How to Sound Like Jerry Garcia: DIY Grateful Dead Guitar Rig

[@rustyjohnson8431]

I think it’s super cool he plugged the Jerry tone store that kid has really put in the work and he deserves a lot of recognition

[@JazmoHits]

he does in fact deserve it

[@jeremymorrone8485]

Wow! That is my old guitar! That is so cool. I remember selling it to this fine gentleman about 10 years ago. I always wondered who exactly this man of mystery was...... Some background on the guitar, I bought it as an Ibanez MC 300 that needed some work, so I started modding it myself, and then eventually sent it to Brian at IO custom guitars who completely gutted it and completed a refinish, did all the wiring, the preamps, OBEL and the pickguard, as well as the inlays and the nut. I was experimenting rolling my own builds and ended up building my own partscasters and parting ways with the OBEL system to keep it simple. Looks like he added the Roland Midi pickup. I am not at the level Packy here is, I'm glad to see it in good hands!

[@PackyLundholm]

Whoa yes thank you Jeremy! And thanks for the background. I bought this from you to take on a brief tour with Melvin Seals and have loved it ever since. It’s unfortunate that the Roland electronics cover the lovely Leaf inlay.

[@MrNatel8]

Great shoutout to Jay at Jerry Tone Store. Super great guy spreading the knowledge, he helped me with the wiring of a Jerry Guitar I built and hosted a soldering class with Waldo that was fantastic! He can rip Jerry licks over ABBA too 😂

[@hubertsumlin9697]

Excellent video. So nice to see well rounded, non-deadhead musicians taking Jerry seriously. He was a phenomenal player

[@philipbard2333]

This was an enjoyable conversation and more importantly, my introduction to Packy.

[@BobSperber]

Packy’s a rare talent, plays every instrument you need, no genre is too far afield, and he knows exactly what he’s doing in the studio.

[@drothberg3]

Jerry was such a unique player with unique tone. He does things the opposite of most rock guitarists. I hear a lot of bluegrass guitar and jazz in his playing. Such an informative video.

[@brodieadams7926]

So much Jazz in his playing and that's what has surprised me the most. And I love it. Certain lines like in Slipknot are so jazzy, and little phrasing in his solos like the one he does in We Love Each Other live at Cornell. It really works so well with what the rest of the band is doing.

[@user-ke7wd3cl9z]

Mostly bluegrass. Not so much jazz.

[@carlos_herrera]

​@@user-ke7wd3cl9zexplain

[@godfreydaniel6278]

200+ show head here, spread across the length of Jerry's participation in the band. Revisiting these tones - even on a snippet basis - is like a kid visiting a beloved grandma and feeling her love envelop you again. It feeds the soul. Thanks so much for this!

[@nix.2811]

One thing I believe people miss when trying to achieve Jerry’s tone. Beyond the guitar itself, the JBLs, twin reverb with a Mac. Beyond all that. Have something in your rig like an overdrive to emulate playing at loud volumes. Jerry’s rig might have been set clean but the signal is anything but due to the volumes he was pushing. Get yourself a transparent overdrive! I will be reposting a couple example on my channel. To achieve that late 70s into 80s “Dirty Jerry” tone.

[@sirbergersworth]

Sarno's Earth Drive is great for this application (and many others of course).

[@bobbiemiles-foremaniii8747]

I wish we could just play loud again

[@jonchiasson4286]

The key factor is enough acid that the mindless rambling solos with no song structure is listenable.

[@haikat4]

​@jonchiasson4286 why speak on things you obviously know nothing about?

[@roycedot]

JBLs for sure. Near impossible to find clean D120s. Closest is some K120s

[@PanekPL]

Video is as long as one Grateful Dead song. Awesome

[@theargus03]

Lazy criticism and largely inaccurate.

[@PanekPL]

​​@@theargus03look, a Deadhead 🫵😃

[@necroticgrips9788]

That is actually the coolest guitar I’ve ever seen

[@jonathanp3616]

Dig into Jer’s guitars more, you will enjoy

[@BobSperber]

It’s got everything but a flux capacitor. I hear he’s working on that.

[@herrpschasina3020]

​@@BobSperber und hinten kommt in den Spielpausen der Kaffee raus oder etwas THC 😃

[@ross302ci]

I'd never dug into these, had no idea so much was going on! The onboard effects loop explains so much.

