A Sheryl Crow Bass

[fronobulax]

I saw this somewhere online but have, of course, forgotten where.

My memory says her first Guild was a M-85-II in the non-hollow configuration. Hence 1973 or later and humbuckers.

This bass, with the cover where the bridge PU would be, is similar to factory configured JS I's from the 1970's so there is no real question about authenticity. Similarly it is more likely to be a factory M-85-I than a conversion of a II to a I. The width and absence of back binding also makes this the non-hollow configuration and hence 1973 or later.

Zooming in it looks like there is a Deep-Hard switch that looks to be in the Deep position. I am bothered by the knob locations but what I am seeing could be just camera angle since they seem to be where they are on @The Guilds of Grot 's 1973 M-85-II.

So my conclusions...

This is a 1973 or later M-85-I and I can't recall ever seeing one like it before.

She has or had more than one M-85 since that is simpler than concocting a story where her M-85-II was converted to a M-85-I or my memory is wrong and her first bass was (this?) M-85-I and it was subsequently converted.

I'm sure I could obsessively search for interviews and such like and get an answer, maybe in her own words, but what would be the fun of that?

 

[fronobulax]

So there is a documentary I have not tracked down and the pic seems to be from that.

Sheryl Crow's Music Has Been Pretty Laid Back. Her Life Hasn't Always Been.

"Sheryl' gives us a candid, no-holds-barred look at singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and her ups, downs and days of winding roads. Our review.

www.rollingstone.com

 

[mellowgerman]

That documentary was on Netflix (I believe) and I watched it a few months back. Definitely worth checking out. If I recall correctly, she does talk about her Guild, but I don't remember what was said. Either way, the one in the photo looks to be just about half the depth of my semi-hollow m85

 

[MartyG]

This one looks stock - just like mine, except the shape of the tuning knobs.

 

[fronobulax]

This one looks stock - just like mine, except the shape of the tuning knobs.

To the extent that my memory is correct that is the configuration and color I associate with her first M-85. Looks like she is using both PUs and the Deep-Hard switch is in the Hard position.

Your tuning knobs are not what I think of as the usual knobs but they look like ones Guild did use.

 

[MartyG]

I've seen both used on 1975-dated M-85s. Here's one in walnut, same tuners as mine:

 

[bassman10096]

I saw this somewhere online but have, of course, forgotten where.

My memory says her first Guild was a M-85-II in the non-hollow configuration. Hence 1973 or later and humbuckers.

This bass, with the cover where the bridge PU would be, is similar to factory configured JS I's from the 1970's so there is no real question about authenticity. Similarly it is more likely to be a factory M-85-I than a conversion of a II to a I. The width and absence of back binding also makes this the non-hollow configuration and hence 1973 or later.

Zooming in it looks like there is a Deep-Hard switch that looks to be in the Deep position. I am bothered by the knob locations but what I am seeing could be just camera angle since they seem to be where they are on @The Guilds of Grot 's 1973 M-85-II.

So my conclusions...

This is a 1973 or later M-85-I and I can't recall ever seeing one like it before.

She has or had more than one M-85 since that is simpler than concocting a story where her M-85-II was converted to a M-85-I or my memory is wrong and her first bass was (this?) M-85-I and it was subsequently converted.

I'm sure I could obsessively search for interviews and such like and get an answer, maybe in her own words, but what would be the fun of that?

Our dearly departed Mgod told the story that he recommended a hollow, Bisonic M85 to Ms Crow but she picked up a newer model with Guild buckers. I wish I’d heard her play his recommendation but her live sound with the solid humbucker model was massive and fit the songs she played with it. I have an extra dash of respect for female bass players. In Sheryl’s case I think her bass fit very well with the songs she wrote where she played bass.

 

[chazmo]

Lots of past tense in there, @bassman10096 ... She still uses her Guild, doesn't she?

I do note that she's lately very unhappy with the music biz, so I wasn't sure if I'd missed some announcement that she's stopped.... Big Sheryl fan here:

Sheryl Crow’s Financial Woes: ‘It’s the End of the Music Business as She Once Knew It’

Nine-time Grammy Award winner Sheryl Crow claims she's hustling to make ends meet because no one buys records anymore. Now the "All I Wanna Do" singer, 62, is forced to sell her hit songs, like "Soak Up the Sun" and "Everyday Is a Winding Road," for TV commercials — just to stay afloat. While her...

www.yahoo.com

 

[fronobulax]

Our dearly departed Mgod told the story that he recommended a hollow, Bisonic M85 to Ms Crow but she picked up a newer model with Guild buckers. I wish I’d heard her play his recommendation but her live sound with the solid humbucker model was massive and fit the songs she played with it. I have an extra dash of respect for female bass players. In Sheryl’s case I think her bass fit very well with the songs she wrote where she played bass.

