Riff Tone

Althea

Grateful Dead

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

GuitarDoug Irwin 'Tiger' (custom electric guitar)

AmpFender Twin Reverb (Silverface, late 1970s)

PickupsDiMarzio Super II humbuckers (bridge and middle), DiMarzio SDS-1 single coil (neck)

Amp Settings

gain3.5

bass5.5

mid7

treble7

reverb4.5

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

modulationMu-Tron Mu-Tron III Envelope Filter

Notes

Studio recording, 1979; 'Althea' riff section. Tiger guitar with onboard effects loop. Amp is Fender Twin Reverb, likely into McIntosh MC2300 power amp for live, but studio likely just Twin Reverb. Effects loop used for envelope filter. Pickup coil-split toggles available. Settings estimated based on era, genre, and typical Garcia setup for this song.

Tone Character(10)

throaty-bordering-on-nasal sweet spotclean and articulatedynamic and touch-sensitivebright but not harshpercussive attacksubtle warmthdistinct envelope filter quackslightly compressedclear note separationfunky, expressive phrasing

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate skill due to its syncopated phrasing, use of envelope filter for articulation, and the need for dynamic picking and muting to achieve Garcia's signature clean, funky tone.