Additional trivia: they changed their name from the Warlocks to the Grateful Dead because there was an east coast band also called the Warlocks and they wanted to avoid confusion. Unnecessary, as it turned out, the the east coast Warlocks ended up changing their name as well - to the Velvet Underground.

I lived in the Bay area for many years. My wife bought me a fly rod for Christmas one year and we went to Golden Gate Park to the fly casting ponds to try it out. While there, we began to hear the sound of drums coming from the polo grounds. We were curious as to what was going on, so we walked over to the polo grounds. We crested the hill and saw hundreds of people streaming into the polo fields, all of them just walking around the track. Three gentlemen in particular caught our eye: a grandfather, father, and son. They were walking the track passing a joint between the three of them. More and more people streamed into the polo fields and we finally found out what was going on. Jerry Garcia had just died. I honestly don't think I've ever seen a celebration of life such as I saw that day. I will never forget it. RIP Jerry Garcia.

the greatest guitarist ever in my meaningless opinion. never falls back on stock licks. always improvising. always pushing forward. always melodic and tasteful. as someone put it, inside a Jerry solo "whole worlds are turning, becoming and dissolving within single notes"

Love that you did one of these for Jerry Garcia. Long shot, but I'd love to see one on Bob Weir's guitars. He has a tone all his own.

Funny story about Jerry’s ashes in the Ganges: Bob weir decided to do that as he said it came to him in a dream. Jerry’s late wife was furious because the Ganges is or at least was the most polluted river in the world, Jerry had never been to the Ganges, never been to India and it was of no significance to him whatsoever. Some time later when they spread his remaining ashes in the SF bay, it was a very windy and rough day on the bay. Most, if not all of Jerry came right back into the boat. So really Jerry’s ashes were spread on the side of a rental boat and in the jackets of his closest friends and family.

In 2000 I was in my second year of violin making school and the school took a trip to the Smithsonian to have a hands on view of the violin collection. It was the end of a very long day and I was helping the curator Gary Sturm put instruments back into the collection closets in a back storage room. Gary told a story of when he showed the Grateful Dead the same room thinking they would be into the enormous collection of rare guitars. Gary laughed when he noticed that the Dead were way more into the mandolins and banjos in the collection! There are amazing things locked away there including a completely insane collection of kazoos, all perfectly cataloged and preserved!

These vids are just outstounding. Jerry was one of if not the most melodic player. THE beard seemed to have arrived with the SG.

Great topic. Most people don't know how Jerry was responsible for a lot of what we take for granted not in pro live rigs.

This is like being handed the holy grail with Keith saying "There you go!". Man oh man...

“Grate” episode, thanks! Saw the Dead approx. 150 times ‘72 thru ‘95, still miss ‘em dearly…

We were an Alembic repair station… In Jackson Mississippi. This was back in 1975 or so… I say we but it was really Donald Thomas and Charlie England and we had one of the first basses that they produced with one of their preamp‘s for said bass… It was astonishing how clean it was and how accurate the instrument was. We were designing tuned enclosures for guitar and bass using resonant frequencies to design ports for speaker cabinets to improve their efficiency. We were also building copies of A2’s and A7’s for theaters and churches etc.… And we experimented with the Grateful Dead philosophy of placing the PA behind the band. That was the genesis of the in the round concept of the bluebird café. I knew it would work but I never had any idea how well until we did it. I am looking very much forward to this Jerry Garcia guitar thing! They broke a lot of ground!

Always loved, never forgotten, never really gone….

THIS is the video for me. What a privilege to see those guitars up close. Thank you Keith.

Grateful Dead "Reckoning" is a Master-Class in acoustic lead playing. A lot of bluegrass pickers had way more speed and agility, but Jerry is drawing something deeper out of the guitar, it's like he breathes through it.

Thank you for this. I first saw the Dead in Chicago in 77, they had a run of 7 or 8 shows in a row at the Auditorium Theater. Then in 81 at Alpine meadows and I was "on the bus". I went on tour, supporting myself selling photos of the band. I ended up seeing 362 shows, including the incredible European tour in 1990. My last was the Shorline show you mentioned in 1995. Little did I know it would be my last. I am now 65 years young and look back at that time as a true highlight of my life. I was lucky enough to meet Phil and Bob, but never Jerry, but I hope to see him when I walk through the final door of this life.

