Nice Rack Canada was recently contacted by a chiropractor specializing in musicians, Dr. Larry Feldman about a gear problem asking for a complete rig build.

Larry is one of the guitarists in Canada's premier Grateful Dead tribute band, Mars Hotel. Larry recently went through a moment that all musicians dread… theft of a pedalboard, amp & cabling.

Having worked with other Grateful Dead inspired players, we had a good idea of the tones that were required and the hardware needed to achieve the goals.

With gigs & rehearsals booked for the near future, the timeline was tight. Combined with the time demands of running a medical practice and being a family man, Dr. Feldman had precious little time to spare.

Our shop was able to prepare a replacement value estimate for the insurance company to provide payment to client. We sourced all of the equipment necessary, built the system and programmed it. Dr. Larry visited our shop one time, 10 days after contacting us to pick up his gig ready system.

The system is switched by the new Boss ES-8 dynamic routing switcher & MIDI controller. As a value added Roland / Boss installer we were able to source one of the prototype units of the new DD-500 Digital Delay, making Larry the first user / owner of this very powerful delay pedal in Canada.

To capture the classic "Jerry" tones we employed the flagship of "California" voiced amplifiers, the Mesa Boogie Mark V combo. We used it's 10w "Tweed" voiced channel 1 for slightly pushed small block Fender tones, a 45w Channel 2 is configured as a harmonically rich thickened Mark I tones and a 45w Channel 3 sparkly, bright Twin like voicing.

All of the amp functions are MIDI controlled via a RJM Music Mini Amp Gizmo.

Furthering the pursuit of all the classic Jerry sounds, we installed the Mu-FX TruTron 3X and Octave Divider, hand built in California by Mike Biegel, the designer of the original Mutron circuits.

In keeping with the smooth 70's vibe, we used the Xotic SP Comp doing a better job being a Ross "5 Knob" than Ross could have ever done.

Once again our favourite the TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Mini was our choice for the tuner.

DC power by Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 4x4.

System Design, Gear Acquisition, Custom12VAC supplies for the MuFX pedals, Clean Boost circuit & custom wiring by Nice Rack Canada.