GRATEFUL GUITARS
● Luthiers Rich Hoeg, Greg DeLuis, Doug Irwin, Leo Elliott, Bob Fishman, and Zachary Jones gathered for the GGF Benefit at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, August 13, 2023. Photo: Bob Minkin.
laborative effort, working closely with luthiers including Doug Irwin and GD techs, Dan Healy and John Cutler. Together, they developed the On- Board Effects Loop( OBEL), a system that sent the pickup signal to the pedalboard before it hit the guitar’ s master volume. This elegant solution allowed Jerry to adjust his stage volume without changing the gain or drive of his effects, a feat of engineering Logan still marvels was never more widely adopted.
Irwin’ s craft was rooted in his time at Alembic, where he worked alongside pioneers like Ron Wickersham, Rick Turner, and Frank Fuller— the same team that famously modded Garcia’ s Alligator Strat. It was at Alembic that Irwin mastered the“ hippie-sandwich” style of wood lamination seen in the Eagle, the first Irwin guitar Garcia purchased. From the obsessive use of brass to the integration of active buffers, a distinct genetic
COLLECTIBLE GUITAR | 55