made its first appearance at the 8/7/93 JGB show.
Bolt and Rosebud were both used in the last two years - Bolt in fall ‘93 and ‘94, and spring ‘94 and ‘95; and Rosebud on the ‘94 and ‘95 summer tours, and in the spring JGB shows.
Rosebud and Tiger were both played at the last show, 7/9/95.
BANJOS
Unknown banjo traded in for a Weymann (traded in 1963 along with Sara's Martin)
'30s Weymann banjo from 1963-1974
A second Weymann gifted from David Crosby (unknown year)
'50s Gibson RB250 Bowtie
'37/'38 RB12 Top Tension Gibson
RB 3, 4 or 75 Mastertone
Marshall Freelands 1937 TB-7
Top Tension (played with Grisman)
These were used from 3/73-5/74 while playing with OAITW & GASB.
Gibson RB800 was played for Garcia/Grisman shows in the 90s.
PEDAL STEELS
1967
Fender pedal steel
(Supposedly sold to Lowell “Banana” Levinger of the Youngbloods, but Banana doesn't recall this.)
(Supposedly sold to Lowell “Banana” Levinger of the Youngbloods, but Banana doesn't recall this.)
5/69 - 4/15/71
Zane Beck ZB Custom D-10 pedal steel
(Purchased in April '69 at Guitar City in Lakewood, Colorado; started playing it immediately with John Dawson thereafter; started playing it at Dead shows on 6/20/69; later gave to Peter Grant.)
(Purchased in April '69 at Guitar City in Lakewood, Colorado; started playing it immediately with John Dawson thereafter; started playing it at Dead shows on 6/20/69; later gave to Peter Grant.)
In fall '70 he put a flag on it...
4/24/71 - 4/72
Emmons D10 pedal steel
11/23/72
MSA White Mica Classic D10 pedal steel
(From a Scotty's Music Store newspaper column on 10/26/72: “Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead was in St. Louis last week and he is [now] the owner of a new MSA steel guitar. That makes the fourth steel guitar he has bought. He has an Emmons, Sho-Bud, and ZB, plus his new MSA.”
The ZB was given to Peter Grant. The Emmons was later sold at Scotty's Music Store in St. Louis. The Sho-Bud is otherwise unknown.)
(From a Scotty's Music Store newspaper column on 10/26/72: “Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead was in St. Louis last week and he is [now] the owner of a new MSA steel guitar. That makes the fourth steel guitar he has bought. He has an Emmons, Sho-Bud, and ZB, plus his new MSA.”
The ZB was given to Peter Grant. The Emmons was later sold at Scotty's Music Store in St. Louis. The Sho-Bud is otherwise unknown.)
1987
MCI
pedal steel (played with Bob Dylan)
THE
ROAD NOT TAKEN…
OTHER NOTES:
The Guild S100 in 1971 and Irwin Eagle in 1973 seem to only have been played the one time each that are mentioned. The Ibanez in 1978 also appeared in a JGB show, believed to be sometime in 6/78, but cannot confirm the date. Again Blair Jackson could not provide any details as to why it vanished.
In 1979 Garcia gave a '66 Gibson Byrdland with a Gretsch Bigsby tailpiece to guitarist Perry Lederman. Whether Garcia had ever played it is unknown.
http://hooterollin.blogspot.com/2012/06/jerry-garcia-and-perry-lederman.html
Garcia appeared with the California Brothers in the Lone Star Cafe, NYC on 4/6/87, and played a borrowed Stratocaster that was set up for him. (Info from Corry Arnold.)
Garcia participated in a Guitar Player magazine "Garage Jam" in Cupertino, CA on 6/16/87, and apparently played another borrowed Stratocaster, as well as his Takamine. (Information on this provided by Corry Arnold (found in a 1987 Relix) and Joe Jupille.)
For more on Garcia’s equipment and guitar history, see:
MISCELLANY
These guitars were never played onstage, but were spotted in Garcia’s hands at one time.
1967
National Tricone steel guitar (jam at 710 Ashbury)
(Comment: "It was Pigpen's. He bought it off Curly Jim, before whom it belonged to Jorma Kaukonen.")
(Comment: "It was Pigpen's. He bought it off Curly Jim, before whom it belonged to Jorma Kaukonen.")
1971
Micro-Frets Spacetone (in Scotty’s Music Store, St Louis)
1971
Fender Telecaster Thinline (backstaqe at Princeton)
1979
1990
1959 Sunburst Stratocaster
(Played in the "Blues for the Rainforest" video.)
This post is still a work in progress; there are bound to be corrections and additions to make, so please comment if you spot any. (Links to pictures are recommended.)
ReplyDeleteA very detailed history of Jerry's guitars here. I enjoyed seeing all the guitars he played. However, the black Les Paul Custom looks like a '56 model with Alnico "Staple" and P-90 pickups. The '57s had humbucker pickups as did the Les Paul standards. Unless it's an early '57.
DeleteThe insert on Dick's Picks #20, recorded September 28, 1976, has a picture of Jerry playing the TB-1000. Assuming the pictures are from the actual concert, it adds a little time to your documented era for this guitar. Cheers.
DeleteInteresting catch! I believe the photos in that booklet are actually from the June '76 Orpheum Theater rehearsals. It can be hard to verify the dates of Dead photos from '76 (those Orpheum shots get tagged onto many different dates online), but I've definitely seen the TB500 in photos from 9/24/76 & 10/3/76, so it was likely used on that whole tour.
DeleteSpecial thanks for help from Mike Weber(Zeb), Volkmar Rupp, Christopher Martin, Corry Arnold, Blair Jackson, and Harry Angus.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. Do you have a blog about notable bustout song dates? My buddy was just reminding me about Dark Star bust out at Hampton Coliseum 1989. I saw a Casey Jones bustout at RFK in 1991. I was 15 years old. A bustout post would be sweet.
ReplyDeleteThere's a list of song revival dates in the second half of this post:
Deletehttp://deadessays.blogspot.com/2011/07/grateful-dead-song-graph.html
I was there for that CJ bustout also, it was 1992 RFK. Train whistle and all!
Delete11/17/78 acoustic looks like a Guild D35.
ReplyDeleteI'll go with that.
DeleteI should have linked to a photo: https://images.app.goo.gl/DW4GS7gW6vEw7LR9A
DeleteThis post is awesome! Love finally being able to picture all the different 70-71 Strats.
I agree. It looks exactly like my mid 70s D35, and most D25s of that era were cherry red.
