Phil Lesh Bass History

Last updated March 2, 2024. Date ranges are based on available photographic evidence, and may not be 100% accurate.
Many thanks to Jason Scheuner and Mike Weber for their assistance in putting this page together!



1965 to 8/28/66 - red Gibson EB0F
This variant of the EB0 bass had a factory built-in fuzz tone unit. Only 265 were ever produced.
Status: Whereabouts unknown
Links: Larger pic
Photo credit: Paul Ryan



9/2/66 to 6/28/67 - Fender Jazz
Status: Whereabouts unknown
Photo credit: Susan Elting Hillyard



7/2/67 to 6/14/69 - red Guild Starfire
Later to become Big Brown.
Status: In Phil's collection
Photo credit: Leni Sinclair



6/20/69 to 6/21/71 - paisley red Gibson EB3
Status: Whereabouts unknown
Photo credit: Steve Deibel



7/2/71 to 6/8/74 - Alembic "Big Brown"
Alembic stripped the red finish off Phil's Starfire, replaced the electronics and hardware, and re-did the peghead and fingerboard.

Status: In Phil's collection
Links: Control layout - Inside 1 - Inside 2

V1 - 12 control knobs, with trapezoidal pickups and a simple tailpiece.
Photo credit: Dr. Bob Marks


V2 - Full, fancier tailpiece added.
Photo credit: unknown


V2.1 - Trapezoidal pickups replaced with standard Alembic pickups, and the bottom part of the tailpiece was removed (or broke off).
Photo credit: Dr. Bob Marks


V3 - 2 more control knobs added, for a total of 14.
Photo credit: Larry Kasperek


A Steal Your Face sticker was added between the 2/24/74 Winterland & 3/23/74 Cow Palace shows.
Note - There were a number of shows in 1971 and possibly 1972, including 7/31/71 and 12/4-7/71, where Phil played both Big Brown and the paisley red Gibson EB3.


6/16/74 to 8/13/75 - Alembic "Mission Control" (aka Osiris, Osage Orange, The Omega)
Status: In a private collection
Links: Control layout - Front & back - Peghead front & back - Control detail - Case

V1 - U-channel bridge and batwing tailpiece, no pickup rings or wood trim on quad trim pots access panel.
Photo credits: James Lee Katz


V1.1 - Between 10/20/74 Winterland & 3/23/75 Kezar, separate wooden pickup rings were added around each of the pickups, along with wood trim for the brass access plate below the bridge.
Photo credits: Greg Gaar


V1.2 - After 3/23/75 Kezar, a single koa and abalone pickup ring was made and installed by Doug Irwin.
Photo credit: Doug Irwin



9/28/75 Golden Gate Park - Big Brown
An Apollo 8 sticker was added at some point between the 6/8/74 Oakland & 9/28/75 San Francisco shows.
Photo credit: Greg Gaar



6/3/76 to 6/25/78 - Mission Control

V1.3 - In 1976, a brass pickup ring replaced the koa and abalone ring.
Photo credits: Unknown


V2 - Between 12/31/76 San Francisco & 2/26/77 San Bernardino, the original bridge and tailpiece were replaced with a Leo Quan Badass combo bridge/tailpiece with a brass plate to cover the tailpiece holes (photo credit: Ed Perlstein).
Photo credit: Robert Minkin


V3 - Between 5/17/78 Chicago & 6/4/78 Santa Barbara, a new custom brass Alembic tailpiece was added, and the Badass bridge was modified to allow the strings to pass over the back (photo credit: Ed Perlstein).
Photo credit: unknown



7/1/78 to 2/17/79 - Big Brown & Mission Control
Both basses were used in a number of shows from this period.
Between 10/22/78 Winterland & 11/11/78 Saturday Night Live, a Chaparral Cars logo sticker was added to Mission Control (photo credit: NBC).
Photo credit: Rob Bleetstein



11/17/78 Rambler Room, Loyola College - blonde Fender Precision
Used at an impromptu acoustic show billed as the Bob Weir Band (Jerry, Bob, Phil, Mickey) as a benefit for Hunger Week.
Status: Whereabouts unknown
Links: Picture
Photo credits: Unknown



