Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart | Rotating sound synthesizer pedal, used by the Dead

Property of Grateful Dead Productions

Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart

Morley rotating sound synthesizer pedal, ca. 1970

Synthesizer pedal (13 x 6.5 x 6”), white tape labeled “Thumb Piano” on top. Serial number: 16897.

Used by Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart in the Grateful Dead

This was Morley’s attempt at emulating the Leslie rotating speaker sound in a more portable fashion. The rather unusual Oilcan delay technology it employed ended up sounding nothing like a Leslie simulator, but instead a truly unique modulation pedal resulted. Jerry fist used the pedal, but moved on others and Mickey put its wooly dub effect to good use for live drum sounds.