DeleteTaken from The Encyclopedia of Jerry Garcia Music Venues, after ten years of research it’s now at the book designer’s desk!
ReplyDeleteI started at the top and worked my way down the list. Please correct whatever you see needs correcting. I've got 122 instruments in the book.
I think there was also a Sears Silverstone he took to Ft. Winfield Scott. I don’t think he kept the original Danelectro U1 for four years.
Guild F-50
Guild Starfire III was a 1962 model. There was a second Starfire III, a 1964-’65, after the first one got broke at the Trips Festival.
Epiphone Texan 1958-’66
“By August '67 he's added a Bigsby tremolo”:
Gibson Les Paul 1957 black non-vibrato-bought at Draper’s on 5/27/67.
Gibson Les Paul 1957 black with Bigsby vibrato -bought from Mike McKenna during the Cafe A Go Go shows 6/1-10/67.
’59 Les Paul was hand painted by Jerry. Owned by Peter Grant.
Gibson Les Paul Gold -Jerry also played David Hidalgo’s gold top on 5/26/89.
Gibson SG’s
1966 standard-Played from April 24, 1970 to November 21, 1970.
1967 standard-Played from December 1968 to August 1969., It was auctioned at Christie's on December 17, 2004, selling for $41, 825.
Playboy After Dark-Martin 000-18S, 1936 acoustic
Aoxoamoxoa + Workingman’s Dead-Martin 00-45 acoustic
He also had a Martin D-21 pre 1962 in 1963 and a Martin D-28 Herringbone, 1942 played at the Bolinas sessions.
It’s a Guild Starfire XII-12 string, unknown vintage
Fender Strat 1963 rosewood was Jerry’s primary stage guitar from September 1969 (or late August, possibly Hartbeats 8/28) to April 15, 1970.
Fender Stratocaster 1956 sunburst with all maple neck
Played on September 21, 1972.
Fender Stratocaster 1959
Jerry played this guitar on 9/30/72 at American University, Washington, DC.
These two may be one and the same.
'61/'62 Gibson SG-This is the ’66. There was no ’62.
12/31/70 Unknown White Stratocaster is not from 12/31/70. Larry Hulst took a photo with Alligator from 12/31/70. Who took the photos of the white strat?
Gibson Les Paul Standard cherry sunburst 1959-played 8/14+15/71.
’57 Strat is actually the Fender Stratocaster 1958 gifted to David Hidalgo on August 8, 1987.
There were two “Eagles.”
Irwin Eagle-the first guitar Irwin had made for Alembic. Of the first dozen Alembic instruments made, five were guitars for Jerry.
Crime Eagle-This guitar was most likely to be Jerry’s next guitar. This guitar was built at the same time as Jerry’s “Top Hat."
12/15/73 Telecaster was likely the 1953 that is at Weir’s studio.
Travis Bean guitars-Jerry had 2 TB1000As and two TB500’s.
11/17/78 is a Guild D-25
Takamine-Jerry had three, basically F360S (non-cutaway) used for 1980 acoustic sets and early 1982 G&K
F360C (cutaway, light wood, "Martin" headstock) used from late summer 82 to mid -85
6/28/82 non-cutaway: http://jerrygarcia.com/image/opera-house-boston-ma-6-28-82/
9/6/82 cutaway: http://jerrygarcia.com/image/the-stone-san-francisco-ca-09-06-1982/
Takamine EF360SC 1983 or ’84 with Martin"/"lawsuit" headstock-Played 1983-1985
Takamine 1985 EF360SC, Serial #84111605-Made in Japan.-Played from about 1985 until 1988.
Stage sightings:
1/31/86
10/87 Lunt Fontanne Theater, NY
12/3/87
12/17/87 Warfield Theater SF
1988 Bridge School Benefit
Takamine EF360S with Martin-like headstock (late 70's/'80)
Stage sightings:
10/9/80-10/25/80 Radio City Music Hall
4/13/82 David Letterman Show
5/31/83 Beverly Theater[1]
6/5/85 and 6/6/82
Modulus-he had two
blacknife w/bloodwood pre 1985
blacknife “sometime in the 1990’s”
Gibson ES-335 featuring black inlays was Hidalgo’s guitar.
Jerry is also seen in a photo playing Gibson ES-175 with Bigsby vibrola.
Fender Jazzmaster was Elvis Costello’s guitar.
Jerry had 5 Alvarez-Yairi guitars
ReplyDeleteDY72
DY98 1991 custom-A one-of-a-kind custom-made guitar for Garcia, sold at auction for $102K.
DY99 1992 virtuoso modulus-"The good fellers at Modulus told me there were around 15 Modulus neck tree of life DY99s made in 1992. None have neck and headstock binding...Jerry's customs do except for the DY98 he played most with David Grisman. Now that guitar is easy to identify because it had the dark stained top and the dy88 style headstock with no tree of life inlay.”
GY-1 1990-“It’s unique, in that it has a graphite composite neck and a peghead shape,” he continued. “It’s very identifiable. You can see him using it in the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, in Squaw Valley in California, in all kinds of venues.
Played at Sweetwater, Mill Valley, CA on 12/17/90
GY-2-Designed by Jerry, played on 12/23/91, Le Club Front, San Rafael.
Fender pedal steel- Banana doesn’t know anything about it.
Zane Beck D-10-The Garcia Zane Beck, the 9th one made in Bakersfield by Zane (and Tom, I suppose), has black pickups and black fingerboards. [3] It was thought that Rusty Young helped Jerry pick it out at a Happy Logan’s Music Store in Denver, CO or possibly Edwards Music in Lakewood, CO but Rusty says it wasn’t him and that he never met Jerry Garcia. Currently owned by Pete Grant.
Emma’s D-10-It was for sale at Scotty's Music Store, Overland, MO in 1974.
MSA (Microspace Anderson) White Mica Classic D-10 pedal steel pre-1972
This was Jerry’s fourth pedal steel as of October 26, 1972.
MCI late 70's-early 80's pedal steel guitar
Played on 4/7/87, Meadowlands.
Played on 7/4/86 and the 1987 Dylan and the Dead tour. Foxboro Stadium 7/4/87 behind Dylan on I'll Be Your Baby Tonight. Also, 7/26.
Phil Lesh owns one of Jerry's pedal steel guitars. It's unknown which one.
1971 Fender telecaster thin line-In a photo, Jerry plays a Fender Telecaster Thinline 1969-’71 backstage at Dillon Gym, Princeton, NJ on April 17, 1971.
