It's hard to find a live musician more seasoned than Bob Weir. As one of the founding members and frontmen of the legendary Grateful Dead he toured extensively for nearly 30 years. He's still going today teaming up with John Mayer as part of Dead & Company. Now he's partnering up with D'Angelico to bring out his signature Premier SS - a rock-ready semi-hollow that'll perform on stage or in the studio.
Born in NYC’s Little Italy, D’Angelico is widely regarded as one of the finest archtop guitar manufacturers of the 20th century. Nowadays, they make guitars of all shapes and sizes; all built with the same exceptional detail, mastery and flair that put them on the map.
Body & Neck
This single-cut semi-hollow features a maple body (back, sides and top) with single-ply binding. This offers a bright, clear response that’ll ensure your guitar is heard, no matter what style. The body is hollow with the exception of the centreblock - this gives you excellent resonance from the hollow portions while being less prone to feedback so you can turn up the gain. The body has a matte stone finish which gives this retro-styled guitar a sleek, modern edge and just plain looks good.
For the neck, D’Angelico opted for maple with a "C" profile, a versatile all-round shape that feels comfortable whether you're playing rhythm or lead. The fingerboard is made from rosewood which provides a smooth, natural feeling fretting surface and the 14" fingerboard radius is quite flat which is great for soloing and string bending.
Hardware & Electronics
The twin D'Angelico humbuckers provide a thick, warm sound that balances out the brightness of the tonewoods. This robust sound is great for rock but also cleans up nicely if you want to play blues/funk/jazz styles. For greater versatility this guitar has coil tapping functionality which allows you to achieve a thinner sound simply by pulling up either of the tone knobs.
The hardware is chrome from top to bottom, including Rotomatic Stairstep tuners - it’s an undeniably striking instrument. The Bigsby B-50 tailpiece adds to the old school aesthetic, but more importantly allows you to throw in some subtle vibrato to spice up your playing.
Specifications
Body
- Body Style: Semi-Hollow
- Shape: Single Cutaway
- Body Material: Laminate Maple
- Binding Top: Single-Ply
- Pickguard: Tortoise Scalini (5-ply)
Neck
- Neck Material: Maple (3 Piece)
- Neck Shape: C-shape
- Neck Joint: Set-thru
- Fretboard Material: Rosewood
- Truss Rod: Dual Action
- Scale Length: 25”
- Radius: 14”
- Inlays: White Pearloid Block
- Frets: 22, Medium
Electronics
- Bridge Pickup: D'Angelico Humbucker
- Neck pickup: D'Angelico Humbucker
- Controls: Neck volume, neck tone, bridge volume, bridge tone, push/pull coil-tap
- 3-way toggle switch
Hardware
- Tuners: Rotomatic Stairstep
- Nut material: PPS
- Bridge: Chrome Tune-O-Matic
- Tailpiece: Bigbsy B-50
