Richard R Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Just watching the film "Sunshine Daydream" of the Grateful Dead concert at Veneta Oregon, 1972. What is Phil Lesh playing here, and what on earth are all the knobs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Whatever it is he needs a few more knobs and switches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 (edited) Alembic did a few discrete mods to a Guild Starfire for him Edited January 28, 2023 by ahpook Double post 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 (edited) Double post Edited January 28, 2023 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 28, 2023 Author Share Posted January 28, 2023 A few? Discreet?🤣 Thanks @ahpook 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Richard R said: A few? Discreet?🤣 Thanks @ahpook They did a similar job on one of Jack Casady's - I've seen a few pictures of him playing a similar knobfested Guild. Edited January 28, 2023 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 28, 2023 Author Share Posted January 28, 2023 I've listened to the concert recording a lot, but never sat down to watch the film before today. Judging by the number of naked stoned hippies dancing in the audience then knob-fest seems appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 28, 2023 Author Share Posted January 28, 2023 Great to watch him play though. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 2 hours ago, ahpook said: Alembic did a few discrete mods to a Guild Starfire for him Its the bass that made me love the look of lots of electronics, kmobs and switches. I love a crazy layout like that. Too cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Think I'd pefer lesh of the knobs... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 It's easy to see how he migrated to modulus basses. He obviously likes to keep ahead of the game on bass technology Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 28, 2023 Author Share Posted January 28, 2023 18 minutes ago, yorks5stringer said: Think I'd pefer lesh of the knobs... Ish that like Tesh of the d'Urbervillsh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Somebody told him "You're gonna need a preamp with that" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 More is Lesh! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 (edited) On 28/01/2023 at 19:04, ahpook said: Alembic did a few discrete mods to a Guild Starfire for him Also is that there in the middle the battery for whole preamp, and attached with strips of copper tape? If that is the case you would think they could have come up with a less hack like and more practical/easily accessible solution with all that overengineering otherwise going on there. I do love the 60's sci-fi spaceship control panel aesthetics of it though, but would have been even better if they had cramped in some flick switches as well, and used a variety of different knobs. Edited January 30, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 I've just watched that, and it's amazing: all them knobs (operative word) allowed him to get it to sound like a semi-acoustic bass played with a pick... 🤪 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Take a look at Lesh's Ritter, too. At least I think that The eye of Horus had something to do with him: https://ritter-instruments.com/models.php 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 https://ritter-instruments.com/artist-series-phil-lesh.php Fewer knobs, more wild curves. I rather like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 On 30/01/2023 at 10:14, Baloney Balderdash said: Also is that there in the middle the battery for whole preamp, and attached with strips of copper tape? If that is the case you would think they could have come up with a less hack like and more practical/easily accessible solution with all that overengineering otherwise going on there. I do love the 60's sci-fi spaceship control panel aesthetics of it though, but would have been even better if they had cramped in some flick switches as well, and used a variety of different knobs. I'd guess it's another pickup, but it does look a bit lashed {leshed} up ? It does look very cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Alembic has the noise killing 3rd "pickup" in the middle. It does not produce any sound, but combined with either singlecoil acts like humbucker. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, ahpook said: I'd guess it's another pickup, but it does look a bit lashed {leshed} up ? It does look very cool. *ba-dum-chi!* Ah, of course, makes sense, must be that Quad Pickup mentioned in the control pictogram. Also just found a video with a recording of a song from that concert. Must admit I was never any big Grateful Dead fan, but actually did sound very nice, and the bass sounded no less than awesome on that recording, also really like Lesh's very meandering bass play, that almost magically just fits in perfectly and never gets in the way despite being all over the place, almost like a paradox. Maybe I really ought to check out some more Grateful Dead stuff, the few songs I have heard just always came off as a bit boring, kind of too straight and off the mill bland, for my taste, but perhaps I just need to keep away from studio recordings and stick to their live stuff, sure does seem like that is where the real magic is happening. Liked just about every live recording I've watched and heard with them so far, but disliked every studio recording I've heard, or well maybe dislike is too strong a word to use, leaving me completely indifferent would be more accurate. This one: Edited January 31, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 54 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said: I just need to keep away from studio recordings and stick to their live stuff Absolutely this. GD completely passed me by until a couple of years ago when I asked Findave of this parish for a recommendation of what to listen to. And the live recordings are definitely where the magic is. Because they encouraged both fan and desk recordings and bootlegs, pretty much everything got recorded, and a lot is now on CD. Cornel 5/8/77 is the obvious starting point, and for a good reason. It's regarded as almost definite by some, but they played for 30 years, so there were a lot of good gigs. The Sunshine Daydream concert is from '72 so a bit earlier. I then really like "Wake Up to Find Out - Nassau Colluseum 3/29/1990" and "Crimson White and Indigo - July 7 1989' Different to the 70's concerts and to each other. The version of Birdsong on Wake Up to Find Out has a sax guest player. Originally just for that song they liked jamming with him so insisted he played the rest of the set. All the above are on Spotify, and highly recommended. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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