Bob Weir

1. Primal

   1965–1969

   Instrument

   Gibson ES-335 semi-hollowbody primarily; Fender Telecaster for country/blues material

   Signal

   Fender Twin Reverb or Fender Showman, clean. Minimal effects.

   Defining

   Learning the rhythm-second-lead role in real time alongside Jerry. Bob's jazz-influenced suspended-chord voicings start showing up — he's not strumming barre chords, he's voicing tensions.

   Dial in

   Semi-hollow or hollowbody → clean tube amp. Practice playing chord inversions up the neck rather than root-position; the trick is voice leading between chords using upper-string voicings.

   Listen

   Live/Dead (1969) · Anthem of the Sun · 1/26/69 Avalon

2. Transition

   1970–1971

   Instrument

   Gibson ES-335 still; pedal-steel-like voicings on country material; brief use of Telecaster again

   Signal

   Fender Twin Reverb, clean — country-rock era. No effects to speak of.

   Defining

   Workingman's / American Beauty rhythm playing — ringing open chords, partial barre voicings, the country two-step lockstep with Phil. Bob figures out how to be the harmonic glue.

   Dial in

   Single coils → clean Twin. Open chords with the high E and B strings ringing through. Tone knob at 6, no overdrive. 'Sugar Magnolia' rhythm is the template.

   Listen

   American Beauty (1970) · Workingman's Dead (1970) · 2/18/71 Capitol Theatre

3. Europe / Wall

   1972–1974

   Instrument

   Fender Telecaster + Gibson SG combo through Wall of Sound era

   Signal

   Fender Twin Reverb → Wall of Sound stack. Bob's signal path was simpler than Jerry's — no effects loop, mostly direct.

   Defining

   The 'second-lead' rhythm role fully formed — Bob plays counter-melody lines under Jerry's solos rather than chunking power chords. The Tele's bridge bite cuts through the Wall.

   Dial in

   Bridge pickup on a Tele → tube amp at low gain. The trick is playing rhythmic figures that fill the gaps between Jerry's phrases — not strumming chords, but answering Jerry's lines with melodic punctuation.

   Listen

   Europe '72 box set · 6/26/74 Providence · Wall of Sound shows

4. Golden Age

   1975–1979

   Instrument

   Ibanez 2680 'Bob Weir Cowboy Fancy' signature (introduced 1975, double-cutaway ash body with carved top, Super 70 humbuckers; 1977 upgrade adds Gibraltar bridge, Super 80 'Flying Finger' pickups)

   Signal

   Ibanez → Mesa/Boogie Mark I / Mark II (the workhorse amp going forward). Cleaner channel into hotter channel routing for in-song dynamics.

   Defining

   The Mesa/Boogie sustain finally gives Bob a tone with body and singing midrange — he's no longer just a rhythm voice, he's harmonically present. 'Estimated Prophet' chord voicings + 'Lazy Lightning' riffs are this era.

   Dial in

   Solid-body guitar with humbucker → Mesa/Boogie or Boogie clone, channel one (clean preamp) into channel two for warm overdrive. Tone EQ scooped slightly in the mids. Tube saturation, not pedal distortion.

   Listen

   5/8/77 Cornell ('Estimated' coming out of Drumz) · 9/3/77 Englishtown · 12/29/77 Winterland

5. Brent era

   1980–1984

   Instrument

   Ibanez 2680 primary; Modulus Blackknife adopted starting 10/11/83 (Madison Square Garden)

   Signal

   Mesa/Boogie head + cab; minimal pedal use; clean-channel-into-dirty-channel routing

   Defining

   Mid-decade transition: the Ibanez Cowboy Fancy era gives way to the graphite-neck Modulus Blackknife. The Blackknife brings sustain + tuning stability the Ibanez couldn't match — Bob's solo passages get longer + more confident.

   Dial in

   Same Mesa-style approach, but push the gain higher on lead passages (e.g. 'Looks Like Rain' outro). Stay clean for the dense chord material.

   Listen

   3/28/81 Rainbow Theatre · 12/26-31/82 Oakland NYE run · 10/11/83 MSG (Modulus Blackknife debut)

6. Late 80s

   1985–1989

   Instrument

   Modulus Blackknife primary; Casio PG-380 (Modulus body fitted with Casio MIDI synth electronics) added late 1980s for sustain-pad chord stacks under solos

   Signal

   Modulus → MIDI converter (on PG-380) → Roland or Yamaha synth voices layered with dry guitar. Mesa/Boogie still primary on the dry signal.

   Defining

   The 'Looks Like Rain' outro chord stacks — Bob would hold a PG-380 chord and let synthesizer string voices ring under Jerry's solos, dramatically widening the harmonic space. New texture in the late-80s rig.

   Dial in

   MIDI guitar (modern Roland GR-equipped Strats are the closest parallel; original PG-380s exist used but are rare) → string-pad MIDI patch → mix UNDER your dry signal at ~60% volume. Hold long chords during ballads.

   Listen

   7/10/87 JFK (w/ Dylan) · 10/16/89 Brendan Byrne · 7/4/89 Buffalo

7. Final

   1990–1995

   Instrument

   Modulus Blackknife continues; Modulus G3FH 'Blue Lightning Bolt' (designed and built by SF luthier Rich Hoeg) appears in this era; PG-380 still active for MIDI work

   Signal

   Modulus → Mesa/Boogie or Mesa Triaxis preamp → Meyer Sound stage cabs. MIDI rig still active for sustain pads.

   Defining

   Bob's playing gets denser harmonically — more chord substitutions, more outside voicings — as Jerry pulls back. The graphite-dominated rig is fully matured.

   Dial in

   Solid-body guitar → tube preamp clean → moderate digital reverb. Focus on chord-voicing variety: where Bob played a basic Em in 1971, he's playing an Em(add9, /B) in 1994. Substitutions are the late-era Bob voice.

   Listen

   3/29/90 Nassau Coliseum · 3/21/93 Knickerbocker Arena · 7/9/95 Soldier Field

SourcingBob's role is the hardest to pigeonhole — the 'second lead' rhythm voice. Guitar lineage cross-checked against the Ibanez Wiki and Grateful Dead Archive Online: Gibson ES-335 / Telecaster early → Ibanez 2680 'Bob Weir Cowboy Fancy' signature model (introduced 1975 as Ibanez's first Bob Weir signature) → Modulus Blackknife (first used 10/11/83 at Madison Square Garden, parallel to Phil's Modulus adoption) → Casio PG-380 (a Modulus body with Casio MIDI synth electronics, used late 1980s through early 1990s for sustain-pad chord stacks) → Modulus G3FH 'Blue Lightning Bolt' (built by Rich Hoeg, not Stephen Cripe — Cripe built for Garcia, not Weir). Amp lineage: Fender Twin → Music Man → Mesa/Boogie Mark series (the long-haul workhorse). Verify exact transition years before publishing.