Author Topic: Irwin or Alembic? (Read 570 times)

keavin · « **Reply #15 on:** May 09, 2007, 08:17:05 AM »

Just Sold for $155,000....WOW!!!...............NOW I WONDER WHAT WILL STANLEY'S GRAPHITE ALEMBIC WILL FETCH?

(Message edited by keavin on May 09, 2007)

zappahead · « **Reply #16 on:** May 09, 2007, 06:39:00 PM »

Irwin had to be working for Alembic at the time he sold his first guitar to Jerry. I think thats why you see the Eagle on the front and the Alembic logo on the back. Its possibly an employee project guitar like other ones we see now and then. In the Grateful Dead Gear book by Blair he writes that the first one (probably this one) was built by Irwin and that the Wolf was also built by Irwin with the body shape being designed by Susan. No one from Jerry on down seems to be able to detail each and every turn on those guitars.

grateful · « **Reply #17 on:** May 10, 2007, 12:57:26 AM »

Yet Susan states no individual ever built an Alembic instrument. As Alembic are the only instrument manufacturer who do not trade off their big name customers, I know who I believe and it ain't Doug!

Mark

(Message edited by grateful on May 10, 2007)

lbpesq · « **Reply #18 on:** May 10, 2007, 06:40:29 AM »

In addition, the eagle logo on the auctioned guitar likely isn't original. As I've noted elsewhere in this forum (forgive the redundancy), Wolf, which all agree was built after this guitar, originally had an Alembic logo on the peghead, along with another design that Irwin has referred to as his then peacock logo. It was only following the Europe '72 tour, on which Wolf was dropped and cracked the headstock, that Irwin repaired Wolf and at that time removed the Alembic logo and added his eagle logo. Thus the eagle doesn't appear to have been Irwin's logo at the time the auctioned guitar was built, so it is much more likely that it, like on Wolf, was added at a later time.

Bill, tgo

jahnahisti · « **Reply #19 on:** May 10, 2007, 04:27:55 PM »

Irwembic! Spell check doesn't agree though!

grateful · « **Reply #20 on:** May 11, 2007, 01:37:27 AM »

Bill, Jerry was playing the alligator Strat in the Europe '72 tour. The Wolf was only finished in May '73! It was dropped in the Europe '74 tour but survived. Jerry was still playing the Wolf in August '75 in the Blues for Allah show. It was some time after this it was damaged badly enough to need repairing when Jerry started playing the Travis Beans.

Mark