Riff Tone

Terrapin Station Medley

Grateful Dead

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

GuitarCustom Doug Irwin 'Wolf' (Jerry Garcia's main guitar for studio Terrapin Station, 1977)

AmpFender Twin Reverb (preamp) into McIntosh MC2300 power amp

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

Amp Settings

gain0

bass5

mid5

treble6.5

reverb2.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

modulationMu-Tron Mu-Tron III Envelope Filter

phaserMXR MXR Phase 100 (or similar phaser)

Notes

Studio recording, 1977. Jerry Garcia used his custom Doug Irwin 'Wolf' guitar with DiMarzio pickups, running into a Fender Twin Reverb preamp and McIntosh MC2300 power amp. The amp was set for maximum clean headroom. Effects were mostly pedals, with subtle amp spring reverb.

Tone Character(10)

bright and articulatesparkly highstight low endscooped mids for clarityclean and glassytouch-sensitive responsesubtle spring reverbslightly compressed attackdynamic and percussiveclear note separation

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate-level rhythmic precision and dynamic control to trigger the envelope filter musically, as well as clean, articulate picking for the signature Garcia sound.

Sources

Grateful Dead Amp Settings (gear and tone tips) - Guitar Chalk Garcia Guitars & Gear Directory - Rig History

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