Grateful Dead Phil bass question

[gtrguy]

On Wikipedias site for the Grateful dead it has a picture of Phil playing what looks like a 'Tribute' style bass and I was wondering what it was. It looks great. No doubt it has beed covered before but i was wondering.

[edwardofhuncote]

That's the Doug Irwin bass, I think. Early 1980's. It's used on "Reckoning".

[edwardofhuncote]

There's a couple looks at it in this show from Radio City Music Hall 10/31/80.

[StephenR]

Looks can be deceiving. To my ears this was the worst sounding bass Phil ever played on stage.

[Mark 63]

Phil without an Alembic is like Dexter Gordon without a Conn. Always a great player, always sounded good on quality instruments, but not at their best.
Alembic and Phil are made for each other.

[gtrguy]

On the video it kinda has that woody sound I tend to associate with an old Hofner beatle Bass.

[glocke]

Phil without an Alembic is like Dexter Gordon without a Conn. Always a great player, always sounded good on quality instruments, but not at their best.
Alembic and Phil are made for each other.

I agree..Honestly that's what draws me to the 70's era of Dead recordings is Phil on his Alembic bass and his modified starfire.  Thats the sound I associate with him.

The later years on the modulus basses sound good, but its just not the same.

[cozmik_cowboy]

As much as I love the sounds he got with Big Brown & Mission Control, my favorite Phil Tone was the EB-0 with the Bi-Sonics & whatever magic Mssrs. Stanley & Wickersham worked on its innards; allow me to make my case:

Peter (who agrees that the Irwin was severely lacking)

[edwardofhuncote]

I agree about the blandness of the Irwin bass, but it isn't bad. I wonder if it just isn't what we're used to hearing Phil sound like. I don't recall seeing any threads about that bass where it was being commented on favorably. There was one on RU Kind, that I can't access anymore that may have had more info. I really don't know much about it. The pickups look sorta' like those PAF DiMarzio P's that were all the rage for a while.


I must confess, I'm mostly just drawn to the Reckoning album for what's on it, and the presentation of it than the overall sound quality. Probably because it comes closer to my bluegrass/oldtyme roots, and what I'm still playing on gigs today for that matter. Still sounds like Phil to me, just subdued in comparison to the 70's sound.

[edwin]

As much as I love the sounds he got with Big Brown & Mission Control, my favorite Phil Tone was the EB-0 with the Bi-Sonics & whatever magic Mssrs. Stanley & Wickersham worked on its innards; allow me to make my case:

Peter (who agrees that the Irwin was severely lacking)

I have to agree. There's something about that bass that just sounds great. I've gone through a couple of modified EB-3s and neither of them got that particular tone nailed. I'm not sure why, as it seems pretty straightforward.

[peoplechipper]

that Irwin sounds farty to me; almost like he's got a blown speaker somewhere...

[kilowatt]

Had a discussion many years ago with Mr. Wickersham regarding Phil's tone from this era. He said that the infinite baffle speakers had as much to do with his sound, as the bass.

Regards,
Pete