[@The-11]

Alembic Blaster is great even on a stock strat. Alembic are local to me and great people making amazing instruments ! The music is Alive and Well here in Marin !!

[@davidbanan.]

The more i learn about The Dead and Jerry the cooler they become, It's amazing

[@evansteidtman962]

Wow what a treat to wake up to! Packy is a really great player and definitely knows his Jerry. Shoutout to the legend Joe too been killing it for years

[@dirtbikeguy72]

Everyone forgets how good Jerry sounded with a gibson sg put through 4 daisy chained fender twins cranked pre McIntosh days.

[@AndrewBeveridge461]

Excellent bedroom rig.

[@davidzindler5858]

I'm like 90% sure I saw Packy play guitar for Theo Katzman from Vulfpeck.

[@54treagan54]

You are correct, Packy has been touring with Theo.

[@mrknowitall9778]

Great video and wealth of knowledge for those chasing the tone. It demonstrations the uniqueness and intellect of Jerry and the Grateful Dead. Seriously, the Wall Of Sound? They were ahead of their time when it came to understanding all this stuff. Given all the bell and whistles that make up the Tone (sound), there was an era and time when Jerry had a guitar and amp. And yet, (wait for it), somehow, he as able to achieve the tone, like the discussion and equipment in this video. Point being, it does start with the guitar and amp settings that also include Mid and Prescence. Take heart for those that cannot afford all this fancy awesome equipment. While I own a Mutron, hands down my little 50-dollar Mooer Envelope mini pedal is what I use because it’s responsive and has simple adjustments. Crazy how I stumbled upon it after purchasing 3 others well know filters for hundreds more. The technology has changed since Jerry’s passing. Though, I think he would have stuck with his favs, unlike Bob who was always swapping pedals and guitars. Finally, as a Roland GR-55 owner, using the amp parameters, I was able to dial in the Jerry tone. It was an OMG moment because I know john Kadlecik had one and it made me curios to sit for a couple of hours going through the different amp models, pushing the drive up a bit and bingo - instant Jerry. Not just for flutes and horns, but as a very clean guitar. Thousands of dollars are spent on Jerry clone equipment, but remember too, his touch and technique were representative of his tone which he has inspired us to learn from. I’m thankful to be inspired by such a passionate and smart musician. Take care of your health everyone, it’s why we have the remaining members to continue the experience with. They are taking care of themselves. Be well, be Kind!

[@siryba8855]

What a lovely and knowledgeable bloke Packy was. Great video and thanks for sharing it.

[@wizardmoto]

Cheapest Jerry Rig is a cranked Twin Reverb and an SG! SG isnt what Jerry is known for, but for the late 60s/early 70s it is an excellent way to recreate his tone. I believe he began using the Strat in '72, and the Mac obviously was not introduced at that point. Yes, most people want Synth access, or at least some effevts for the '77 sound when building a Jerry Rig, but for the budget conscious deadhead trying to get "close enough" to jam on some classics this is by far the easiest and cheapest way to sound indentifiably Jerry-ish.

[@joeshoe6184]

I thought he switched to a Strat in early '70, but I could be mistaken. I always thought 2-13-70 was classic Strat tone, but I'm no expert...

[@wizardmoto]

@joeshoe6184 he on and off played a sunburst strat in '70, very good chance it was used for that show!

[@honeychilerider]

Yeah, during my "I Wanna Sound Like Jerry" phase I had a Strat with a Stratoblaster in it... and an SG! (Into a Twin Reverb.)

[@MrWhit30]

Myself never being able to truly bond with Strats, I just go SG into Carr Rambler and a pretty standard pedal board. But its just me at home, or maybe an occasional jam session. I'm not even playing venues much less stadiums. I settled on the DOD 250 for distortion, a Boss BD2 set clean for for a boost, maybe a hint of short delay, and the Carrs spring reverb. Filters, well thats been an issue. Any low pass filter can work, but all are different and all are really tricky to dial in. The explanation of the OBELs interaction with effects nd master vol level was very enlightening, best I've heard. Certainly cleared some things up for me, like why my filter journey has been so frustrating. But really, the sprit and soul is available no matter your rig. Get a nice clean tone and a touch of reverb, or heck just your acoustic and a stiff pick, and just play the songs, if its in you it will come out.

