Thanks! Will do.
Jerry Garcia’s McIntosh amp
Does anyone know what model McIntosh amp it was that Jerry used when he played live onstage? He sure seemed fond of it and I might like to play my guitar thru one as well. Thx, Gordon
75 responses Add your response
@cal3713 hey check out He’s Gone from 7/2/89 on YouTube for a great performance of that song. And one of my favorite full length concerts to watch is from 7/10/87... just 2 weeks before I “hopped on the bus”... and after my first show at Anaheim my whole life changed. I had finally found my tribe :) |
Thanks @jriggy looking forward to listening to the show. And I've been adding all the good sources for videos to my channel too, hopefully it serves as a good resource. https://www.youtube.com/user/cal3713 |
One of my most favorite Dead videos ever is the 6-21-71 Chateau d’Herouville Herouville France. Excellent time capsule of a great performance. And the YT account Voodoonola (there is also voodoonola2) seemed to me at one point, to be the official ‘unofficial’ GD video drop account, including many remastered sets and full shows, and a good handful of early footage, if you scroll through everything. |
@cal3713 The sound is great, the video is a little dicey at times but the Dead playing Fire on the Mountain at the base of the great pyramids is epic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFYIsvcspmQ |
@doug714 - Thanks for starting this thread - I absolutely love all the great info it's generating/pulling together. And thanks MUCH for sharing your personal story. I was able to stay out of the deep end with substances, but I also recognize much of that was a matter of pure luck and predisposition. We're not all built alike, and I've seen several friends and family members fall into the deep end. As others have said - take it a day at a time and best to you. |
What a great thread. Thanks folks. I know I could find some examples myself, but looking to tap the expertise in here... Any suggestions for a great YouTube video (w quality video and audio) of a great GD performance? I'm collecting videos that fall into this category from all genres and don't have any Dead on there yet. https://youtube.com/user/cal3713 Thanks. And here's to psychological happiness... A constant battle for lots of us unfortunately. |
Hey all… Thanks for all your support with me getting sober and kicking my 10 month daily cocaine habit. I blew through a lot of money but luckily I had a bit saved in the bank so I’m not hurting. And this isn’t my first rodeo. I actually had 14 years clean and sober from ‘89 to ‘03. But I actually started drinking intentionally to get out of a marriage because I did not know how to talk to her... and it worked. But these last 18 years I’ve been in and out of recovery and I’ve been through Kaiser’s rehab five times in the last 13 years. But this last one was just perfect for me and just what I needed... five weeks away and in a group home in Vallejo and I feel so good now. They’ve got my meds dialed in perfectly and I have absolutely zero cravings zero anxiety zero depression. It feels so good to feel so good :-) I know this is a discussion about Jerry’s gear so don’t give me a hard time for getting off topic. I did make it to 21 live shows between 87 and 93 and I was just curious about the amp that he had behind him that he would fiddle with from time to time. I thought he was plugged into a Macintosh amp. But I may be wrong. Half of those shows I went to I was under the influence. The other half I went to I was sober and I learned about the wharf rat meetings during this set break and I went to a lot of those wharf fat meetings. They were very helpful for us trying to stay sober in that environment. I always looked for the yellow balloon to know where the meeting was being held. “What a long strange trip it’s been” |
doug714, Hi, I just saw your post, or I would have responded earlier. I completely understand where you are. I went through 5 years of dependence on cocaine ("crush" my brother and I called it) after the loss of my mother and a friend, and I was happy to come out alive and happy on the other side. Looking back now, I realize that there are so many people having problems with drugs that are not obvious street corner addicts. I was working the entire time, completely dependable, but doing coke secretly throughout the workday, and no one knew. Best of luck in your recovery. If I can, you can. |
Hang in there doug714. Just to let everyone know, what we now refer to as the Wall Of Sound during the time of it`s use it was not called the Wall Of Sound that name came several years later and at a time that i was no longer involved with the band and was starting my own speaker company. Reading thru the contributions here has brought back a lot of things that i have not thought about in decades but as with anything on the net believe about half of it, i know i was there and touched and built the equipment what is seen in one photo or video does not mean it was always that way or some writer decades later relying on second and third hand information but nowadays that can make someone an expert. |
@roxy4 Neither is a cocaine habit. I just blew thru a lot of $$ since the start of this pandemic that could have bought me some really nice audio gear... a whole McIntosh system for sure. But I finally decided to stop and enter my 7th rehab attempt. I just got home yesterday and I feel so good... like a new man! They finally got the meds I need for my anxiety and depression (and cravings) really dialed in and that has made all the difference. |
In the early days they used 4 x MC240 in mono to run the PA. All 4 amps ( at 48# each ) bolted to a sheet of plywood wall of sound is much much more than big amps and speakers, it was based on the idea of line arrays for each player and a special two Mike system ( with feedback cancelling phase control ) engineered by Alembic. I happen to agree on the early 70’s and I love Terrepin. I have a 1961 M240, which I treasure. happy listening all ! |
Sure. No problem. I’ve seen more than one guy build a setup inspired by Jerry’s. An MC2300 is a LOT of amplifier and it has two channels (which can be strapped together for mono operation with double the power of a single channel). They weigh in at 128lbs and presently sell at a premium on the used market. Keeping these old behemoths in service requires a serious commitment and a local McIntosh tech would be a must as shipping them is cost prohibitive as they need be double boxed and palletized for LTL transit. Regular shippers just destroy them. You may find that a MC250 or MC2100 is just more accessible. Each sound indistinguishable from the big brother MC2300. McIntosh also offered both of those in single channel versions - the MC50 and MC100 (rare, but they do come up) - as well as glass faced versions, the MC2505 and MC2105. The last two were stereo models aimed squarely at the HiFi market and cannot be operated in mono without a modification to do so. Neither stopped Bill Hanley from using MC2105s at Woodstock and on the road in general. Whatever you decide, these amps are getting up there in years and McIntosh issued many TSBs on the driver boards over the years to make them more stable. A qualified tech should give the amp a once over with that info at hand. That being said, I’ve had a pair of 2300s in daily service for two decades now and have owned a few dozen in all. Have fun! |