I of course should not trust my memory and am not sure whether my source is PMs, LTG or the DudePit. But to add to the story, based upon my recollection: mgod had played what was usually called his "Phil Lesh Bass" a hollow M-85 that had belonged to Lesh and had some "proto-Alembic" mods done over the years, in Shery's presence. (The curious can search for themselves since the bass's origin story has been repeated many times and I think there are even a couple articles written by Dan himself). She loved the sound and went out to replicate it. She ended up with a non-hollow M-85-II with Guild humbuckers. My sense is that Dan implied she didn't actually talk to him about it and she did not know that there were solid and hollow versions with (in many opinions) radically different pickups. I also know there was some bitterness about how the musicians associated with the Tuesday Night Club were credited and treated when Sheryl's career took off. It may be that what Dan said, or how I recall it, was colored by a willingness to present Sheryl in a negative light.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Rick Suchow - Phil Lesh: A Brief History

Rick Suchow photos. Lesh Is More

ricksuchow.com

(The curious can search for themselves since the bass's origin story has been repeated many times and I think there are even a couple articles written by Dan himself).--fronobulax

The Bass That Phil Lesh Gave Me

In one’s early life as a musician, one tends to look for signs along the way that you’ve chosen the right path. For me, there were a couple early indicators of that choice. The first was my encounter with Jack Casady, when I hadn’t even been playing for a year. The second one came three and half...

www.psaudio.com

 

[mavuser]

we have seen her M-85-1 before, it has popped up here at LTG, it has been a while. She does own several M-85's. Generaly she is seen with the solid body M-85-2. However, she does own a hollow M-85 with Bisonic, also. I don't think she tours with that one. I have seen a picture of it though. Never seen another M-85-1 other than this one.

 

[mavuser]

here's something you dont see every day, Ms. Crow and Ms. Price (pregnant) next to each other, with the solid M-85-1 and hollow M-85-1 also next to each other. from a few years ago.

not the best angle, but you can see the difference in the big Westerly bass headstock and the smaller Hoboken headstock, on those basses.

 

[GGJaguar]

X-175?

 

[mavuser]

X-175?

I saw that, figured it was an aristocrat, but didn't really examine it. a closer look reveals neck mounted to body at 16th fret.

 

[jp]

I saw that, figured it was an aristocrat, but didn't really examine it. a closer look reveals neck mounted to body at 16th fret.

Yeah. Looks like an early 60s M-75 Aristocret.

 

[RVBASS]

not the best angle, but you can see the difference in the big Westerly bass headstock and the smaller Hoboken headstock, on those basses.

Looks like a big difference in thickness between the two as well. I didn’t realize that the hollowbody was that much thicker than the solid body.

 

[mavuser]

Looks like a big difference in thickness between the two as well. I didn’t realize that the hollowbody was that much thicker than the solid body.

oh yeah those are plump birds. check out @mellowgerman's photo of the M-85 next to the Starfire bass:

https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?attachments/img_20230518_194949588-2-jpg.56624/

 

[bassman10096]

I of course should not trust my memory and am not sure whether my source is PMs, LTG or the DudePit. But to add to the story, based upon my recollection: mgod had played what was usually called his "Phil Lesh Bass" a hollow M-85 that had belonged to Lesh and had some "proto-Alembic" mods done over the years, in Shery's presence. (The curious can search for themselves since the bass's origin story has been repeated many times and I think there are even a couple articles written by Dan himself). She loved the sound and went out to replicate it. She ended up with a non-hollow M-85-II with Guild humbuckers. My sense is that Dan implied she didn't actually talk to him about it and she did not know that there were solid and hollow versions with (in many opinions) radically different pickups. I also know there was some bitterness about how the musicians associated with the Tuesday Night Club were credited and treated when Sheryl's career took off. It may be that what Dan said, or how I recall it, was colored by a willingness to present Sheryl in a negative light.

You tell the story better than I could.