1979 Stratocaster- I don’t know this one but in 1981 ”He was sent two complimentary Stratocasters. Garcia kept the American-made one and gave the Japanese one to me.-a former “runner.”
My goodness, thanks for all the details! I'll see what I can incorporate into this post.
Delete"12/31/70 Unknown White Stratocaster is not from 12/31/70. Larry Hulst took a photo with Alligator from 12/31/70. Who took the photos of the white strat?"
DeleteLarry Hulst's photo with the Nash Strat (aka Alligator) is in fact 12-31-71.
The two Jerry photos 12-31-70 are by Robert Altman, the "white Strat" could as well be the Nash Strat.
Since the Fender is gone, and Peter Grant has the ZB, it must be the Emmons or MSA that Phil owns.
DeleteI'll go with 12/31/70. It does look like an all-white Strat to me, though the bright stage lighting could be deceiving.
Delete1979 Stratocaster- final in sequence.
DeleteAs of December 2018, this guitar was on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston (haven't been down since but presume it's still there). Near it hangs the same photo of "studio Jerry" with this axe and a plaque that reads: "This 1959 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster was owned and played by Jerry Garcia". I do have a photo of this display. There's another piece of Dead Memorabilia nearby some television contract. I don't believe a S/N is visible on the headstock and it says "Made in the USA" or something (my photo is not sharp at this level of detail). The pictured and displayed axes look really identical. Hope this is helpful..
BTW by accident I logged out of my usual account here although I don't post often, and don't want/care to use a Google account. Reply if you want more detail and list a contact plz
PHILIPPE a long-time Deadhead
Now I'm confused! I looked closer: the Strat in the studio picture has a maple fretboard and the one on display from my photo looks to have a rosewood board.. but the headstock and the body look identical!! (minus the missing tremolo). I'm not sure why I didn't notice that when I was there though?? By the way the copy of the studio image is in color..adding to the confusion. I may need to go back and have another look.
DeleteIt's possible Jerry had more than one Strat to use in the studio, or perhaps the guitar has gone through some modifications in the decades since.
DeleteWhoops! Was back at the Hard Rock this week. It's NOT the strat in the studio Jerry picture, as a matter of fact it's a different PHOTOGRAPH than that one. The picture is of a "later-day" Jerry in a black t, brown leather jacket, standing in front of a wall of creeping ivy. I have better photos now so I will try to send on.. it is a rosewood fretboard guitar and at first blush I don't see it listed...
DeleteI added the picture at the end of Jerry in the '90s with the '59 sunburst Strat (on display in the Boston Hard Rock Cafe), which I haven't seen in other pictures - probably never played on stage. It's a photo of a photo, so it's blurry; I don't know the source so if someone has a clearer copy I can replace it.
DeleteThe guitar looks different than the Strat in the 1979 studio photo (different neck and bridge), and also different from the Strats he had in earlier years, so Jerry seems to have collected a number of sunburst Strats over the years!
The 59 is the same guitar used in the Blues from the Rainforest music video with Merl Saunders. Also probably on the studio recording.
DeleteSemi related - how do we know Jerrys first sunburst strat is a 63?
Thank you this is AWESOME to have ID'd THANK YOU (that is my photo and original post). Can't help with info on the '63 BUT i did see Merl snd the Rainforest Band at Somerville Theatre near Boston in November 97 and it was a great show as he honored Jerry's legacy playing Hi-Heel Sneakers, Positively 4th Street and My Funny Valentine that he said after Jerry's coma and he was rehabilitating in Hawaii this was the first song he wanted to play to relearn and regain his chops which he basically needed to start from Square One. They also did play Blues from the Rainforest the song although I do not know when that recording was released. Very best!! PB
DeleteHey! The third to last banjo picture is clearly from the same photo shoot as the Rainforest Strat!!
DeleteRe: the 12/31/70 white Strat - a better photo revealed it was the Nash Strat. See the Jan 21 '20 comment thread below.
Deleteyeah!
ReplyDeleteNice work all, this kind of thing is sorely needed.
ReplyDeleteSurprised to read that his 1970 SG was a 66, rumors abounded that it was one of the earlier 'Les Paul' versions (though maybe that was still going on in 66.)
The ’66 version has the small black pickguard while the '67 has the big “batwing” pickguard.
Delete“This, the 2nd red SG went through several different appraisals: for several years (starting 10-15 years ago), the accepted year for it among the rukind.com gear freaks, based on a fairly convincing post from a Gibson enthusiast was 1961 or 62 “Les Paul SG.” After I went through a lot of research on Gibsons and comparisons of images of vintage SG's, that ‘61-‘62 was way off. I took a few tries at nailing it, until the “Hard to Handle” Festival Express video with view behind Jerry's left elbow finally revealed the neck profile with a particular taper near the heel indicating a 1966.” [1]
1.) Wright, Tom
Ah, so there you have it.
DeleteI noticed the pickguard difference a while back, also the one he played in 70 does not have the telltale scars of a removed bigsby.
Just now I did a search and found both styles of pickguard on the 66, I was probably going off that RU kind post, which was indeed convincing, but Tom Wright's sleuthing would seem to be decisive.
Also, There's a relatively recent photo of Weir with a 53 Telecaster that belonged to Garcia, supposedly he played that on Workingman's Dead
ReplyDeletehttps://i.pinimg.com/originals/67/54/81/675481c5ccfd140b93cc8e6e5101d386.jpg
Hope that link works, it was originally from TRI's facebook page
Can't seem to edit, I see now that Jerry's Brokendown Palaces mentioned that one.
DeleteGarcia's 67-68 Gibsons seem to all have the P90 pickups, which are single-coil pickups like the Strat but with a less bright tone.
ReplyDeleteHis SGs seem to have had PAF humbuckers, but there was at least one SG of his at one of the auction houses that had P90s in it.
Basically he had a tendency to alternate between single coils and humbuckers starting in 69 until he settle on the Alligator in 71. Wolf was built to mimic the pickup configuration of the strat.
He did the same thing with the two Travis Bean guitars before returning to Wolf in 77. This time Wolf had overwound Dimarzio single coil pickups, and before 78 was out he added the coil tap function which combined humbucker and single coil capabilities. 'Wolf 2' also had the onboard effects loop he'd pioneered with the Bean guitars. Apart from the addition of MIDI he would keep this basic configuration going forward.
While it seems he liked the pickups in the Stratocaster, he didn't seem to be a fan of the other attributes; one of the first mods to Alligator was the addition of a Gibson-style stopbar tailpiece. He also had a brass nut put on.
