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dvdmtz
Joined:
03 Feb 2005
Posts: 4
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 Posted: 02/22/2010 at 10:13 AM Post subject: Who knows???? JG..... |
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Ok, this should get a thread going. I've just posted my 1000A SN# 386 on the database.. The short story: 1) bought it before Jerry Garcia died 2) the store owner had a 500 and 1000S in the store and I was going to buy the 1000S because it was "like" JG's - he did not sell me either - instead he said he'd get me one of JG's old TBs - took no money, gave up a sure sale, two weeks later called me with #386 - same price. 3) contacted Alembic with pic and specs - talked directly with them...These are Alembic electronics.. their first active EQ system... was what they we working with JG on.. said not to sell them as they are very expensive. 4) guitar is very modified - even had to mill some aluminum to accept the single coil pickups.
Does anyone know something about this guitar??? - I am thinking of modifying but don't want to if it really was JG's. Any thoughts/leads would be appreciated.
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BoulderBean
Joined:
04 Feb 2004
Posts: 299
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| Posted: 03/05/2010 at 11:08 AM Post subject: RE:Who knows???? JG..... |
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Interesting. Definitely Alembic electronics and hardware. It could have been a proto-type prepared for Garcia in the 1975-76 time frame. He started out playing a white 1000A in 1975 that appears to have been un-modified. Then he switched to a TB 500 in late '76 or early '77. His two TB 500 guitars were his first to be equipped with the unity-gain buffer designed by John Cutler. It looks like your guitar has some active electronics (possibly an Alembic strato-blaster?) but not the unity-gain buffer which requires two plugs for guitar.
If you're able to positively link the guitar with Garcia then you probably have something of higher value and it would be foolish to modify it and lose that. I'm not sure what a hypothetical link to Garcia does to a guitar's value, but it probably doesn't hurt. In this case it's probably safer not to modify the guitar. Maybe sell it and get something closer to what you want?
Thanks for an interesting post.
Peter
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dvdmtz
Joined:
03 Feb 2005
Posts: 4
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| Posted: 03/05/2010 at 11:55 AM Post subject: RE:Who knows???? JG..... |
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Peter, thanks for the reply. This is a hard one for me. The story of the guitar is "valid" enough to make it seem possible this could have been a JG prototype. I bought this guitar out a group of TBs that were supposedly acquired in the liquidation of the TB factory - before JG died. Apparently the person had something like 12 TBs he got from the factory, and this guitar - with the Alembic electronics - was part of that batch. As I mentioned before - there was a chance to sell me a Standard for the same price but when he heard I was a JG guy he got me #386 for the same price.
On the other hand, maybe he was way smarter than I and saw a chance to "dump" the modified Artist - ouch.
I think you're right about modifying the guitar - and it does sound great. For now I'll keep poking around, maybe something will come up, or, someone will be interested taking over the search, trade, sale ????
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