Many Deadheads noticed that John Mayer wielded a familiar instrument over the weekend at Dead & Company‘s Playing in the Sand destination festival in Mexico, but things aren’t always as they seem. What appeared to be Jerry Garcia‘s famous Wolf guitar—an instrument Mayer played with Dead & Company back in 2019—was actually a prototype replica built by Bill Asher of Asher Guitars.
Mayer posted on social media before the show to explain that he would be using the prototype in an effort to avoid confusion, though some fans missed the memo. He explained that the Wolf replica was commissioned by Doug Irwin, the luthier who built Jerry’s original Wolf guitar in 1974. The prototype recreation was made using the Irwin’s original drawings and templates, and Mayer said, “The result is pretty unbelievable.”
Related: A Brief History Of Jerry Garcia’s Most Well-Known Guitars
“How unbelievable?” he continued, “I have to make sure to post this before tonight’s Dead And Company show to make sure people don’t mistake it for the real thing!” adding, “As someone who was lucky enough to play Jerry’s Wolf guitar for a show back in 2019, I can confidently say Doug and Bill nailed it. It shall always be played with love for this music and a culture that’s accepted me with open arms.”
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The prototype replica is part of an official limited edition run of ten Wolf guitars, all of which have already been sold. The original Wolf was a custom build commissioned by Jerry Garcia after he purchased a guitar called Eagle from Irwin, who was working for Alembic. He used the guitar extensively throughout the ’70s, and it made made its final appearance with the late Grateful Dead frontman in 1993. It was auctioned for $1.9 million in 2017.
Jerry Garcia’s Wolf Guitar Sold For $1.9 Million
The guitar’s body is made from amaranth (purple heart) with bookmatched curly western maple on the top and back. The neck runs through the middle of the body, constructed from a lamination of fiddleback maple and purpleheart. The instrument was named after the cartoon wolf sticker Garcia added to it, which Irwin later incorporated as a body inlay.
Jerry Garcia Plays Wolf – 10/19/74
Part of what makes Wolf so special are its state-of-the-art electronics, which are innovative even compared to more modern guitars.
“The pickup selector is the five position Stratocaster type. Front, middle, or rear, or combinations of the middle and either front or rear,” Irwin explained. “Wolf is equipped with a master volume control, and a tone control for each of the middle and front pickups. The two subminiature switches set side by side are the pickup coil switches. There are two 1/4” phone jacks. One went directly to the amp, and the other to Jerry’s effects loop, with the master volume located after the effects loop.
“There is also a subminiature switch to toggle the effects loop in or out,” he added.
Check out video of John Mayer using the Wolf prototype replica at Playing in the Sand below, and scroll down to watch him play the original with Dead & Company in 2019.
John Mayer Plays Wolf Replica Prototype – 1/14/23
John Mayer Plays Wolf – 6/23/19