Phil Lesh Bass History

Last updated December 12, 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 - Overview
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 renovated the peghead and fingerboard.

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.

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 (photo credit: Unknown).


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: Bob 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 - Mission Control & Big Brown

Both basses appeared onstage and were played in shows from this period. Shows where Phil used Big Brown include 9/2/78, 10/17-22/78, 11/13/78, 11/24/78, 12/31/78, and 1/5/79.
Photo credit: Rob Bleetstein



9/2/78 Giants Stadium is our earliest photographic evidence of Phil playing Big Brown in 1978. At some point prior, it got a new fretboard with larger inlays (instead of dots).
Photo credits: Jay Blakesberg



Between 10/22/78 Winterland & 11/11/78 Saturday Night Live, a Chaparral Cars logo sticker was added to Mission Control (photo credit: NBC).


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 6/26/84 - 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




6/27/84 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 V1

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 V2

A Roland GK-1 kit (MIDI controller & pickup) was temporarily added.
Links: Detail 1 - Detail 2 (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!

A costumed Barney was hired to entertain the kids backstage, and someone got the idea to send him out with a bass for the 2nd set opener (Iko Iko), while Phil stood behind his stack and played.

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