How Jerry Garcia Revolutionized the Custom Guitar Industry

[StephenR]

Guitar World article about the evolution of Garcia's various guitars. Naturally there is Alembic content...
https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/how-jerry-garcia-revolutionized-the-custom-guitar-industry

[cozmik_cowboy]

Interesting - but containing a goodly number of errors (Jer took up banjo in the early '60s, not late '40s; a band member - I disremember which one - has said that the impetus for MMUJC to plug in came from another electrified jug band, the Lovin' Spoonful; Wolf started as Alembic 72- [or '73-]25, not a post_Alembic Irwin; etc.)

Peter

[lbpesq]

Thanks for posting, though a word of warning regarding accuracy.  The article describes Alligator as a ‘63 body with a ‘57 neck.   In fact, Alligator, serial #7310, was a Feb. 1955 body with a March 1955 neck and, likely, 1954 Alnico 3 pickups (Fender changed to Alnico 5 in 1955).   And we all know about the controversy surrounding the origin of Wolf which is not addressed in the article.

Bill, tgo

[cozmik_cowboy]

....and, likely, 1954 Alnico 3 pickups (Fender changed to Alnico 5 in 1955).   
Bill, tgo

But for how long?  I have read quotes form Jer about how he had to keep changing p/ups, as Strat p/ups "wore out" in a few months; seems he could hear a loss of high-end in that time.

Peter

[edwardofhuncote]

As you guys may have guessed, I am held in rapt fascination with threads like these.


I don't know the details of how Wolf came to be, I only gather from shards of info here and there that it is a re-cut early Alembic. (evidently, #25) No idea what it looked like as new, whose idea it was to re-imagine it, or what the goals were. I assume the resulting instrument is the model the Further guitar is patterned after, but I don't even know what that means.


I'd always wondered what the particulars were on the Alligator Strat. Assume 7310 is a Fender number, not an Alembic designation? (I think we know who has Alembic #10...)


That being asked; does it have an Alembic Serial designation too? Like Phil's Starfire? Does Wolf still bear a number on the headstock?


Thanks for posting!

[cozmik_cowboy]

If i understand it correctly, Greg, Wolf's body is unchanged from Susan's design.  Jerry had Doug Irwin switch out the electronics; at first he put in 3 Strat p/ups mounted in a chrome plate; later this was changed to 2 Super Distortions in a brass plate.

I have seen one pic of Jer  playing it with just an Alembic logo down by the nut; at some point Doug added his first logo near the top of the headstock - there are many pix of it in this dress.  Later, while repairing a headstock break, Doug put on a new headplate with just his new logo (I suspect that's when he started saying it was one of his).  He also refinished it, at which point - as the refin required the removal of Jer's "Big Bad Wolf" sticker - he replicated it in inlay (well, almost; the inlay background is maple, while the sticker was blue).

Peter (who, of course, welcomes corrections from those more informed than he)

[paulman]

So much legend and fable regarding Jerry's guitars.  I've read about every book on his guitars s and many interviews and discussions about Wolf. 

Only few will ever know the true story (a couple of them own Alembic) and after reading all the members autobiography or biography none of the story's match exactly.  There is a consistent thread but most details vary from band member to band member.

A true representation of Qualia.

Thanks for posting this article, I'll never get enough reading on this subject, it's a passion!

[edwin]

....and, likely, 1954 Alnico 3 pickups (Fender changed to Alnico 5 in 1955).   
Bill, tgo

But for how long?  I have read quotes form Jer about how he had to keep changing p/ups, as Strat p/ups "wore out" in a few months; seems he could hear a loss of high-end in that time.

Peter

Lane Poor told me that he worked at Alembic for a bit in the early 70s and one of his jobs was to remagnetize Jerry's Strat pickups.

[lbpesq]

That doesn’t surprise me.  I’ve often read how Jerry thought his pickups lost magnetism.   What I’ve always questioned is why he would change the pickups when re-magnetizing them would be much easier, especially on single coils … you can do it without desoldering.   In fact, you could easily build a rig like a large tuning fork, install a couple of magnets, and you could do it on a Strat without even removing the pickups from the pick-guard!

Bill, tgo

[sonicus]

SONICUS WROTE :   I remember, whilst on a visit to Mr Irwin's workshop ,seeing “WOLF” ( Jerry's guitar) on the workbench during this process of decal to inlay transitions and the Irwin LOGO installation , He told me what he was doing in such regard.

      COSMIK _COWBOY WROTE : I have seen one pic of Jer  playing it with just an Alembic logo down by the nut; at some point Doug added his first logo near the top of the headstock - there are many pix of it in this dress.  Later, while repairing a headstock break, Doug put on a new headplate with just his new logo (I suspect that's when he started saying it was one of his).  He also refinished it, at which point - as the refin required the removal of Jer's "Big Bad Wolf" sticker - he replicated it in inlay (well, almost; the inlay background is maple, while the sticker was blue).

Peter (who, of course, welcomes corrections from those more informed than he)
[/quote]

[cozmik_cowboy]

So, the second Irwin logo & the "Wolf" inlay were done at the sane time?

Peter (who, being mostly out the biz for many a year now, loves having a place to conversate with other guitar geeks)

[sonicus]

cozmik_cowboy  , From my recollection ; the instrument was brought to the shop for a head stock repair and a refinish, and Mr Irwin mentioned that he was going to replace the image of the Wolf with an inlay as well as install the new Irwin logo. I went up to his shop many times whilst he was working on my old GUILD STARFIRE basses.   He did work on both of them. I still own one of them. Both can be found in our showcase sections.