4/22/79 to 7/1/79 - Mission Control
Between 4/22/79 San Jose & 5/3/79 Charlotte, a McLaren sticker was added between the bridge and the control knobs (photo credit: Elliot Newhouse).
Photo credit: Ed Perlstein



8/4/79 to 9/6/79 - Big Brown
Photo credit: Jay Blakesberg



10/24/79 to 7/14/81 - Doug Irwin custom
Status: In Phil's collection
Links: Peghead detail
Photo credits: David Gans



8/12/81 to 10/19/81 - Fender Jazz
Phil obtained this bass from a neighbor in Fairfax. The model year is unknown, but it looks very similar to the Jazz bass he was using in 1967, albeit with the finish stripped off and the pickguard removed.
Status: Whereabouts unknown. Apparently stolen from the GD warehouse at some point.
Photo credit: Clayton Call



11/29/81 to 11/26/82 - G&L L-2000-E
Stock model with customizations. Changed the 2nd switch from series/parallel to a low pass filter for the neck pickup, added a low pass filter switch between the tone knobs to fatten the sound on the bridge pickup, and a trim pot above the jack for controlling the level of treble boost.
Status: In a private collection
Links: Catalog page (or flyer?) - Wiring diagram 1 - Wiring diagram 2 - Control detail - Electronics cavity
Links: Detail 1 - Detail 2 - Detail 3 - Detail 4 (detail photo credits Dave Stotts)
Photo credit: unknown



12/26/82 to 6/28/83 - Modulus Graphite #1
Six-string graphite neck through body design, with narrower string spacing than 4 string basses. Features a quilted maple top.
Note - The numbering of these custom Modulus basses reflects Phil's acquisition and use, and not serial numbers.
Status: In Phil's collection
Links: Detail (photo by Ed Perlstein) - Back of neck detail (photo by Steve Wojtak)
Photo credit: unknown



7/30/83 to 5/8/84 - Modulus #2 V1
Neck through body construction and quilted maple top (center section only?) similar to Modulus #1. The wings sticker was added between the 7/31/83 Ventura and 8/20/83 Frost shows (photo credit: Dr. Bob Marks).
Status: In Phil's collection
Photo credit: unknown



6/9/84 to 7/1/84 - Modulus #2 V2
Neck pickup added, additional routing done to move middle pickup slightly toward bridge, and cover plate added for middle pickup.
Photo credit: unknown



7/3/84 to 10/9/84 - Modulus #1 V2
Control set modified to comprise a single volume and tone control, and on/off switches for each pickup.
Photo credit: Madeline Dames



10/11/84 to 10/20/84, 8/24/85 - Modulus #2 V3
An additional switch appears to have been added in the control area. Used at least once in 1985 as noted, and possibly in other shows. Also uncertain whether Phil used it at the start of the October 1984 tour.
Links: Boreal Ridge (photo credit Tim Mosenfelder)
Photo credit: Steven Rood



10/27/84 to 9/15/85 - Modulus #3
Neck through body construction, with a red Narra top from the Phillipines.
Status: In Phil's collection
Links: Side view showing body "sandwich" construction
Photo credits: Robbi Cohn



10/25/85 to 3/3/87 - Modulus #4 (Modulus/Doug Irwin collaboration)
All carbon fiber with hollow body and neck. Doug Irwin carved a mahogany plug for the mold (hence the Irwin-esque shape), and the plug was destroyed in the mold-making processs. A similar build was planned for Jerry, but the complexity of the bass build nixed that project. This bass first appeared at the So Far video shoot in April 1985, but did not get used onstage until the fall 1985 tour. Modulus #3 continued to be used during that tour, the June 1986 Alpine Valley shows, and possibly others. This bass was used for the recording of In The Dark!
Status: In a private collection
Links: Detail 1 - Detail 2 - Detail 3 (detail photo credits Dave Stotts) - Pickups - Electronics cavity 1 - Electronics cavity 2 - Wiring diagram
Photo credit: Ron Delany



