Exciting Gear Update

Let’s take a short moment to talk gear. Part of what has made Trey such a unique guitarist is the custom guitars built by the band’s former soundman Paul Languedoc. In 1987, he built what is known as “Old Reliable” or “Blondie” or “Who’s the Mar-Mar?” after the picture of Trey’s dog Marley as a puppy on the headstock. Trey stopped playing this guitar after he received his recent koa Languedoc in 1996. There was also another “blondie” built in 1992 that apparently did not last and was quickly relegated to backup duty due to warping. That guitar has made a comeback after repairs and was played extensively during the Miami run and many fans noted it brought back some of Trey’s legendary sound from the hallowed early years. So imagine the excitement yesterday when songwriter Tom Marshall posted this picture to his Twitter account:

This is “Old Reliable” back with the middle single coil pickup in the center position. This Languedoc had the pickup removed around 1992 as Paul was preparing Trey a new guitar. He’s played it a few times since but always with the pickup missing. Could Trey be returning to this guitar soon? Would it just be with The Dead or to Phish shows? He still played well with his later guitars but a return to his 1988-1996 sound would make many people very happy. This is also exciting to this blog because he are in the heart of “Old Reliable” shows. Stay tuned. Research and information courtesy of ledzepmaster. Read his page for the whole history here.