[@mkb7490]

One of the best Jerry rig run downs on the interwebs

[@matthewfischer3312]

Great video. My son is really into the Dead and we've been listening to them a lot lately. I've been enamored with his tone and this is a great explanation.

[@BrianBowes]

Great conversation. Would love to hear a part 2, and beyond! Would love to see a follow up blog post with pictures of the final pedal board.

[@StandbyCymbalist]

i’d love to grab a beer with Packy and just listen to him play guitar. great masterclass! thx

[@ross302ci]

Man Packy is as good a communicator as he is a player! I could listen to him talk shop and rip licks all day. Thanks guys!

[@TedLightman]

Jerry fan or not, huge tech takeaways here that are super insightful and useful for live playing particularly. THANKS Packy!

[@Bulle893]

Love this! Gotta say the Boost of the Dead from Farm Pedals is SOLID at getting the buffers on the pedalboard.

[@handle433]

I love all this trick switching, it’s gone from a lot of guitars now and reserved for pedals. It’s so unique and diverse. EJ recently was playing a Strat with built in fuzz and EQ at the G3 tour, it looked so cool!!!

[@anonymous_friend]

My favorite Reverb video by far. Thanks❤

[@Tognar]

Stoked to see a modeler in this convo. I’m a Headrush guy going after Trey tones, but the pursuit of tones like either Trey or Jerry is one of impossible scale, investment, and context. Again, these guys are playing huge venues. Jerry was working in an era of early/bad FOH PA systems. And we, as fans, are referencing back to old live recordings of also poor quality. Point being, a modeler is such a brilliant tool for fans to poke around these legendary tones with little investment. And from there, you can have as many versions as you want. Rigs to cover different eras and uses. Like, a live rig is not going to sound the same as your bedroom practice rig, and that’s no big deal on a modeler. I got live rigs for going direct, into a back line, into FRFR, etc. So, I hope more folks move past the cork-sniffing, purist, analog-or-bust mentality and go have fun making noise. 🤘😎🤘

[@jasonhaynes9429]

Milkman “theamp” thorough a JBL k-120 hits the captain trips sweet spot.

[@mkb7490]

Used modelers for years before taking the plunge and building a hardware rig. The time spent with modelers was great for learning about gear before investing in hardware.

[@smelltheglove2038]

Plenty of good SBD tapes out there.

[@JennyKush]

Modeling is not cool nor will it ever be. It is essentially an extremely cheap (sounding) replacement for the real deal. It will never hold a candle to a digital amp, let alone even a half decent tube amp. Having so many tonal options is actually not a good thing for someone trying to figure out how they want to sound on the guitar-far too many options, and all of them sound worse than whatever they’re trying to emulate

[@mikep8683]

McIntosh = Mac-In-Tosh FANTASTIC break-down video!

[@WilliamHaisch]

I wish I could like this twice! Thank you! 😊

[@justinkimbrell2895]

This video is incredible. I’m also a helix player and forever tinkering trying to get the Jerry tone down. I thought I was the only one trying to use digital modeling to get a serious Jerry tone. I also have Mu-Fx original pedals from Mike, and the Helix honestly is just as good (if not better) with my DIY setup, and if not better because the analog signal required to get a full envelope filter needed is so strong. This video was spot on and can’t wait to apply it to my own setup. Thanks for doing a Jerry breakdown. I also agree with some other commenters, the original pedal can “quack” too much, but with my helix I tend to prefer the tone more because it’s just more rich, and I can get my signal right at any volume.

[@WilliamHaisch]

The Strat middle pickup is awesome! I moved one wire in my Slammer Daytona so the middle pickup tone knob affected the bridge pickup, the neck pickup tone knob was the same, and the middle pickup was straight out (no tone knob). Wonderful sounds! 😊

[@ihatezgoogle6264]

That’s one of 2 mods tho at are essential with a strat. The other being a switch for neck pickup. Making you able to use the bridge + neck pickup at once - near tele tone

[@Byron-bb4ho]

I did a similar thing with mine. I had the knobs switched to master volume, master tone and the last knob blends the neck pickup in

[@haysfordays]

Rarely watch vids like this all the way thru. Packy is nailing it, to my ear. Great job all around.

