Ron Wickersham
Electronics designer and co-founder, Alembic
Major contribution
Ron Wickersham improved the Grateful Dead’s PA and instrument electronics through Alembic’s integrated approach to live concert sound.
Ron Wickersham left Ampex and formed Alembic with Susan Wickersham in 1969. The company worked closely with the Grateful Dead, combining PA improvements, live recording and modifications to the musicians’ instruments rather than treating these as unrelated activities.
Wickersham designed low-impedance pickups and active preamplification to broaden the instrument signal’s usable bandwidth. Alembic’s histories describe modifications to Phil Lesh’s and Jack Casady’s basses and other instruments, as well as substantial concert PA work, including the Medicine Ball Caravan.
Key work
- Alembic consulting and PA work (1969)
- Low-impedance pickups and active electronics (1969)
- Medicine Ball Caravan PA and soundtrack (1970)
In the chronology
Selected sources
- Alembic History – Long Version · Alembic
- A Brief History of Alembic · Alembic