I'm sure there are other details that don't necessarily turn up with photos, he was an inveterate tinkerer, and also liked to replace or change the pickups as he thought the magnets got worn out.
I know nothing about the technicalities of guitars but have long wondered what that piece of jiggery pokery wiring was that was briefly between the bridge and tailpiece of Jerry's first Les Paul Custom. It wasn't there at Monterey 1967-06-18 or Golden Gate Park 1967-06-21 but had been installed by El Camino Park 1967-07-02 and Golden Gate Park 1967-07-04 (the famous Jim Marshall photos previously identified as 1967-06-21 with Jack and Jorma flashing the finger) on the LPC without the Bigsby. It had gone again for Seattle 1967-07-16 and by 1967-08-06 Jerry was playing with a Bigsby (is it definite that this was a different guitar?). Presumably it was intended to deal with some percieved problem Jerry had with his guitar, didn't cure the problem so was removed and Jerry bought the LPC with the Bigsby to fix the problem instead. After much pestering a Gibson player I know suggested that it was an attempt to remove the 60 cycle hum that P90 pickups reputedly have and that humbuckers were introduced to fix. Another player I asked thought this plausible. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
DeleteHere's a photo
https://sfae.com/Artists/Jim-Marshall/The-Grateful-Dead-and-Jefferson-Airplane-Golden-Ga
It's a string ground
DeleteNot a major exception, but on April 26 '87 Garcia made an appearance at The Lone Star Cafe with The California Brothers--David Nelson, Sandy Rothman, Peter Albin, Spencer Dryden, and played a few numbers.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.guitars101.com/forums/f145/jerry-garcia-california-brothers-nyc-ny-april-6-1987-aud-191066.html
Per Sandy Rothman's reminiscence Garcia played a Stratocaster already set up on stage.
In 1979, guitarist Perry Lederman, an old pal of Garcia's lost everything in a fire. Garcia gave him a guitar, a 66 Gibson Byrdland with a Gretsch Headstock. The details came out when Lederman passed away and the guitar was auctioned off. How much Garcia actually played the guitar is unknown. Here's a link, with a picture:
ReplyDeletehttp://hooterollin.blogspot.com/2012/06/jerry-garcia-and-perry-lederman.html
This could be the one pictured 1/72.
DeleteHmm, that could be, that guitar does look more like a Byrdland than a 175 (the switch is on the bottom rather than the top of the guitar), though it doesn't seem to have the vibrato bar attached.
DeleteThat raises another question - of the guitars Garcia had actually used live, how many did he give away? Was the Strat he gave to David Hidalgo in '87, for instance, one he'd actually played in 1972 or an untouched duplicate? Perhaps there should be an appendix on this issue...
In what is likely to be the only thing I can contribute here, Garcia apparently played a borrowed Strat at the 6/16/87 Guitar Player jam in Cupertino.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that Garcia would show up for a Guitar Player jam and not bring a guitar!
Deleteyup, probably figured he could find one there ...
DeleteGood contributions, all! I have been updating the post.
ReplyDeleteThe last picture, "1979 Stratocaster (studio rehearsal)" seems to be dated "85-3-18". Jerry also has a similar appearance to the Frets magazine cover featured on JGMF's 'Strung Out And Busted' from 85-01-18.
ReplyDeleteThere used to be an online article detailing the afternoon of the Guitar Player magazine jam that seems to have disappeared. Found this picture though: http://www.accentonmusic.com/photos.html
Well, that there is not a Strat. Scott Allan's "Fragments" column in Relix 15, 1 (February 1988), p. 31, says that the session included Iko Iko, The Weight, I’ve Just Seen a Face, and Slippin’ Into Darkness.
DeleteThe studio Stratocaster picture - that 3/18/85 date came from here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/at9me0/march_18_1985_garcia_at_front_street_practicing/
However the date was incorrect, and 1979 seems to be verified; at least it's shown as '79 here:
https://jerrygarcia.com/image/recording-go-to-heaven-july-79-january-80-23/
The Guitar Player jam - looks like Jerry brought his usual Takamine after all. But he could have borrowed a Strat at another point in the jam - there was an acoustic and an electric set.
According to the UPI story, "Garcia first joined eight other musicians - all of whom work for GPI Publications...for an electric set in the GPI garage that included songs like 'Iko Iko' and 'Slipping Into Darkness.' Then he shared a crowded stage with 12 others for a rousing acoustic set that featured 'Teach Your Children' and a variety of folk tunes."
Robert Hilburn of the LA Times also said there were electric & acoustic sets, and noted that Garcia sang 'It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.'
https://herbgreenefoto.com/gallery/pigpen/#slide-1
ReplyDeleteand what do we see behind PigPen.. the dobro late 69 our assumption
A National Tricone not Dobro I think, it was Pig's who bought it off Curly Jim before whom it belonged to Jorma. Pig talks about it in one of the Hank Harrison interview tapes. It got dented when it fell off Jorma's motorcycle.
DeleteHere's Pig's National guitar story as told to Harrison. I've tidied it up a bit, the San Jose club he can't remember the name of is the Offstage.
DeleteYou know that old silver National steel guitar I've got? That used to be Jorma's. The way that I found out that it was Jorma's guitar, what happened was like years ago, '63 or '64, something like that, there was a party in San Jose because we always used to hang around, what was the name of that place? On First. Paul Foster folk club in San Jose. Anyway, Paul Foster used to run this place, and it was during that time that Jorma would play there a lot, and Paul Kantner would show up and Casady, y'know would be around. And shit like that. That was before they ever met Gracie. [Harrison: Which Cassidy, Neal Cassidy?] Jack Casady. So one night, y'know after everybody played there we went over to this party in San Jose and there was this incredible silver guitar, right? National steel guitar and everybody had a whack at it to see what they could do with it. OK, now later Jorma went to the East Coast and he was carrying it and it fell off a motorcycle and it got a couple of dents in it. And then years later when we were living on Ashbury Street who should show up but Jack Casady and say "that's Jorma's guitar! Where d'you get it?" And I said "Well, Curly Headed Jim sold it to me." [general hilarity] He had gotten it from somebody else, and somebody else... That was a long time before the Airplane. Some guy had it. Curly Headed Jim bought it, brought it over to me and said "Do you want to buy it?" I said "Well, OK." Then a few days later, a week or so later Casady comes over, comes into my room and sees the guitar and says "That's Jorma's old guitar!" It was the same guitar that I had played for the first time in San Jose years before.
it is picture #1 in the gallery
ReplyDeleteJerry's Sunburst 72 Ventera Strat-- I believe its a '56. At least the neck is 56' or earlier because of round string tree. Fender switched off of the round sting tree after 56.