[@thebruckners]

I have an original Mu-Tron III and what Packy says about the settings of the pedal being dialed in to your personal picking dynamics is SPOT ON. It's output is incredibly touch sensitive. I don't think the envelope filters presented in this video compare to the Mu-Tron which is far "quackier".

[@leonardsrobert]

Saw Packy play with Theo Katzman. He’s the real deal. Great player. Even texted on instagram with him about rubber jazzmaster bridges. Cool dude. Very delighted to see him getting some love!

[@wallymarx9646]

This guy knows his stuff. Much obliged, sir

[@hessex1899]

I have my Strat setup with the same OBEL/buffer circuit. It's fantastic.

[@joeshmoe1739]

That was some great 5/8/77 tone on the Estimated jam he did. Really nice.

[@crazywisdom2]

THIS is a Master class. At first I was like how complicated could it be. 5 mins into it I was WAY wrong. Note pad out ......... Holy Shit !!~

[@JimmyGallowayGuitar]

Great video. I have to say, getting these tones w Helix goes to show just how flexible modeling is. Helix is the best purchase I've ever made. I can use it with so many instruments.

[@Brucaleeffo]

what a great player packy

[@mattdavis911]

No one REALLY sounds like Jerry, no one. Its not in the gear. It's in the heart and soul.

[@frankwebster9110]

Thanks so much for doing this! I love Jerry and even though I don't want to sound like him all the time I would love to build out a guitar with the same or similar electronics. I think it's brilliant and wonder why more people don't use this type of circuitry. Maybe it's just overkill for too many people. I think it's fantastic. The Rosebud build,that is.

[@stephenhenion8304]

Dont forget the Persian Rugs....that's how you get the proper " Low End"...this is epic guitar technique, Reverb!

[@shinyheadmusic]

The tone is actually stored in the milk crate the speaker is placed on.

[@davestagner]

For those looking for that Jerry amp tone, check out the Milkman “The Amp” 100! It’s a Fender-type tube front end with a 100w digital power amp, and a mosfet boost circuit in between the tube stages. With a JBL speaker, it NAILS Jerry tone. And the amp itself is only 2.5lb! I use one with a JBL K120 in a Coscia 1x12 “Hard Truckers” style cab. The whole thing is about 35lb.

[@jrc5706]

Awesome! Please bring back the Potent Pairings series 🙏

[@aztex5194]

I'vw been getting Jerry tone with a Fender CS Broadcaster, through a Diamond Compressor into a Tweed Champ! Little bit of Strymon Flint Reverb. That's it! Sounds like 1972 in my house!

[@jeffeyro]

Super cool video! Mostly went way over my head, but very interesting to see all the aspects that went into Jerry's sound.

[@mattsmith1331]

Bring back potent pairings… they were fun

[@TheSmokedIrises]

Awesome, I've been waiting for a new one of these! And great choice with Jerry

[@aimangarg2030]

Best REVERB video ever!!!

[@robzagar4275]

Excellent program! Thank you

[@jamestonguet1737]

After decades of chasing , I picked up an Alembic.. job done.

[@shovelhead7821]

Let’s not forget Gabe from Smokin Amp Co ,some of the best budget pedals ,hand build that sound super good .

[@demonicsweaters]

Man, that guitar is something else. What an amazing piece of gear! Also, how cool is that dead website? I might have to make some GD drum jams.

[@denisblack9897]

I got an exact same strat down to headstock logo. I dont appreciate it enough, looks gorgeous on video wow It kinda melted into my hands and i dont see it as sonething separate from me

[@charlessale409]

these guys r vibing well.

[@tompoynton]

The EUNA is a great way to replicate that Jerry buffer

[@bshwayde]

Man for a guy known to have so issues with “substances”, Jerry sure managed to deal with a complicated AF guitar rig. Gotta respect that.

[@johnjames77]

You can get a nice consistent quack from the Micro QTron by putting it on LP Q at 0 and Drive 10.Probably not the best setting but simple .

