Used as a staple axe in the years between the “Alligator” and “Wolf” guitars, the TB500 was in rotation during the late 1970s for more than 90 Grateful Dead shows including the mythic three-night stint at the Winterland Ballroom in ‘76. Perhaps even more notable is the oft-repeated rumor that the TB500 was the guitar Jerry used in the recording of Terrapin Station.

Crafted by Kevin Burkett of Travis Bean Designs and Electrical Guitar Company in tandem with Marc McElwee (who was behind the original Travis Bean designs of the ‘70s), this reissue is a pinpoint recreation of the TB500s Jerry played back in the day.

In addition to the flagship features like cast resin single coil pickups and the legendary aluminum neck, the TB500 sports the revolutionary onboard effects loop (OLEB). The first of Jerry’s guitars to incorporate an OLEB, the TB500 was the starting point for what became a fixture on all of his future models.

Every TBD instrument is something to rave about in and of itself, but this one is really something special: a TB500 Generation One made by Travis Bean Designs (Electrical Guitar Company) in homage to Jerry Garcia’s Travis Bean TB500 (serial #12).

• 1.75” slab body
• 24.75” scale aluminum neck w/ rosewood fretboard
• Neck dimensions: 1.75” at nut, 2.25” wide at 22nd fret
• Mother of pearl dot inlays
• Three white cast resin single coil pickups identical in design to ‘70s models
• Brass nut and Schaller tuners
• Master volume, autonomous neck tone, middle/bridge tone knobs, three mini on/off pickup switches
• On-board effects loop (OBEL)
• Weighs 9lb. 4oz.