ReplyDeleteI'm helpless on guitar years so maybe others can weigh in. Some of his guitars were customized & stitched together - for instance the Strat he got from Graham Nash had a 1957 body and a 1963 neck.
Delete....at least, per https://jerrygarcia.com/guitars/ and in Blair Jackson's Grateful Dead Gear book.
DeleteOn the other hand, Mike Wald's site simply has it as a 1955 Strat:
http://www.wald-electronics.com/gear_directory/alligator.html
I don't know which is correct.
Mike actually took the neck off to reveal the production dates from 1955
DeleteI've listed the Nash Strat as a '55 here. Not sure where the info that it was two Strats put together came from.
DeleteHenry Kaiser owns the "Veneta" strat
DeleteThe Gibson used on 8/14/71 is a 1971 Les Paul Deluxe. It's a first year cherryburst with the mini-humbuckers...
ReplyDeleteOne of the victims of the 12/26/04 tsunami was my neighbor in Portland, Luke Scully, whose father was Rock Scully and whose mother I believe was Tangerine. When Luke learned that I had some personal connection to the Dead, he showed me a Black 1963 Fender Precision bass that he told me Jerry gave him when he went to College. Perhaps somebody could fill in this blank, but I believe he told me that Rock and Jerry lived in side by side townhouses at the time so he saw a lot of Jerry. When I learned about Luke's passing I called John Perry Barlow to tell him the news but I also told him about the bass in the upstairs closet of the house Luke shared with his girlfriend Angie, who was also lost. Barlow was appreciative and agreed that somebody should know about the "Jerry bass" "before the garage sale," as Barlow phrased it. I think he might have passed along this information to Nicki Scully, who lives in Eugene and was minding the house to some extent as best I can recall. That was 15 years ago and I'm sure I have forgotten details, but there you have it. Jerry apparently owned a black '63 Precision.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this was the bass Jerry had played in the Zodiacs in 1963...Pigpen specifically remembered that "Garcia would occasionally sit in on Fender bass."
DeleteThis might be unlikely. I assumed Jerry used a borrowed bass in the Zodiacs (he worked in a music store at the time). Bandleader Troy Weidenheimer said that "my regular bassist was a jazz player on Fender bass." I'm not sure if Jerry had the funds in 1963 to buy a new bass, or if he would have kept it for 30 years.
Do you still have there contact info? Have you asked the whereabouts about this guitar now?
DeleteThe info on this page has Jerry playing a a '57 black Les Paul Custom from 5/29/67 to 10/31/67 after which he played a '55 Les Paul Goldtop from 11/1/67 through 5/18/68, when he started using a second black Les Paul. A note regarding that history: in February 2008, the Crystal Ballroom in Portland staged a 40th anniversary Phil and Friends show honoring the 2/2/68 show at the Crystal, a show which provided some source tapes for Anthem of the Sun. The afternoon of the show, the venue hosted a presentation by Dennis McNally. At one point Dennis asked if anybody present had attended the 2/2/68 show. An old timer stepped up and said "I was here and Jerry was standing right there (pointing to stage right - ultimately the Phil side) playing a black Les Paul." That show occurred on "The Quick and the Dead" tour. I wonder if there are any photos of the band on that tour showing Jerry playing either the black Les Paul or the Goldtop Les Paul.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is some photo evidence... Jerry is seen with the Goldtop on 1/20/68, 1/26(or27)/68, 2/15/68, 2/17/68, and 3/3/68. But there's no photo of him with a black Les Paul in those months. It's possible he pulled out another guitar in Portland, but there's no proof of it.
DeleteOne of Jerry's Modulus guitars can be seen here: https://gdsets.com/84posters/modulus.jpg
ReplyDeleteAlso the black MIDI Strat was only used in 1989 prior to the Wolf breakout at the end of September. I don't think he used it at all in 1988.
What's the story behind Jerry's Modulus guitars? Did he ever play them publicly?
DeleteI don't know the story... Weir & Lesh were both playing Modulus instruments in the '80s, but Garcia seems to have publicly played a Modulus guitar only briefly in '85 with the JGB.
DeleteThanks for the corrections!
ReplyDeleteI recently watched 12/17/93 and Jerry seems to play lightning bolt for the whole show. I didn't see wolf make an appearance.
ReplyDeleteGood catch; the picture I used must be misdated.
DeleteIn the photo's labeled "1955 Les Paul Goldtop" 11/1/67-5/18/68 it shows a Gold top with a "trapeze" tailpiece. That tailpiece was only used on 1952-53 Les Pauls. By 1955 they had gone to a stop tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge.
ReplyDeleteThanks for catching that!
DeleteYou are correct that it's a 1952 Les Paul, but look again at Jerry's '52: the infamous "wrap-under" trapeze bridge (which made the '52s nearly unplayable) is absent, and the guitar has clearly been radically modded: The trapeze here is a separate stop bar tailpiece (possibly off of an ES-335 or similar), and the bridge is an ABR-1 Tuneomatic bridge (not introduced on LP Standards until 1955 --1954 for the LP Custom). I have seen pics of this mod done to at least one other 1952 LP, and appears to have been a not-uncommon fix for the first year woes of this legendary model.
Delete-year Les Pauls
My good GOD. Wow. I was turned on at the age of approx 14? By a good friend named J.G. not our dear Jerome though. Thank you 4 this completely, incredibly and comprehensive beginning of an Essential Anthology of an American, Human Iconic Artist.For the lack of a better description!! Too much of everything is just enough, i guess eh!!!! One part of his genius i had the privilege of attending was an original works " visual" form of his other art in Seattle 94. Blew me away!! Loved the 'Dracula's heart" Thanks and Praises For sharing this!!! To him, and you!!!!!!!!!!! Namaste.David.S Victoria B.C. p.s. Thank God i was a part of this " Kind" of our history!!!I don't think it will ever be as long and strange , unfortunately. until next time eh!!!
ReplyDeleteThe "Unknown White Strat" from 12/31/70 picture is more than likely Alligator. Steve Parish mentions in his book "Home By Daylight" that Jerry was given a "beautiful, white stratocaster" by Graham Nash called Alligator. I'm thinking Jer had the finish removed and re-finished with the natural look Alligator is more well known for.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe. Could just be the bright lighting in that photo making the Alligator look white. All the sources say that the original pre-modified guitar had the swamp-ash body:
Deletehttp://www.wald-electronics.com/gear_directory/alligator.html
"MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON" is my GD tribute project. I play a 1981 Les Paul with 2 Demarzio Supper 2s (bridge/neck) and a Super Distortion in the middle. Facebook or YouTube us for videos. Wonderful job on your page and information!
