Hard Truckers | Speaker cabinet for piano, used by the Dead

Property of Grateful Dead Productions

Hard Truckers

Speaker cabinet used by the Grateful Dead, ca. 1970s

4x12 speaker cabinet (16 x 22 x 53’’) for piano, wood, birch plywood, signature heavy aluminum lugs, black speaker cloth; some damage to plywood at bottom, 12’ speakers likely JBL, cloth grill cover, with “Lightning Skull” sticker, June 6th 1990 signature above top speaker.

The “on the road” experience the roadies gained by designing and building the Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound was put to good use in the Hard Truckers company’s production of hand-built, acoustically superior speakers for car stereo, home stereo and of course, live gigs. The birch cabinets were built to withstand stage drops, cross-country tours and still produce the superior and innovative sound that Dead gigs were famous for.