Growing up, my dad and I had radically different tastes in music. We could really never see eye-to-eye on a lot. However, one day in high school, I remember my dad popping in "American Beauty" into the cd player of his car, and I was immediately captivated. I think it was that moment that started us on a journey to see and listen to as many artists as possible, regardless of whether or not we both liked the music. I know Jerry Garcia was and is immensely important to my dad, and while I'm not a guitarist, I really enjoyed learning about the different guitars, especially knowing the kind of music they made and what it means/still means to me and my dad.

Such a unique player who blended so many styles to form his own. I was fortunate to have seen the Dead over 30 times. I was lucky enough to see the last Dead show at Soldier Field back in ‘94. Then that very day on the 9th of August 1995 Jerry died, I was on my way to Hampton Beach, NH to see Bob Weir. To my surprise the show went on as a tribute to his suddenly lost friend. I miss those days!

The Dead's relationship with Guild deserves a video of its own. Weir designed one of Guild's most rare/legendary acoustics around the time of Working Man's Dead, an F50R with Artist Award neck/headstock/arched back. Allegedly 6 were built by Carlo Greco and Bob still owns his. John Denver's double pickguard Guild F50R "Artist Award" which he played in the first half of the 70s is one of the Weir designed F50Rs.

You’re a tremendous writer, Keith. Wonderful storytelling ideas and decisions.

I just started playing guitar again about year ago because I miss jamming to the dead. I saw many shows on the west coast from 89-95 and stoked that you are covering Jerry's guitars. Always wanted to know, so THANKS @five watt world

The Dead were an absolutely magic band. I don’t think there will ever be another guitar player like JG.

Keith, thanks for this amazing retrospective of Garcia's guitars! This is one that I requested and I'm sure I'm not the only person who asked for it. Jerry and the band were always an amazing alchemy of sounds, technique and vibe. Their live shows were as captivating as anything I have ever witnessed. Jerry was so gifted in so many areas of musicianship and his untimely death was a sad loss.

Love this video. I don't think people realize just how good a musician Jerry was

This was a great video, loved it! You should do a brief history of the Wall of Sound they used back in '73-'74, which would kind of be the antithesis of getting the most sound out of the least gear, as that was the about the most gear ever used in a live performance.

I'm a hardcore fan and know all this stuff by heart. I'm a fan of your stuff though so great to hear you explore it.

Keith, you really deserve an award for the work you put into your videos! You bring great information without bias. The joy that Jerry brought so many people, is amazing when you consider he passed away 27 years ago, and the band is still very popular. The knowledge he had linked with Alembic, Turner, Irwin, to create the on board effects loop, the Alembic Blaster along with the mods that were done along the way were just brilliant. I was not a huge fan of the midi sounds, but that was a personal thing. To me Wolf and Tiger were the ultimate guitars followed by the Travis Bean and the alligator. The addition of the Humbuckers and splitting the coils on the DiMarzio’s gave him such a great range of sounds, along with hands of magic that showed how great players use their touch. I was lucky enough to see the Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia band many many times. Even got to see him play solo acoustic once at the Capitol Theater in NJ, where he really played alone. The other solo shows had John Kahn on bass. I am thankful for every show I saw, tune I heard, well as mile driven or flown to spend a night with my friends both on stage and in the audience. Thank you again Keith for a job well done.

The BEST solo acoustic performance was Jerry Garcia at The Capital Theatre in Passaic, NJ, late 1978, '79. It's an KZfaq upload. I was at the show and listened to it on KZfaq. We were blown away, then and I'm blown away by it, now. This performance is required listening to any Jerry Garcia aficionado. RIP Jerry Garcia 🌹✝️🌹

Great video. Europe '72 was my 1st Dead album ( I got it when it was first released) and is still my favorite of their albums. Ever since then, I've always been interested in what guitars Jerry used. I was aware of a lot of the stuff you presented, but I ways enjoy getting new details and information. Thank you for sharing Jerry's gear with us.

I was quite happy to hear you mention the ZB pedal steel guitar Jerry owned. I am pretty sure that stands for Zane Beck.He was quite a steel player and steel guitar builder and innovator. Those interested might want to research him.I talked to John Cippolina on the phone when I was 15. He was quite nice and played lead for Quicksilver Messenger Service and was quite original. He knew Jerry.

