Author Topic: Irwin or Alembic? (Read 555 times)

lbpesq · « **on:** March 22, 2007, 07:48:55 PM »

I just got my copy of the newest issue of Relix in the mail. I open it up and see an ad for an auction of Dead memorabilia that belonged to Ramrod. Here's the picture in the ad, described as The first guitar that Doug Irwin made for Jerry Garcia, circa 1971.

Look familiar?

Bill, tgo

lbpesq · « **Reply #1 on:** March 22, 2007, 10:06:59 PM »

Here's a link to the auction house. Click on Full Sales Schedule (halfway down, on the left), and search for May 8, 2007. There's some interesting stuff in this auction. Enjoy.

Bill, tgo

pace · « **Reply #2 on:** March 23, 2007, 04:18:44 AM »

I got a laugh out of this: "between the pick-ups, there is a slot that Ram Rod routed out to insert an additional pick up that was never installed. Garcia's slide from the late 1960s is inside the electronics compartment to add weight, per Garcia's instructions, along with a few of Ram Rod?s son, Rudson?s, fishing weights. (When the guitar is picked up, these weights can still be heard, moving around inside);

keith_h · « **Reply #3 on:** March 23, 2007, 04:19:23 AM »

It's interesting that the guitar has the Alembic logo on the back side.

Keith

pace · « **Reply #4 on:** March 23, 2007, 04:27:14 AM »

Is this the one that has been missing all this time~ Wolf Jr.?!?!?

adriaan · « **Reply #5 on:** March 23, 2007, 04:35:57 AM »

What about Jerry Garcia's Travis Bean estimated at $250,000-300,000 ... because of the neck made of silver metal, no doubt.

At least the Irwin is more conservatively estimated at $100,000-120,000. - Certainly looks like an Alembic transmogrified by Irwin.

And look here - Brent Mydland Kurzweil PC88 mx keyboard - a piece of HISTORY you can afford at $1,000-1,500.

Yes, that last one actually looks like a fair price.

keavin · « **Reply #6 on:** March 23, 2007, 05:52:08 AM »

jerry's early alembics were serial numbers #3,#13,#25 & #6, Irwin did work on a couple removing the logos which explains the (alembic)logo on the backside of this particular guitar.

lbpesq · « **Reply #7 on:** March 23, 2007, 06:48:24 AM »

The Irwin logo on the front can't be original. Irwin hadn't developed it yet in '71. Remember, Wolf, built AFTER this guitar, originally had an Alembic logo and something Irwin has described as his peacock logo - the Eagle wasn't added until after Wolf fell and was damaged during the Europe '72 tour.

Bill, tgo

waldo041 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 26, 2007, 09:12:05 PM »

Keavin,

is one of those alembic serial numbers wolf's? if so, which one? if not, do you happen to know wolf's original alembic serial #?

thanks.

peace,
waldo

paulman · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2007, 09:04:54 AM »

In the Blair Jackson book Doug states the first guitar he made for Jerry was already complete, and has the Eagle inlay on the headstock. He also says this is why it had the nickname Eagle

It was made at the Alembic shop while Doug was working there, so maybe that explains the logo on the back also.

inthelows · « **Reply #10 on:** March 30, 2007, 04:35:36 PM »

Nice bit of detective work guys!
NLP

jsaylor · « **Reply #11 on:** March 31, 2007, 06:10:47 PM »

Heres what I found:
http://dozin.com/dougirwin/interview.html

DI: Well, it's kind of a long story, I met him at a guitar store one day. I was finishing a guitar which was the first one I had built under my own name

So no, it was Doug, not Alembic.

Anyone know if Irwin still makes guitars? I would like to know how much a Tiger would cost these days to make.

bigideas · « **Reply #12 on:** March 31, 2007, 10:12:42 PM »

check it!

http://www.alembic.com/club/messages/449/23029.html?1133960605

lbpesq · « **Reply #13 on:** April 01, 2007, 09:59:15 AM »

Here's another interesting excerpt from the Irwin interview on dozin.com:

SQ: How many guitars had you built before this one? [referring to the first guitar Jerry allegedly bought from Doug - the Eagle pictured above - Bill, tgo]

DI: Well I had built, jeez I don't know how many exactly. I started out going to college to be a biochemist. All through high school, that's what I decided I was going to do, I was going to be a biochemist. After two years of college, I decided well I got to think about this a little bit, I don't know about this biochemistry stuff, those guys want to mess with things I don't think should be messed with. So I decided to think about it a little bit and at this point, I was about 19-20 years old, I moved out to San Francisco from Rochester, New York.

Notice how Irwin never answered the question. I suspect the real answer is I don't remember exactly, but I know it was either zero, none, or nada, but it's so long ago I'm just not sure.

Answering your question Jordan, I don't believe he's making guitars or much of anything else these days. I tried to track him down to see if he could authenticate the Irwin guitar I picked up last summer. The best info I could unearth is that he was down and out, strung out, living in a cheap hotel in central California and he would likely charge me $ to talk to me.

Personally, when it comes to the history of Alembic/Eagle/Wolf/Irwin, I take Irwin's claims with a large grain of salt. No one I've asked has ever come up with a reasonable explanation of why, if these guitars are designed and built by Irwin, he would put Alembic logos on them? Ever seen Gibson put Martin logos on their guitars?

Bill, tgo

dannobasso · « **Reply #14 on:** April 01, 2007, 11:33:35 AM »

I believe you cannot deny the construction and design are very much alembic in nature. Whatever the claims are, he learned a great deal from the Wickershams and others who were at Alembic at the time. Does lend authenticity to why you can't get a logo to replace one on your instrument vis da mail. A very nice instrument whatever the story behind it.