rh67 - there was definitely a time the band used Phase Linear amplifiers, unfortunately it’s simply not well documented. I for one would love to see some pics just out of curiosity. Really, there isn’t much to “claim” when there are literally thousands of photos to support just a google query away. AudioKarma must have ten threads devoted to the Dead’s setups and in at least one of those threads is a gentleman who also spent time with the band. FWIW, neither he or Bear had much good to say about the McIntosh power amps. |
Agree about the early ‘70’s. 1970 and ‘71 have some darn clear sounding recordings. I so wish it didn’t take the crew almost 6 months after Bear went to jail to get it together and start recording without him or we’d have more from ‘71. And yep, ‘73 and ‘74 are distinct. Clear, bold and up close sounding. There are certainly better sources than others for some shows and limited with others but far from all poor sounding. If one isn’t used to audience or raw soundboards then stick to the officially mastered multitrack release. We’re not talking Chesky here, but darn good for what they are... All ya need for the Dead is a linear balanced system with good organic flow and the music will do its magic regardless of recording quality (to an extent). |
The early 70`s (wall of sound years) produced the best live recordings not because i was part of that it just takes one listen. Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there, people claiming this and that and some giving themselves credit for certain things. But who is left to dispute them? and the ones left do not care or have short memories. I just know that at the end of the Wall of sound i was given about 30 PL amps that i slowly sold over the years the last one just a couple of years ago. Some of the amps had printing and not script on the face plates which indicate some of the first. |
@acefqctory, have you listened to much from 1972? Barring personal opinions —and I don’t want to turn this great thread into a debate— but it’s hard to deny there is something special and something unlike any other year happening in ‘72. A telepathic locomotive of shared melody morphing on another level, imo... I just thought I add this in case any newbies or unfamiliar-yet-interested parties are reading. |
There are many, many sites to be found which detail the gear well. Here's one that I forgot about which shows a PL700 sitting atop a stack of MC3500s - http://www.epicdimensions.com/gdgear2.html |
The amp was correctly called in post #2 - an MC2300. McIntosh amps comprised the Wall of Sound, not Phase Linear. (48) MC2300 and a handful of MC-3500s were used. Numerous drawings, photos, threads, and videos (including the one referenced just above), and even the Grateful Dead movie show the amps. McIntosh even developed a bit of a marketing campaign around the fact that both Woodstock and the Grateful Dead chose McIntosh amplification and an even opened a Gradeful Dead exhibit at the R&R HOF - https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/brand/news/Grateful-Dead-Exhibit-at-Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Fame Reportedly, Jerry played through one channel of the MC2300 only while on stage. The particular MC2300 he was seen most often with has a sticker on it of a guy playing the guitar. This was known as the Bud Man amp. Just google "bud man mc2300" for many pictures of Jerry's setup. Also reportedly, the MC2300(s) that Jerry played through were modified. Some claim that Alembic removed the McIntosh sentry monitor circuit entirely. Others claim that not to be true. Rear panels had banana jacks added to them to facilitate quicker connections to the speakers. At some point, after McIntosh introduced the MC2500 in 1980, Jerry did try one of these. There are a handful of photos of him playing on stage with an MC2500 and not the Bud Man MC2300. This didn't last long however. Try as I may, I've been unable to determine why. I met Bear in the 1990s, after running an ad on the Grateful Dead's website looking to purchase the McIntosh amps used in the WOS. What an eclectic personality. I sure wish I would have had the foresight to archive that convo . . . I have a bunch of these amps . . . 2300s, 2500s, and 2600s even. The hype is real. Have fun. |
chorus, Curl could have been there but you have to remember that there was at least 50 people that worked to put that sound system together and the only people at that time were the Dead that everyone knew, no one but them at that time had a reputation and everyone else were just faces. I built and designed speakers and lent my ear in the recording studio. |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r86Sb4heCWM As can be seen in the video Phase Linear amps were used in the Wall Of Sound. These are what i remember as i mentioned earlier. |
I'd have to say the the 1976 - 1978 years were a great run for the band. That's when I started following them. The Ithaca show at Cornell in 1977 was one of those talked about for years shows. I was pretty young then and a cadre among the much older Dead Heads touring used to always opine to me about the good old days when Pigpen with the band. |
@doug714 - I'm absolutely with you - 1977 was their best year. I've been a fan for nearly 40 years, and was introduced to their music in my mid-teens. Great to know there's still broad and deep interest in the treasure they created over the years...Thanks again for prompting this overall dialog with your post, and I do hope you're able to create the guitar sound you're looking for! |
Great post! SOmeone should make a full length documentary about the Wall of Sound, legendary as it is. In the meantime, found and thought i would share this: https://www.jambase.com/article/dead-sound-grateful-dead-audio-documentary |
@He’s my pride and joy. I was so sad after the real Jerry died in ‘95 that it took me about 20 years until I was ready to listen to the bands many live shows on the RELISTEN app and on YouTube. My Grateful Dead years were ‘87-‘93 and I had the pleasure of seeing 21 live shows. I wish I had made it to more. I know 21 isn’t many in the GD community but I was a starving student at the time. I did have the pleasure of seeing their Halloween show in London in 1990 when some friends had an extra ticket and asked me to join them at the last minute... and I had just gotten my first passport for a work opportunity on the Marshall Islands that fell thru. What a long strange trip it’s been :) |