106d Edwin Hurwitz Boulder CO http://www.indra.com/~edwin The short story is this: Phil started out on a Gibson EB0, then moved to a Fender Jazz Bass which he used until '68. After that he played a not very modified Guild Starfire (preamps and some magnet changes in the pickups)through late '69 or so (Live Dead is a great example of this sound). The next bass was a heavily modified Gibson EB3 (I think it was a long instrument) which had new hardware, preamps and Guild single coil pickups installed by Alembic. This bass can be heard on Skullfuck and other recordings of the time (DP from the Fillmore '70 show is an excellent example of this instrument). This instrument was stolen (anybody out there seen it?) and was followed by the Starfire, but this time it had it's front removed and replaced with all new pickups and electronics, including an Alembic superfilter and quadraphonic pickup. The headstock was also replaced. It was called the Godfather. This is the bass heard on Europe '72 and in a lot of ways my favorite of Phil's various sounds. It can be seen at Alembic's website. In '73 he received his first Alembic 4 string bass that was also quite an instrument, it was also quad and is seen in the Grateful Dead movie. It interfaced quite well with the Wall of Sound.This bass was followed by a Doug Irwin and then a G&L as well as Flirtations with an old Fender Jazz. Finally, in the early 80s he got his first Modulus 6 string and that's when my interest waned somewhat in his sound as I feel it lost a lot of character, although it certainly gained in definition. As a bass player, I feel that his most expressive sounds were between '69 and 74, especially when the Godfather was used. I've used a Starfire that has had it's electronics and hardware updated, and in many ways it is a bass that deserves much more respect that it has gotten in the past. As far as amplification goes, Phil used various amps in the 60s before settling on Fender Dual Showmen, which were probably somewhat modified by Bear and Alembic. By mid 1972 he started using these amps in conjunction with McIntosh 3500 tube amps (these can be clearly seen in the Sunshine Daydream video from August of '72). Each amp produced 350 watts from 8 6L6GC tubes, which, if you use 4 of these, can create an awesome sound indeed. Shortly thereafter, Alembic convinced him (I'm sure it was very easy) to use their F2B preamps instead of the Fender front ends. These preamps are awesome and are still made today. I use a pair of them and they deliver a versatile clear warm and modern sound. He also switched to McIntosh 2300s, which, as solid state amps, are much more efficient in terms of weight and reliability. This was the electronic basis for his part of the Wall of Sound and remained the center of his rig through to the late 70s with various configurations of speakers (starting out with JBLs in the late 60s to Gauss by the late 70s). Eventually he switched to a Groove Tubes preamp and Crest amps and developed a rig that was dominated by the Meyer processors and speakers for a very hifi sound that was essentially a miniature version of the PA system used throughout the 80s and 90s. As far as effects go, I'm not really up on that as my interest in exploring his sound had died off by the early 80s when I discovered Bootsy and others who I felt were taking bass sounds to a more interesting place. Don't get me wrong, I have always been entranced by Phil and indeed was originally inspired by him to take up the bass in the 70s, but it seemed to me that the clearer the sound became, the less interesting it was. Although never got to hear the Wall in person, it seems (from recordings and reports) like that was a pinnacle of sound and creativity. I hope this helps. Update: Last year I built myself a bass with a Modulus Quantum 6 neck and have developed a new appreciation for the more modern Phil Lesh sound. Funny how that goes! The Starfire also has since been reissued and seems to have gained a better reputation and a higher profile. . 0