Thank you for pulling this together. Jerry usually overlooked and under appreciated by so many, it is nice to see such a wonderful anthology of his instruments.

Thank you for making this video. Not only was it excellent as all your others are, but it makes me so happy to see Jerry getting some overdue recognition. I still remember the day he died, and it makes me sad to think about, but at least we have his music to live on forever.

To me, Tiger is the most iconic signature guitar ever in terms of a custom-made instrument. Only Prince’s Cloud guitar can compare. Subtle hint for Keith’s next episode!

Grateful Dead was my first ever concert, MSU auditorium, early 70's, I will never forget the loud, clean, amazing guitar tone, I was in awe!!

I'm a huge Jerry Garcia fan, so I'm very glad you made this video! His McIntosh amps were some of the loudest and most powerful guitar amps ever made!

I want to thank you in particular for the history of Jerry Garcia gu guitars. I grew up in San Francisco and the peninsula with the Grateful Dead were ubiquitous. I married someone from Baltimore and began to follow the grateful dead with her brother. I cannot tell you how much joy Jerry gave tens of thousands of people at a time. Sometimes his solos Wood crest so high that an entire stadium was on their feet yelling and clapping. I have never ever seen any other Guitar Player do that and I have seen a lot of Guitar Player‘s.

Bless you and RJ, Keith, for such an enjoyable delve into Jerry’s guitars!

I love all your videos, this one made me wanna cry. I love Jerry's Playing and I love the respect that you gave to exploring each of his iconic instruments as much as possible.

Again, another brilliantly researched and presented short info-documentary on one of music’s most iconic players. Loved RJ Ronquillo’s playing.

When we have to comment? I will be the Grateful one. Gosh Keith, this was a good one. I needed to see Gerry and Ron playing like him to give me confidence to study and share Gerrys Genius to a few who would appreciate my channeling him live for them. Your scholarship and background clearly organizes wonderful positive perspective on someone often maligned in my "young" years. Afterwards, all your work helps to strengthen the fabric's weave in the music universe. Seriously, everybody helps, and you're putting the ball over the plate every time. Thanks, Sam

One of the best Deadumentaries I've ever seen and I never knew Jerry used a Les Paul - fantastic stuff

I think Wolf is one of the most beautiful electric guitars ever built.

Amazing history! I never realized Garcia used so many different guitars over the years.

Absolutely awesome! I know some folks who followed the Dead around in the early 70s. Their stories are amazing, I wish I could’ve been there too!

Love Jerry. Love Jerry's guitars. Great history as usual, Keith. Thanks for doing this one!

Keith, as an early to late '80s deadhead of a 150 or shows (I was on to other things by '87), and ex-guitar player whose only focal point of study, in my woodshed years, was Jerry; I must commend you on a most excellent job with this story. Thank you!

Dog! Great vid. Saw the man 31 times. Some of the best times of my life! Jerry (and Bobby) have been great influences on my playing.

It's always great when R.J. plays on a 5WW short history, another informative episode !

Wonderful, Keith, as ever, your channel is proper. The mix of love of the craft, knowledge and research... Come on, man... You are the sort of thing that makes this platform worthwhile. Got a Garcia nod in the works. Bless you mate!🍀 UK

Awesome to have this short history of Jerry's guitars, and a hat tip to his legacy. Nicely done!

Jerry Garcia was a great friend and I. CRY everytime his name comes up I miss him. I can’t look back i first saw him in 67 was at the last shows he played in Florida I have tickets from msg he never made to.

Another terrific video. We can alwys count on this guy. Another guitarist he should cover would be Bob Weir. He went through as many changes as Jerry. Dont even mention the gear. The Deads wall of sound is the best pa system ever built to this day, in my opinion.

I thought I knew a lot about Jerry’s guitars. Wow, did you open my eyes. Thanks, Keith, you are the best.

Another informative and engrossing video from Five Watt World. Incredible detail on the history of Jerry's guitars. Loved learning that he named a lot of his guitars by the stickers that he applied to them. Cool stuff.

