Is This The Most Versatile Guitar Ever?
Harnessing the Grateful Dead guitarist’s wealth of experience and packing it into a high-performance solidbody electric guitar, the D’Angelico Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford is built around a comfortably contoured offset body. Dual stacked Seymour Duncan P-90s and a Lollar single-coil pickup work in tandem with an ultra-flexible wiring system to deliver the full gamut of tones. From clean jazz to overdriven blues to searing high-gain — every conceivable sound is at your disposal. A great-feeling C-shaped maple/walnut neck and fast-and-smooth 14”-radius fingerboard ensure effortless playability. A Wilkinson 6-point tremolo adds expressive vibrato, flutters, and gentle dives to your repertoire. You’ll also benefit from high-end features like Grover locking tuners and a TUSQ nut. The Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford includes an eye-catching F-hole-shaped pickguard, Split Block fingerboard inlays, 4-ply fingerboard binding, gold hardware, and a Bob Weir signature-engraved Skyscraper truss rod cover. “It’s fun and has an elegance about it as well,” says Bob. “I hope that others who play this instrument find it as engaging as I have.”
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Top-shelf tonewoods yield top-shelf tones
When Bob Weir sat down with D’Angelico to craft his ultimate guitar, he set the bar high. “I was trying to design an instrument that would keep me amused, and flabbergasted, and whatever for years to come, “ he maintained. This high-end electric guitar features an offset basswood body, which is contoured for your playing comfort. As a tonewood, basswood positively growls, yielding a warm tone with prominent mids that cut through a busy musical arrangement — even one with two drummers, two keyboardists, a bassist, another guitarist, and the occasional saxophonist. The Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford’s set-in maple/walnut neck not only lends incredible sustain to your playing, it also adds a bit of snap to your tone. The neck is capped with a pau ferro fingerboard. The guitarists here at Sweetwater appreciate pau ferro for its fast, smooth feel and its tight, articulate tone that falls somewhere between the warmth of rosewood and the brightness of ebony. The Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford includes an F-hole-shaped pickguard and a striking finish that according to Bob, “draws you in, rather than demanding your attention — it come hithers your attention.” Gold hardware completes the look.
Flexible electronics exhibit an endless variety of sounds
According to Bob Weir, his Bedford “has more variety of tones — and new tones available to it — than any guitar [he] can think of.” Its eclectic pickup combination and ultra-flexible wiring ensure that it excels in every musical situation — exactly what Bob needs to endure any of the Dead’s genre-defying sets. Custom-designed Seymour Duncan stacked P-90s exhibit a bright, transparent sound with super-thick mids. Run these pups into a clean amp, and you’ll enjoy a muscular blend of snap, punch, and bite. Park them in front of a high-gain amp, and you’ll experience serious molten grind. Best of all, they’re hum-free! You also get a Lollar Blonde single-coil pickup in the middle position that’s — in Bob’s words — “brighter than a thousand suns.” That said, this pickup isn’t ice pick-y. its scooped mids, full bass, and glassy highs are guaranteed to inspire. Both P-90s can be independently coil-split to re-create classic single-coil sounds, and a blend knob enables you to mix in whichever P-90 isn’t selected to achieve maximum tonal versatility.
Comfortable 3-piece neck and fast-and-smooth fingerboard
Playing the D'Angelico Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford is pure joy. Its 3-piece maple/walnut neck boasts a comfortable C shape, and its satin finish supplies the perfect blend of grip and ease of movement. Its 14”-radius fingerboard features 22 medium-jumbo frets. This fast-and-smooth fretboard encourages technically demanding leads, while enabling easy chording. And as anyone who has studied Bob Weir’s unique jazz-modulated chord inversions will tell you, easy chording is an absolute essential for any instrument that Bob signs off on. The Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford’s 24.75” scale length makes bends and vibrato feel effortless, and its sculpted heel provides easy access to the guitar’s upper frets. What’s more, Grover locking tuners ensure solid tuning stability and makes string changes a breeze, while a GraphTech TUSQ nut ensures excellent sustain and minimal string binding. The Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford boasts eye-catching mother-of-pearl/abalone Split Block fingerboard inlays, gorgeous 4-ply binding, and a stunning Bob Weir signature-engraved Skyscraper truss rod cover.
D'Angelico Guitars Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford Features:
- Signature guitar of the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir
- Contoured offset basswood yields a warm, growling tone with prominent mids
- Custom-designed Seymour Duncan stacked P-90s exhibit a bright, transparent sound with super-thick mids
- Lollar Blonde single-coil pickup produces scooped mids, full bass, and glassy highs
- P-90s can be independently coil-split to re-create classic single-coils sounds
- Blend knob mixes in whichever P-90 isn’t selected for maximum tonal versatility
- Comfortable C-shaped maple/walnut neck with a fast-and-smooth 14”-radius fingerboard
- Wilkinson 6-point tremolo for vibrato, flutters, and gentle dives
- Grover locking tuners ensure solid tuning stability and easy string changes
- GraphTech TUSQ nut ensures excellent sustain and minimal string binding
- Eye-catching F-hole-shaped pickguard, Split Block fingerboard inlays, 4-ply fingerboard binding, gold hardware, and Bob Weir signature-engraved Skyscraper truss rod cover
