Lawrence "Ram Rod" Shurtliff | Stage-used tubes

Property of Strider Shurtliff

Lawrence "Ram Rod" Shurtliff

RCA tube caddy used by Ram Rod, with stage-used tubes

Red and black wooden tube caddy (17 x 13.5 x 8’’). “We Use RCA Tubes | For Black and White | And Color TV” printed on each side, Grateful Dead sticker, FM Productions sticker, “186” and “PA Boys” in felt tip on top.

Contains the following tubes in original boxes, mostly blown:

RCA - 6BL7GTA - 1, RCA - 6LQ6/6JE6C - 10, RCA - 5U4GB - 3, RCA - 6J5 - 2, RCA - 0C3A - 4, RCA - 6L7 - 5, RCA - 6SJ7 - 6, RCA - 6N7 - 6, RCA - 6J5 - 4, RCA - 12AX7A ECC83 - 2, RCA - 6AU6A - 2, RCA - 6C4 - 2, Ampex - 12AX7A ECC83 - 5, Sylvania- 12AX7A ECC83 7025 - 10, Groove Tubes (GT) 7025 - 3, GT - 12AT7 - 2, Ruby Tubes - 6L6GC-C - 4

When the band began, tube amplification was the only reasonable choice available. Nonetheless, even as sound technology progressed, the Dead continued to employ a mixture of solid state and tubes in their set up. Whether it was Garcia’s Fender Twin, or Weir’s Marshall head in the 1990s, Ram Rod’s tube caddy was a live mainstay.