Yes!!!! Thank you Keith! Never thought you would do this, but this is what I’ve been watching for!

This was great! Jerry had the coolest mods. I hope you make a history of Bob’s guitars too!

This is the video I’ve been waiting for since I subscribed to this channel two years ago. Amazing work.

Great video! Saw the Dead over 100 times; a lot of people (now) are under the misconception that Dead concerts were all full of hippies and "save the whales" types but, truth be told, there were all kinds of people there who shared a common connection through music. There were conservative stockbrokers in suits just getting to the show right from their trading jobs, construction workers, doctors, and lawyers all mixed in with the much more liberal attendees. Not uncommon to see a tie-died hippie chick dancing with a guy in an Armani suit as Jerry and the band were rippin' on Sugar Magnolia. People were able to put politics aside for three-plus hours and agree to enjoy their shared common bonds of music. Today that would never happen. That's what I miss the most about seeing the Dead...

Thank you for that great short history. Very well done.

Jerry was such a special acoustic player too. Reckoning is in all likelihood my all time favorite Dead release. He could pull such immaculate tone out of an acoustic!

Thanks for this video. I really enjoyed it. I saw the Dead once at Red Rocks amphitheater. Fantastic! Jerry Garcia was great.

I haven’t even watched the video yet and I already know it’s my fave. I saw the thumbnail and my jaw literally fell open. Love you brother Keith!✌🏼

A very fine day in school, and Jerry was the forever tone seeker, jeezus talk about the lost Chord. 😂😂👍🥃Respect to you mate.

I've been waiting for this one!! I would consider myself a casual Dead fan, but I've always enjoyed Jerry's tastes in guitars. Well done and great playing by R.J as always!!

Jerry got me into guitar when my dad showed me the Dead close to 20 years ago, thanks dad, and thanks Jerry ✌️

As a Deadhead and a gear head (lower case), this kind of stuff can go one of two ways and your video went a great way. Excellent stuff and would expect no less from such a fantastic channel. Thanks very much.

Excellent job, Keith-I just found you. I see someone caught the Robert Hunter name thing, but I wanted to say that I was fortunate enough to see Hunter solo live shortly after I got into the Dead. Saw two shows (poss three?) at the Starwood club in West Hollywood around '77-'78 IIRC. He played acoustic guitar, and really belted out the vocals-lots of material from his Tiger Rose album. I've got some great photos from those shows. I also caught seven GD New Years shows in a row '76-'82...but that's another story. Cheers, Keith, thank you so much, really enjoyed your work.

Great video! I am well versed in all things Jerry and GD for that matter but I saw new photos and learned new Jerry tidbits. My first show happened to be Jerrys last show, but that weekend in Chicago July 1995 changed my life so profoundly I cant begin to explain. The Army you mention at the end is alive and well and I believe the one true hope humanity has! The music has power to change people and the World. Thanks Keith and thanks Jerry!!!

forever Grateful for Jerry's hard work. and many thanks to you Keith! much appreciation here. Tom

Five Watt World consistently does a great job on these videos. Thanks Keith!

So well done. Travis and the SG for my ears. Ty.

I was never a dead head, but they had some great songs. Gerry was one of a kind. It's great to hear about his guitars.

First time hearing Old and in the Way. Jerry had such a sweet sounding voice and Wild Horses gave me goosebumps when I heard it

Keith, great video! I had run across a site showing Jerry's different guitars, but not nearly as comprehensive as your video!

Thank you so much. You brought back a huge portion of my life. I haven't really thought about Jerry in many years. It has always hurt too much. He was a great friend of myself and my parents. He was an enormous influence in my life. I am off to listen to hours worth of bootlegs I have had sitting on the shelf. Thank you again.

As always, amazing video Keith. Looking through the comments, it's pleasant to see you like most everyone's comments as well. FWW is a special, and wholesome, corner of the internet. Thanks for that.

Great video Keith there's not much out there about the works of Jerry Garcia.. His influence I feel is certainly under appreciated. He was probably one of the most underrated guitarist and songwriters that I could ever think of. I've always wondered what kind of guitars that he played thank you for helping bringing this to the light of day . I have a fascination for the style playing and approach he had. Once again thank you for all you do keep on rocking.

