Current holder of 2nd most expensive guitar at auction

[Ryan X (ryan)]

Is Jerry Garcia's Tiger guitar an Alembic custom too?  I have pics of that guitar also and I'm willing to post those too.
 
Let me know.

[Russ Carreiro (zappahead)]

Ignorant questions, hopefully you guys can fill me in:
 
Doug Irwin, did he create Jerrys infamous guitars or did he simply work on them or did he simply just work for Alembic?
 
Ive always been curious and to be honest Ive read a couple of different versions of the story and have always wondered which was true. (In essence the story Ive read recently stated that Jerry bought the guitars direct from Doug and that Doug did all the work, which doesnt make sense since Ive seen pics of the instruments with Alembic logos and obvious Alembic handiwork).
 
Also, if its known, who created the Tribute shape?

[David Houck]

Russ; there is some mention about Irwin in the following archived thread.  Its a very interesting thread.
 
http://club.alembic.com/Images/449/2465.html

[sdewalle]

Word on the street is that Sammy Hagar has Wolf and the owner of the Indianapolis Colts has Tiger.  Sammy showing up at a recent Dead show and singing on Loose Lucy pretty much confirmed the rumor for me.
 
Steve

[billy_v]

Godamighty!  Seeing these detailed pics is like being Jerry's roadie, without the heavy lifting.  Muchas gracias to all!

[zappahead]

Check this link out, it has the best pics of Jerrys guitars and some really cool information:
 
http://www.dozin.com/Guitars/TheGuitars.asp

[dela217]

I clicked on a picture of Phil's Alembic expecting to see some detail shots.  Instead it brought me to Susan's long version of Alembic's history.  Cool.

[sdewalle]

If you're interested in the Grateful Deads gear, www.dozin.com is the place to get it.  The guy that maintains that site is on the ball.  Theres a link there to join the GearHeads yahoo group which is interesting.  If you want to know what type of capacitor Jerry was using on his middle pickup tone pot in 1987, theres a good chance someone there will know.  Check it out.
Steve

[mplsdeadhead92]

Hey Now!  Just wanted to clarify something about the wolf guitar.  The first post mentions that the guitair does not have the wolf sticker  As Ryan X's post clearly shows, that is actually a pretty clever inlay, not a sticker.  If you look closely enough, you can even see the wood grain in the darker parts of the wolf's face.  

[mica]

Wasn't the story that Jerry put a wolf sticker on the guitar and when Doug repaired the peghead from a fall and refinished the guitar, he made an inlay replica of the sticker?

[ganque]

In the post with the black and white image where you can see the alembic logo with the alembic knobs, there is some drool on the wolf's tongue, but not in the pictures where there are silver knobs and inlay detail such as the brass. That drool makes it easier to differentiate.

[pasewark]

Yes. It was a sticker originally. Then Doug did the inlay when Garcia gave him the guitar to work on.  
 
This description is in one of the Garica/Dead bios. Possibly McNallys.

[jahnahisti]

jackofroses.com sells a replica of the original wolf sticker with the drool and all.

[shae]

For those who may care...Though I do not know who bought the wolf, I understand Phil Lesh's Unbroken Chain Foundation now owns it. It was given to the foundation a year or so ago to be used at various concerts with proceeds from those concerts going back to the foundation. Seems as though it shows up at DSO shows when Bob or Phil play along, and with other groups like Phil & Friends, Ratdog, String Cheese, Trey, Mike, Etc. Etc.

[David Houck]

Shae; you may enjoy reading this thread.