Doug Irwin is an American
luthier
A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...
who designed five custom guitars for
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...
of the
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
. The guitars he built for Garcia included
Eagle (
Alembic
An alembic (from ar, الإنبيق, al-inbīq, originating from grc, ἄμβιξ, ambix, 'cup, beaker') is an alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, used for distillation of liquids.
Description
The complete disti ...
),
[
]
Wolf,
Tiger,
Wolf Jr. (headless) and
Rosebud.
[
]
Doug also built more than 50 other guitars and basses including a bass for
Pete Sears and a bass for
Phil Lesh
Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career.
After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...
. Two other guitars are documented as being built by Irwin: Rosewood and a Les Paul type guitar. These two guitars appear in the one and only D. Irwin Guitar Company sales brochure.
After the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, Jerry's will directed that his Irwin-made guitars be returned to Doug Irwin. After a legal battle with the remaining members of the Grateful Dead, the parties settled and agreed that Doug would receive "Wolf" and "Tiger" and GD Productions would keep "Rosebud" and "Wolf Jr." (Wolf Jr. is sometimes referred to as "headless" and was never played by Jerry in concert). In the agreement Doug was to sell Tiger and Wolf at auction. Wolf went for $789,500 including the
buyer's premium, Tiger sold for $957,500 including the buyer's premium. It is believed that at the time, Tiger's price was the highest ever paid for a guitar at auction.
Eagle, the first guitar that Doug Irwin built under his own name, and the first Irwin guitar purchased by Jerry Garcia was auctioned via
Bonhams on May 8, 2007, for $186,000, inclusive of the buyer's premium.
[
]
External WebsiteDoug Irwin Official Website
References
Guitar makers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
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