DeleteI'd like it to be known that this ^^ "Unknown" is not me.
DeleteA new picture of 12/31/70 has surfaced without the bright light on the guitar, and it looks like it is the Nash Strat:
Deletehttps://twitter.com/FateMusicJG/status/1541548113558573056/photo/1
But it's interesting that Garcia seemed reluctant to use it in more Dead shows until summer '71, trying out several other guitars before he returned to it.
Lots of info and pics on some of Jerry's '70s guitars here:
ReplyDeletehttps://gramho.com/explore-hashtag/waldotronics
The actual waldotronics site seems to be down now, but the Instagram posts are full of details.
One interesting piece is an interview in the September '76 issue of Musician magazine, where Jerry talks a lot about the Travis Beans and his current setup. He's asked about his other guitars:
"[I was playing] a guitar made by an excellent California guitar maker named Doug Irwin. It was kind of an expanded version of a Stratocaster... I have two really nice acoustic guitars, a 1942 Herringbone D-28 (Martin) which I really love, and a 1939 Gibson L-5 F-Hole - first year they made them with the cutaways. They have a lot of personality and I use them both for recording. I have a couple of classic Strats, '56 and '57, in mint condition. And I have a couple of extensively altered guitars, a couple of custom-built guitars, and two guitars by Doug Irwin - the Strat and an expanded version of a Les Paul; and I have three Travis Beans."
In The Deadhead's Taping Compendium, Volume 1, there is a color photo of Garcia playing a three-pickup Les Paul, circa 1967.
ReplyDeleteI believe you mean color photo #3 in the Compendium, which comes from the Toronto run in early August '67. It's a dark photo and I can't find a better picture of it, but that does seem to be a different guitar than the two-pickup Les Paul he'd been playing in July or the Les Paul with Bigbsy that he used in other August '67 shows.
DeleteRegarding the Ibanez MC500: It's hard to tell, however, if it has a flat top as opposed to a carved top, then it's an MC400. Depending on the year, there was also a carved top MC550. Regardless of the model, it's certainly not stock.
ReplyDeleteHey - great listing of Jerry’s axes! One note is that the large hollow body Gibson from 1/7?/72 is a Byrdland and not a 175. Again, thanks for the cool site!
ReplyDeleteFixed, thanks! (See also the comment from Corry on 9/4/19 above.)
Deletehttps://relix.com/articles/detail/jerry-garcias-pretzel-guitar-resurfaces/
ReplyDeleteAn early Alembic guitar, the "Pretzel" made by Rick Turner - Garcia tried it out around 1971, didn't like it, and gave it to Sam Cutler. Never played onstage.
One 1970 showgoer says that when Garcia played New Speedway Boogie in the acoustic sets, he'd use a Telecaster (perhaps the same one he's said to have used in Workingman's Dead sessions). I don't think there's any photo to verify this, though.
ReplyDeleteWatching space from summer of '89 shows, it looks like 7/12/89 is the first time Jerry starts using Wolf for space instead of the black strat.
ReplyDeleteSam Cutler just posted a brief video of Jerry showing off his Erlewine on his facebook page
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/1419240388141325/videos/462957607997895/?hc_ref=ARQn8vadwr0_5raUYLjXBxTky6PkOhwVkacYjL28seCBHGH1huP6v-oKrsPRbNsf-XY&__tn__=kC-R
Never seen this clip before
I don't see this Gibson 355(?) with bigsby listed anywhere among his guitars. But, I nice pick by Jim Marshall.
ReplyDeletehttps://sf.curbed.com/2017/1/27/14416518/san-francisco-summer-of-love-jim-marshall-haight
59 special is a dc junior
ReplyDeleteThis referred to the guitar Garcia was spotted playing on 9/24/67. Fixed.
DeleteReally interesting photos of Jerry’s guitars. Subconsciously I guess, I have played and owned many of the examples shown here. Not the customs of course. I remember seeing the GD at the Hollywood Palladium in 1972, but it was such a great time that I wasn’t watching the guitars Jerry was playing. Thanks for all the research you have done.
ReplyDeleteAwesome site! Thanks for putting it together.
ReplyDeleteMisidentified guitars in this article.
1. The Martin guitar from the Playboy After Dark TV show is almost certainly a 00-21, which has rosewood back and sides but a rosewood fingerboard and bridge similar to Style 18 guitars. There was no model called a 000-18S. Martin had stopped producing the 12-fret 000-18 in 1931 and 12-fret 00-18 in 1935.
2. The 12-fret 00 with the abalone pearl trim is a 00-45. Vintage Style 42 does not have fret position markers on the first and third positions. Modern day Style 42 does have that old Style 45 pattern, but it did not appear until 1988 with the D-42 and the OM-42 in 1999. Martin was not making custom orders with pearl trim like that at the time those photos would have been taken.
OK. I actually posted earlier on this thread (re: the '59 Strat currently the final photo on the list - that's my photo of a framed photo at the Boston HRC). I am also the owner of a 1943 Martin 00-21 and it really really resembles what Jerry's got in his hands at Television City in LA. The exact ratio of upper bout to lower bout, place and size of pickguard (mine is original), slotted headstock, duplicate Martin logo, and it's very hard to see but looks like those snowflake fret markers?? Even the patina somehow looks familiar??
DeleteBTW what he's playing on stage at Fillmore East in those black and white clips? It's very grainy but looks like that one might have a little more bling?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5D4BON_Qaw
GO GARCIA!
The current owner of Garcia's "Playboy After Dark" guitar has written with more info on the guitar.
ReplyDeleteSpecifications:
1936 Martin 000-18S (2 made in 1936) - This was a special order at the Martin factory in 1936 for two reasons: first, the guitar was originally made as a 7-string, with an extra tuner located at the top of the headstock, presumably to be played in Russian tuning; second, it was built with twelve frets to the body, rather than the standard 14-frets for the model. Sometime in the 1960s, the guitar was acquired by Berkeley luthier/dealer Jon Lundberg, who had it converted to 6-strings, replacing the original bridge and filling the tuner hole at the top of the headstock (the plug for this is visible in the Playboy After Dark video).
https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/obituary-guitar-dealer-jon-lundberg/
History:
Ramrod acquired the guitar for Jerry from Jon Lundberg in 1968. Apart from the Playboy After Dark performance, Hunter wrote that he and Jerry used the guitar to "develop" the songs for Workingman's Dead. Jerry then gifted the guitar to Hunter around 1970. He kept the instrument for around four years, at some point decorating the top of the guitar, using the metal end of the ink tube from a ballpoint pen as a punch. Around 1974, he gifted the guitar to a close friend of his, who kept it until around five years ago.
