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Dead Tone


MTM105

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I never liked the Grateful Dead.  1984 I  went to MSG tripping ballz to understand them.  Still didn’t like.

It took several decades for me to invest in & appreciate tone.  Today I hear the Dead and think, “ that’s it!”.  The tone, that is.

Is there a Dead tone?

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Google is your friend here.  There are whole websites dedicated to Jerry's gear.  Jerry had a bunch of different guitars over the years, although I don't think he ever played an Alembic guitar, (Phil played Alembic basses for a while though).  Jerry mostly played through Twin reverbs that were then pushed through McIntosh power amps. http://jerrygarcia.com/guitars/

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2 hours ago, MTM105 said:

I never liked the Grateful Dead.

Me, either. Here in NoCal they are worshipped as gods by aging trustafarians. 

The Dead have always sounded like a stoned bar-band to me, total weaksauce.I don’t do, “jam-band” music. No thanks...

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An old line.......

"What did the Dead fanatic say when he ran out of drugs?"

"Man, this music SUCKS!"

GD wall.jpeg

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5 minutes ago, django49 said:

An old line.......

"What did the Dead fanatic say when he ran out of drugs?"

"Man, this music SUCKS!"
 

Yeah, but that's a trick question. Dead fans don't run out of drugs. :lol:

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2 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

Well, I apologize for assuming the Doug Irwin guitars were Alembics.  Alembic did make a guitar as a tribute to Jerry's guitars, though

The history of Alembic, the Greatful Dead, and Doug Irwin are completely linked together. " At the end of 1972, Jerry stumbled onto the first guitar Doug Irwin made for Alembic, and bought it on the spot for $850. "  I read some articles that also say that Doug Irwin reworked many of the guitars that had Alembic branding, and put his own logo on them, so it's not exactly clear who built what.

What IS clear is that Jerry wanted all his guitars to go to Doug Irwin, and the Greatful dead were not happy with that. After the lawsuit, Doug received "Wolf" and "Tiger" , and then promptly sold them for big big bucks at auction.

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Scott Walker, when not serving as Governor of Wisconsin (JOKING!) has picked up the mantle of some of those early guitar builders that had links to Garcia. Pancake bodies, deepset necks, extensive onboard electronics and switching, exotic hardwood, etc.

I cannot vouch for the good/bad of any actual guitar from that era. But I have had a chance to play 4 of Scott's guitars (NONE of them fully tricked out with all the built-ins, but each having some "unique" features). Each of them is something special.

http://scottwalkerguitars.com/guitars/the-phantom/

http://scottwalkerguitars.com/guitars/attrezzo/

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8 hours ago, Disturber said:

Which album is the best entry album for the Greatful Dead, for a person who never listened to them, like ever?

I’d recommend Reckoning. It’s taken from some acoustic shows at Radio City Music Hall in the early 80s. Great stuff, and if you don’t like that, you’re not likely to enjoy much else. 

Otherwise, I’d go with Terrapin Station as my favorite studio album and Dick’s Picks #3 as my favorite live release, though I really like a lot of the shows from ‘77. The Cornell and  Buffalo shows are also outstanding.

BTW, my favorite Dead joke is that they never played a song the same way once.

P.S. John Mayer has been kicking ass with Dead and Company.

From Reckoning:

 

 

 

 

From Terrapin Station:

From Dick’s Picks #3:

 

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30 minutes ago, RobB said:

Really? Sounds dreadful. Sounds dreadful. 

Well, someday you can be grateful that he’s dead, too! :P

But yes, really... the guy can play. Though if you don’t like jam band stuff, I doubt he would win you over. 

I’m a big Deadhead, and I was not expecting to like John Mayer as much as I did. He clearly loves that gig.

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No harm intended. JG was a very sweet dude. I just like poking fun at deadhead music and its fans. 

Actually saw GD w/Bob Dylan (AND John Fogerty!) in ‘87. It was an eye-opening show for me, being the headbanging cynic and all. Parking lot scene was fun! Dead played a good set and they sounded killer backing Dylan. I think it was Fogerty’s first time playing CCR tunes in a decade or so. He tore shit up.

 

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No harm here! Some of my best friends hate the Dead and they’re not shy about it!

I would have liked to see the show you’re talking about, but the album they put out (titled “Dylan and The Dead”) was horrible. 

And the last time I saw Fogerty he played a shred solo, like his own little Eruption. Was not expecting that! 

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6 hours ago, gtrdaddy said:

For studio albums I would pick American Beauty, Workingman’s Dead, and Go To Heaven. What the dead were known for, is their live shows. Dead Set, Live Without A Net, Dozin’ At The Knick, Fillmore East Feb 13, 1970 featuring Duane Allman and and Peter Green ,  Dick’s Picks Vol 14, Dick’s Picks Vol 4, sooo many great live albums!

The best album is go to iTunes and buy the songs "Casey Jones", "Touch of Gray" and "Truckin".  THAT is the best of GD.  The  rest is just self-indulgent jam band crap.    Makes "In a gadda da vida" sound like a bubbly little tune from The Sound of Music. Cheers!

Hmmm....helmet of hair

caddie

iIn a gadda da vida, baby.  Catchy, eh?

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When I was 17 and building my chops, I tried listening to some Dead to see wth the fuss was about. I spun American Beauty, In the Dark, and Shakedown Street. It wasn't bad, but I heard nothing that explained the obsession. I just didn't get it. 

Fast forward 30 years. I've tried listening to several concert recordings to broaden my exposure. I still don't see the allure. And I agree with what someone else here said: Garcia tone, to me, is mostly envelope filter squirts and squawks, or alternately, compressed hi-fi farts. Again, I just don't get it. 

ETA: I respect the fact that the lads have legions of rabid fans. They obviously did something right and earned their status..

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