I’m a huge Deadhead and was psyched to see this pop up in my notifs! your research and presentation are incredible, thank you for doing what you do!

Thanks Keith! Best episode ever! Love R.J. too, great player.

I was too dumb to realize just how God damn good the Grateful Dead sounded. It's a good thing I saw Jerry and Brent while they were still with us on this plain. RIP Jerry and Brent. Pigpen, too (who started the 27 club). What a great video you did on Jerry's iconic guitars. I worked at Furman Sound in 1989 in Greenbrae, CA with Ethan Turner, Rick's son. I had no idea what Alembic was when he told me his dad helped form the company. I now play Alembic basses and Peavey Cirrus basses, designed by Rich Lasner, who now runs VOX guitars in Novato, CA.

Well done. Not just facts, but a real look into how the instruments were a part of the man. I was fortunate to have spent time visiting at Alembic with Mica, Susan, and Ron. Times were better then and I ordered a custom guitar from them and they really knocked it out of the park. It took a long time but in the end I had an instrument forged like sword from a Tolkien story. Layers of magical wood, the brass, the Tiger shape with a through body neck like Wolf. Based on my meeting with them and some conversations via fax, email, and telephone they came up with and inlay that blew my mind. My love of the Dead is similar to my love for Star Trek. They merged the two with an inlay of Mr. Spock Mind Melding with the Grateful Dead Skull and Lighting Bolt in a star field. Truly a work of art and a sonic pallet of tone. Truly one of my most treasured possessions for the sounds I can make, the memories it evokes, and the experience of working with the people of Alembic. All of which hit me every time I pick up Mind Meld.

good stuff mang! I'm surprised tho you didn't mention his visit with Tony Rice thru David Grisman and the weekend of the Pizza Tapes! very cool Grisman picked up Rices old D28 that Roland White played and he sounded just exactly like Grisman on Tonys guitar lol gotta love those memories! Pam (Rice) was in awe! er.... I mean, they say! :D

Keith, I've been subscribed for a while and you always make such great videos and today's was very well done. Jerry was my favorite guitarist when I was a kid (60s & 70s) so this video was especially interesting to me. It convinced me to hop over to Patreon and join up!

Thank you so much Keith! Two of my fav things together.

I just found your channel, after picking up guitar again after a decade away. I love Jerry and the Dead so much, this is a great video. Thanks!

Great show. Very pleased with the information. Thank you.

Superb as always, Keith! I never got into the Dead, either, so this was all new to me. Great stuff!

Are you kidding me? So cool! Thanks for all you do, really enjoy the channel!

Love your vids brother! This my favorite. I think I’ve seen all your vids so please keep up the great work. Much love:)

Stellar research as always, Keith. I appreciate you!

Wow, I never thought the day would come! Thank you for this… Jerry has such a Cool gear history

This was a great vid. Thanks for your work.

Outstanding video! I’m fan of Jerry’s guitar playing and those awesome guitars! Enjoy watching your videos very much! ✌🏻☮️💜

Thank you so much! wonderful presentation and coverage ...

Another stellar episode Keith!🎸

Great video! My new favorite 5 watt world episode.

Shame on me for not subscribing to your excellent channel earlier !!! I've really enjoyed MANY of your well researched videos over the past several years!!

not even a dead head and i think this is your best vid yet! congrats! on your hard work.

Great Work, Keith !!! I see the offer, think 'well, this might be cool' . Blindsided. I'm a San Mateo County native (one away from SF) so familiar with The Grateful Dead. Had friends deep into them. Fave guitars, The Guild Starfire since the older brother of my first real GF had one back in '72 or so. Saw pics from street concerts and this was there. The SG's were rad, too. Woodstock was like an SG showcase. Thanks for the memories.

Why am I not surprised when you keep outdoing yourself. I can remember years back in our E-mails that I had a gut level thing I couldn't shake that if the whole guitar community knew this guy they would feel like me that even without personally knowing you I had a best friend :-) On behalf of us all thanx!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this video even though I never cared for Garcia or the Dead. I reluctantly went to see the Dead at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park in 1993.I found myself getting into in. I also found a great deal of amusement in the fact I was one of the few sober people in the stadium. I learned quite a bit about Alembics thanks to you. I always like the great efforts you pour into these videos. Thanks again.