Jerry referred to the guitar as "the beach guitar," but Hunter didn't know why Jerry called it that.
One store that used to carry the 1936 Martin 000-18S for sale also has a little info page on it:
https://om28.com/ProductDetail?product=P140325002
One big difference is the dot markers vs the snowflake on my 00-21.
DeleteWowzy dowzy! Guess that's the bottom line on that particular axe! Schoenberg G pictures are very high quality. Thanks and CONGRATS on your acquisition.
ReplyDeleteDuring one of Garcia's last studio sessions, with Sanjay Mishra on 12/14/94, he played Wolf:
ReplyDelete"At first, Garcia brought out his headless black Steinberger guitar and worked through the tunes. But then...“I want to play Wolf,” he said... [It was then] in an equipment truck en route to the next Dead show in Los Angeles... “Someone called and told Jerry, ‘The trucks are already past Monterey by now,’ and Jerry just said ‘I want that guitar.’ And so they stopped the trucks and Steve Parish had to get on a motorcycle and go get the guitar.”"
https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2021/01/28/the-last-next-place-sanjay-mishra-and-jerry-garcia-1994-1995/
It's interesting to learn that Wolf was being brought on a tour where it wasn't played, perhaps just as a backup. Garcia's Steinberger was apparently still in use at Club Front as well.
There is a "Pillhuhn"-sticker at Jerry´s guitar. Pillhuhn = Hamburg. That means photo was taken 4/29/72 or after.
ReplyDeletehttps://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7cG0eLY-hso/XWjwHv3Fi9I/AAAAAAAABLY/Fcd-sdnUwxkisQxkWqyFwW3z38YJkAFqgCLcBGAs/s320/72-04-21-Screenshot%2B2014-07-27%2B23.10.08.png
But actually, Garcia did have the Pillhuhn sticker on his guitar at the 4/21/72 Beat Club show. (Not there on 4/17, so he added it somewhere between Copenhagen & Bremen.)
DeleteThe Alligator sticker first appeared on 5/24/72 in London.
Alligator was first seen in munich 72-05-18....the pillhun story is now in detail explained in the dead podcast...https://art19.com/shows/good-ol-grateful-dead-cast/episodes/49f1fdd4-2cee-456f-9be7-cb1e1f9aaeec
DeleteJerry also plays Wolf on 3/27/91
ReplyDeleteIt's mind-boggling, how many guitars Jerry went through. He talks about so many in that 76 interview that I don't know how he even kept track of them all. It says something about Tiger that that was almost the only electric guitar he ever played with the Dead or JGB for 10 years, other than the Melkweg shows and other guitars used for space in spring/summer 89. Most Deadheads around my age associated Tiger with Garcia more than any other guitar. Even when he switched back to Wolf, and later, Rosebud, he still kept the basic elements of the Tiger sound (that sweet, bright basic tone, the heavier tone for the more intense tunes, and the wah pedal). I wonder if Jerry ever tried adapting Tiger to use MIDI. Maybe the complex electronics ruled that out, or maybe it would have become too heavy (it was 13.5 lb already).
ReplyDeleteThe black Les Paul Customs used in 67'-68' are both pre-57's. The one without the Bigsby is a 54'-55' with replacement late 60's Gibson "Bonnet" knobs. Great work! 🎶
ReplyDeleteHas anyone confirmed the 1966 SG. Just watched the hi-def footage of the Hollywood Festival 1970 stuff in Britain and it *sure* looks like it had a sideways vibrato removed - which would make it a '61 most likely?
ReplyDeleteThe Guild Starfire XII 12-string is going under the hammer at Sothebys. Parish says it's a 67 model bought by Owsley in 68 and given to Ramrod as a birthday present. He also says that the photo of Jerry playing it usually attributed to 69-07-12 is from 69-07-11.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/from-the-vault-property-from-the-grateful-dead-and-friends/jerry-garcia-12-string-guild-starfire
But I do attribute it to 69-07-11!
DeleteIt's unexpected to see this guitar pop up again....interesting history of how the guys in the Dead family kept gifting it to each other. I suppose it wasn't very practical to use on stage much.
Some extra Travis Bean info:
ReplyDeleteGarcia's first TB1000A in 1975 was serial #51. Apparently in mid-'76 it was damaged when someone tried to install a middle pickup.
Per Mike Wald: "After the #51 hack job and subsequent return back to Travis Bean for repair, it was deemed unrepairable because each body is fitted to each neck. They are not interchangeable. They made 2 TB500s (serial #s 11 & 12) with middle coils and single coils and gave Jerry those. In 1978 they sent Jerry another TB1000 like #51, this was #715, and they epoxied their TB500 single coil in a TB Humbucker cover. No middle pickup but single coils and OBEL with switch."
Another commenter wrote: "Jerry started with the TB1000 model, which has humbuckers. Earliest confirmed show using one is 9/28/75. In late 76 he switched to the TB500, which was the single-coil version [last played 9/3/77]. Both models came with just two pickups, but Jerry wanted a middle position single coil put into his TB500, and it was the first guitar which featured the Unity Gain Buffer circuit which Jerry helped conceive of.
The UGB sends a consistent outgoing signal, pre-volume, out to the effects loop which returns for volume and tone controls. This meant Jerry knew exactly the response of dynamic output effects (whose output would otherwise be variable depending on the guitar volume!) There was also a switch to bypass the effects loop. Chronologically, from the TB500 onward, Jerry's guitars would have that double-cable which enabled the signal to go out and come back for volume & tone."