[@okimotdm]

Excellent job guys - tasty licks for sure

[@Johnny.D]

Thank you for this video. Packy is a great player. Really enjoyed learning more about "the tone"

[@ManicValentine97]

Ive been looking into this and am getting a Phred Instruments Wolph and Gator Guitars, a FYD Twin Reverb Rack Preamp with Jerry Mods, a McIntosh 2300 Power Amp, Stomp Under Foot Direwolf, Beigel Sound Lab Mu-FX Tru-Tron and Beigel Sound Lab Mu-FX Octave Divider Clone, a Joe Gagan Jerry Wah & an MXR Script Phase 100

[@joelance]

I like what he said about the IR file of a well-miked JBL speaker/cabinet. That changed my tone more than almost anything else. The other thing is those picks. I also need to dial in a little bass on a digital model of a Twin. I’m using a Strat that has the wrong pickups in it, but I can get into the territory.

[@congoblues]

Thanks, awesome tips!

[@Dizzydre21]

Technically, that first cable output is not stereo. It's a TRS cable with one signal going out of the guitar and then coming back on the wire that normally be used as the 180 degrees "out of phase" wire in a balanced system.

[@Ptrhairis]

This video is goddamn awesome...I actually do want a part 2...3...

[@zummo61]

The ‘77 Jerry tone is my favorite.

[@shinyheadmusic]

Great video, Packy you are a master! I use a Helix to make Bobby Weir tones with Raising The Dead and have exchanged Jerry patches with Packy. Never considered the OBEL ins and outs were all available on the Helix, tho!

[@mikaso]

To gain control over the mutron III, I used to use a compressor before it, and and a gain pedal after it. To get it to respond better to my weak pickups, and improve upon the single (skinny) string responsivity. The gain pedal after the filter acts as a master volume (for the filter sound). For a very musical budget alternative to the original Mutron, I recommend the factory version of the Snow White Autowah from Mad Professor, as it needs no pedals before or after. And is nearly impossible to make it sound nasty! (The handwired version is more grainy like the original Mutron, but needs trimming of the input and output gain too.)

[@PackyLundholm]

Yes I like pre-filter compressor too! Many of the Helix filters have a master gain control, which is handy to tame the back end. I gotta check out that Snow White, thanks for the tip!

[@johnlenz420]

after seeing packy with Theo Katzman at the Barrymore, i need more pack !

[@ChrisHarden-qv1cd]

a couple Chicago greats! Breakin' it down!

[@benwatkin3123]

Packy is the man!

[@bisket2003]

Hope Joey and Stu from King Gizz watch this vid and get some inspiration!!

[@phunkyjunkee]

Isn’t that OBEL just the same as putting a volume pedal at the end of your chain, or in the amp’s effects loop?

[@williamfriedman1840]

Yes but without the buffer.

[@phunkyjunkee]

@@williamfriedman1840 right but if you used a simple input buffer then you’re achieving the same exact thing without all the busywork onboard the guitar… Done get me wrong , seems cool, just unnecessary.

[@MrAll300]

Realy cool guitar and i like the way of the film.

[@alexholdenii4946]

DGN blaster pedal is a great one too

[@admarhermans1]

I’m no Garcia aficionado or something. Just a bassplayer that stumbled on to this video and thought it might be interesting. About Garcia’s natural overdrive because of high volume: I doubt it very much his high powered solid state poweramp (2300 Watt?) caused the overdive. Two reasons: 1. He wouldn’t hardly have been able to overdrive such a powerful amp, and when it actually would overdrive the amp wouldn’t survive for very long; 2. He (nobody for that matter...) would have loved or even tolerated the terrible horrible sound of any overdriven solid state poweramp. Try it, you’ll know exactly what I mean. A broken fuzz pedal through a bit crusher sounds like a Dumble amp compared to how that would sound... So, I guess he went for the more logical solution: use the power of his poweramp to send his high powered JBL speakers into what one might call overdrive. In this way he would be able to control that sound more or less. 🖖

[@mrknowitall9778]

I agree with this. The McIntosh power amps were merely responsible for amplifying the sound that was dialed in earlier in the signal chain/path. Not to drive the power amps.

[@mkb7490]

@@admarhermans1 You're 100% right. That subtle break-up at volume is the JBLs, not the amp.

[@Drew_Gliebe]

You know, at the time I hated on Collective Soul because they didn't live up to the arbitrary criteria of "real" that I created in my head. This many years later, I have to admit that these riffs are ridiculously good and the songs are so well written. I, and alot of us, would have gotten farther toward our dreams if we'd have had an open mind in our youth.

[@roytube10]

this is so awesome. thank you !