3/22/87 to 12/31/87 - Modulus #5 V1 (unpainted)
This headless bass was built with a spruce core, 0.1" graphite top/back plates, a neck-through graphite neck, and all aluminum hardware milled by Larry Robinson, who built the bass. The weight of the instrument was 7 pounds. Modulus #4 continued to be used onstage in 1987, including the 6/21/87 Greek show (photo credit Caleb Miller), and 10/3/87 (and 10/4?) Shoreline.
Status: In Phil's collection
Photo credit: Robbi Cohn



2/13/88 to 5/1/88 - Modulus #5 V2 (same bass with new paint job)
Photo credit: Robbi Cohn



6/17/88 to 7/17/88 - Modulus #3
Phil used both Modulus #3 and #5 at 6/19-6/23/88 Alpine Valley and perhaps 6/17/88 Bloomington, and apparently #3 only after Alpine.

Photo credit: Robbi Cohn



7/29/88 to 12/31/88 - Modulus #3 (Roland MIDI pickup and controller temporarily added)
Links: Detail, MIDI control removed (photo credit Tim Mosenfelder)
Photo credit: Robbi Cohn



2/5/89 to 12/10/89 - Modulus #5 V2
Links: Detail
Photo credits: Tim Mosenfelder



12/27/89 to 6/17/90 - Ken Smith #1
Custom BT-6 (serial #89608) with a tiger maple top, walnut veneer, mahogany core, maple veneer, Macassar ebony back, and gold hardware. Build completed on December 8, 1989.
Status: In a private collection
Links: Front & back - "Sandwich" detail - Back detail - Serial number - Replacement case - Original case
Photo credit: Rich Saputo



6/23/90 to 7/23/90 - Modulus #6 (Q6 prototype)
Status: In Phil's collection
Links: Detail (photo credit Tim Mosenfelder)
Photo credit: Robbi Cohn



9/7/90 to 9/12/90, 5/11/91 (first song only) - Ken Smith #2
Off-the-shelf Stock BT-6 (serial #88790) with a quilted maple top and gold hardware. The original Smith pickups were replaced with EMGs. The neck was damaged in an apparent attempt to replace the fretboard.
Status: In a private collection
Links: Neck "repair"
Photo credit: Robbi Cohn



9/14/90 to 9/9/91 - Ken Smith #3
Stock BT-6 (serial #??490) with a regular maple top, black hardware, and a MIDI pickup (triggers for middle 4 strings only?) fitted between the bridge and the bridge pickup. The original Smith pickups were replaced with EMGs. The fretboard was successfully replaced (possibly a Modulus fretboard).
Status: In Phil's collection
Links: Detail (photo credit Robbi Cohn)
Photo credit: Tim Mosenfelder



8/16/91 Shoreline Amphitheatre - Dark green Modulus
Phil played a dark green Modulus, which included a piezoelectric pickup, on the first song only. He was apparently dissatisfied and did not play it again on stage after that.
Status: Whereabouts unknown
Links: Photo 1 - Photo 2
Photo credits: Robbi Cohn



9/10/91 to 12/19/93 - Modulus #7
Status: In Phil's collection
Links: Detail (photo credit Tim Mosenfelder)
Photo credit: unknown



4/1/93 Nassau Coliseum - Ken Smith #3 "played" by Barney the Dinosaur!
Links: Larger photo
Photo credit: Bill Smythe



2/25/94 to 4/7/95 - Modulus #8
This bass appears to have a MIDI pickup between the bridge and the bridge pickup.
Status: In Phil's collection
Links: Detail
Photo credits: Tim Mosenfelder



9/24/94 Berkeley Community Theatre - Dave Maize 5 string acoustic
Acoustic benefit performance (Jerry, Bob, Phil, Vince) for the Berkeley Public Education Foundation ("To Save Music In Berkeley Schools").
Status: In Phil's collection
Photo credit: Jay Blakesberg



5/19/95 to 7/9/95 - Modulus #7
Photo credit: unknown