One auction of TB500 #12 mentions its "three single-coil pickup configuration and Garcia's Onboard Effects Loop. This guitar was the first to employ the Onboard Effects Loop, which was then incorporated into all of Garcia's electric guitars... A sticker affixed to the body of the guitar reads 'Ass, Grass or Gas/ Nobody Rides For Free' which was placed over an earlier sticker that read 'The Enemy is Listening.'"
https://www.julienslive.com/lot-details/index/catalog/110/lot/46958/JERRY-GARCIA-TRAVIS-BEAN-TB500-ELECTRIC-GUITAR
The TB1000 #715 went on auction back in 2007, and incorrect information in the auction led to much confusion, debate & detective work:
http://www.travisbeanguitars.com/index.php/ID/b75d884ce446bcfce09848108bd95afc/fuseaction/forum.view.htm
GDSets.com has put together a good photo history of Phil's basses:
ReplyDeletehttps://gdsets.com/philbasses.htm
Might consider breaking up the Wolf 9/28/77 - 7/1/79 into two periods. I'm not sure exactly when the change was (summer '78), but the change of the bridge and middle pickups from single coil to dual coil humbuckers. The 4 photos currently show both but are not in chronological order (single, dual, dual, single). The 4th one is labelled 12-31-78 but clearly isn't from that show. It had the humbuckers by 9/2/78 Giants Stadium. I think it happened between the two Red Rocks runs.
ReplyDeleteGood point; I should adjust the photos.
DeleteThe SG used from late 68' to mid 69', and 70' is the same instrument after significant modifications.
ReplyDeleteHmm... According to another researcher above:
Delete"Gibson SG's:
1967 standard-Played from December 1968 to August 1969.
1966 standard-Played from April 24, 1970 to November 21, 1970."
See the comment from Sep 3, 2019 for more details.
Hi Michael this is a brand new video (6-3-22) in which you are prominently referenced as a source toward the very end. It's entitled "Jerry Garcia's Guitars: A Short History", runs about 25 min, is comprehensive and deftly done, with a respect toward the music, history, and culture surrounding the band. I've watched videos made by the owner of this channel for several years on various topics and he is well-informed and well-schooled as a musicologist and technician. Although professedly "not a deadhead" he's hereby nominated to our guild and it's obviously a labor of love. Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84EwG_JTlXk
ReplyDeleteNedBase has a band photo showing Jerry Garcia playing the "Peanut" guitar. Scroll down to the "02-18-71" entry at http://nedbase.blogspot.com/ to see it.
ReplyDeleteWasn't the Steinberger played on Ornette Coleman's Virgin Beauty?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/search?q=jerry+garcia+ornette+coleman+session&sxsrf=ALiCzsZnpLa2UsWlkiwq3O2z-emndyKusQ:1669852827806&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjYoYPFjtf7AhW1FjQIHU49DeIQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1455&bih=688&dpr=1.1#imgrc=u2_SgltQh3C0zM
DeleteYes. For the most part there isn't a record of which guitars Garcia used in studio sessions; but see the 3/10/21 comment above for an interesting glimpse of Garcia's guitar choices in a 1994 guest session.
Deletemore on his early Guild star fires especially what happened to them-- “broken” then what ? and the first studio on WB where is that Guild - I ask because I finally found a 62 starfire
ReplyDeleteIt's a mystery what happened to a lot of his early guitars....sold off, given away, or perhaps still in the family... I don't know if there's an inventory of the current whereabouts of all Garcia's guitars.
DeleteMissing the Martin D-35 from the Radio City shows in 1980: https://minkinphotographystore.com/products/jerry-garcia-grateful-dead-radio-city-music-hall-nyc-october-1980-1
ReplyDeleteGood catch, but that is the same guitar pictured in the post that was identified as a Takamine EF360S with a Martin-like headstock. Like this example:
Deletehttps://reverb.com/item/57723244-takamine-ef-360s-1981
I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between that and a Martin D35!
notice there is no guitar listed for the short period around 9/10/72 show at the hollywood palladium... alligator, I'm guessing?
ReplyDeleteoops! see that it could have been the sunburst strat....
ReplyDeleteYes, in Aug/Sept '72, Garcia took a break from Alligator, probably while it was being modified in the Alembic shop. He stuck with the sunburst Strat though, til he got Alligator back.
DeleteThe 1982-84 cutaway Takamine was an EF360C, not an EF360SC. The "S" models had the white neck binding. Jerry's had the plain neck, which I personally prefer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for spotting that.
DeleteDoes anyone know if Jerry ever owned or played an applause by ovation black acoustical,electric guitar? ...I have one signed by Jerry Garcia acquired by myself from Annette Flowers.
ReplyDeleteJerry definitely still playing p90s at the 10/20/68 Greek Theatre show
ReplyDeleteThank you! This is THE definitive Jerry Guitar History! Well done.
ReplyDeleteLenticular flag decal on the ‘66 Gibson SG used in 1970 reads “I AM AN AMERICAN”, as seen in the KQED tv studio session Aug 30, 1970 (see newest Christopher Hazard restoration). The exact same decal is currently on ebay at: https://www.ebay.com/itm/204008629415?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=vCDDinRRRA6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=WKsptxNjTkC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Garcia had a habit of putting flag decals on his guitars in '69-70.
DeleteMy theory is, Jerry added the "I Am An American" plaque in advance of the bands trip to Europe and Hollywood Festival gig. The dates seem to support this idea.
DeleteI had been trying to identify that "sticker" for a bit before I found a Getty version of one of the common photos that showed the plaques thickness. That's when I realized I wasn't looking for a sticker! And this was a plastic, "Lenticular Lens" - which, if you are a certain age, you remember as common things. I also found the eBay vendor, and bought one. Only to find the vendor listed another one. A few months later I bought that one, and then he produced two more! So - I reached out to the guy and made it clear I wanted all of them. Now, the story might get more interesting...the vendor told me these came from a warehouse that had been storing things for a California Head Shop. So - I'm going to pursue that detail, and see if they have any more information about this Head Shop and how long this stuff had been in storage. Could it be...?
DeleteThe hollowbody (Byrdland) that Garcia played onstage in 1972.... there seems to be a question on the date. Didn't Jerry and Billy and possibly Phil play an impromptu show with Doug Sahm at Armadillo World Headquarters in 1972 (with Leon Russel and maybe others)? Jerry played mostly pedal steel, but played guitar on one or two songs that he sang lead on. Could the picture of Jerry playing that guitar be from that show? I believe that Doug Sahm was playing a Gibson hollowbody in that era. So maybe the guitar in that picture actually belongs to Doug Sahm? I know I'm taking a leap here, but food for thought nonetheless!
ReplyDeleteInteresting theory - but actually, the photo with the Byrdland was from a Garcia/Saunders show with Tom Fogerty months earlier, maybe late '71? In the 11/23/72 show with Doug Sahm, Garcia played his numbered Erlewine - and one of the photos of the Erlewine in this post is from that very show.
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