[@danw5785]

Gibson SG with PAFs and a Swamp Ash Strat with baseball bat maple neck and medium-low output pickups........Best sounds of their glory years.

[@waynegram8907]

Jerry Garcia used a 2.0mm Graphite guitar pick? The Alembic Stratoblaster buffer/preamp was always turned ON?

[@RichMahan]

In the 1987 guitar Player cover story interview with Jerry, he says he uses the heaviest pick he can find in order to avoid pick latency. if there's no give, you get immediate response.

[@sirbergersworth]

The blaster use was very short lived. Probably always on.

[@handle433]

11:15 it’s so funny how the middle pickup is so hated by amateur players, yet Layla, Sultans of Swing and Slow Dancing in a Burning Room were all recorded with it! What are we missing?

[@honeychilerider]

I thought Sultans was position 2?

[@handle433]

@@honeychilerider in the original demo and early live versions he used bridge + middle, but in the version we all know the lead guitar uses the middle pickup. In the mix is his rhythm track which is bridge + middle and David’s rhythm which is middle pickup. The blending of rhythm tracks confuses everyone. Even Marks ‘lead track’ features some subtle rhythm playing. Subsequent live versions featured neck + middle, neck only for solos, middle, bridge + middle and different boosts and coil winds to fatten up the sound on different guitars (Pensa, Schecter etc.)

[@Ottophil]

Slow dancing was position 4, watch any video of him playing it. But you forgot Wonderful Tonight, clapton loves that Pup

[@handle433]

@@Ottophil I’m talking about the recordings, not live as addressed above. I’ve done the research as the Stratocaster is my main and I love those songs. Wonderful Tonight is a great example of what I talk about above. Because the rhythm guitars use position 2 and are blended with lead tracks which use the middle pickup, it becomes unclear what’s on lead. When you break them down by channels, it makes more sense. Cocaine also has this effect although the lead channel is clearer and boosted for the solo.

[@kevinborchers3522]

@@Ottophillive yes, but John has said it was the middle on the record.

[@Jonesnaltitude]

Really good stuff

[@rareform6747]

You should play with Bob Weir and the band !! Can you sing ?

[@crmatt99]

I think it’d be to add another volume knob before the effects loop on the guitar :)

[@mkb7490]

Got a Nutron filter from Reverb. Not alot of them out there that I've seen, but an excellent clone if you come across one.

[@Wayzor_]

Some of us have been working on sounding like Jerry for over 30 years now.

[@drothberg3]

The auto wah effect has always been frustrating for me, as I ride the guitar volume control and rarely have it on 10, and auto wah sounds terrible that way. I learned in this video how Jerry solved that problem. As it’s not likely that I’ll be getting a custom made Jerry-caster anytime soon, I was thinking that a volume pedal at the end of the chain would solve that problem. Then I saw in the video that you suggested it for the distortion as well.

[@evansteidtman962]

I totally agree! I always keep my guitar on the bridge single coil with the volume around 8 with the envelope.

[@mrknowitall9778]

Clarification, the Envelope is not a Wa, but true.. sounds like one. The distinction becomes necessary when knowing what effect to use for what song. While the filter was used for Estimated and Shakedown; Greatest Story would use the Wah or Cry Baby. To me, every time I would hear it, I would think of the Peanuts characters Parents - LOL

[@jdpower6360]

In my experience that guitar is not only fully Jerryd but it also appears to have a lot in common with Frank Zappa’s modifications.

[@threeinitiates8260]

awesome video!

[@buckmanb]

Great video. Bummer the patch doesn't work on the HX Stomp - patch requires too much DSP.

[@realgoodmind]

Well done gents! Love this shit.

[@LimJahey996]

Thank you!!!!

[@metrokosmiko]

Just in time for Leo (Jerry) Season. The days between are around the corner (~):-}

[@sgg6927]

I wish there was a Garcia guitar plugin

[@atlanta78922]

Awesome!!

[@michaelmaitland3126]

I’m not sure I’d think of phaser when I think of “Jerry tone”. I’m surprised it got included as such a big part of this video.

[@stevenbeecheymusic]

Nice!

[@Wolfmansbro25]

Love the video. Have a Jerry wolf guitar and a helix. Curious how he connects dual guitar cable to helix to properly use OBEL feature.