Just saw Furthur here in Seattle last night and it appeared as though John Kadlecik was playing an Alembic guitar.  I was too far away to make out the electronics package.  Can any of you confirm this is the case and maybe what the build specifics of this guitar are?
 
BTW, the band sounded really good.
 
Bones

I think it's a Carvin, isn't it?

That's entirely possible but it looked like it had an Alembic logo on the headstock and the wood combo and general construction was very Alembic like.  Again, I was about 20 yards from the stage and I couldn't totally make it out.  Just kinda curious.
 
Bones

It's an Alembic for sure.

Not too hard to search the internets, I would think - try this thread on the Furthur forum.

Thanks for the link.  Very cool guitar.
 
Bones

Sweet! Can't wait to hear it! I always thought JK should use Alembic. What about the controls? looks like vol, filter, Q and FX loop to my untrained eye. What about the two switches near the (what I think is) FX blend knob?

I read several months ago on John's own webpage that he was having a Further built but the last time I saw them, he wasn't playing it yet.

Ah. Just read webpage. Orion w/Further stage pkg.+MIDI.
 
Nice.

Nice looking instrument  

   

You can get an idea of what it sounds like .  Red Rocks, last Friday; Help On The Way > Slipknot > Golden Road.  Sound quality of the video is pretty good; with great shot of the guitar.  I think the guitar sounds great; a very clear and balanced tone.
 
And for Phil fans, you can hear his lines very nicely on this vid.
 
And from Sunday night, .
 
Beautiful guitar!

You know, I'm starting to think the 'Alembic Couch' will be a sought-after piece of memorabilia some day . . . . .
 
J o e y

I was at the show last night in Seattle too! It was my first time seeing Phil since Jerry's passing. We were front row, right on the rail in front of Phil. I was very happy to see Alembic represented so nicely onstage.  The guitar sounded great, but I must admit my attention was on Phil just about the entire time. The first set was  pretty good but I could tell they were having some problems getting the fire going, but I was happy just to be seeing Phil again. When they came out for the second set, things just took off!  It was sheer bliss. I couldn't believe how great they sounded. Truth be told, when I first heard of the Furthur concept I was very skeptical. It just seemed like they had become a cover band of themselves... as time went on I realized how much I missed hearing Phil in person and finally decided I would go see them since they were basically playing just down the street from where I live. I am now a convert! I LOVED IT!
I took my girlfriend who had never seen the Dead before... she grew up in Eastern Germany and they didn't get much choice of what they could listen to. I've been playing lots of music that is new for her and she was very interested in this Grateful Dead thing that seemed almost intangible in terms of describing the whole mythic culture surrounding it. Well, long story a bit shorter, she was charmed by the whole community vibe and was mesmerized by the music, as was I. We're going to see them tomorrow night in Portland and if we could we would go on Friday too! (any body got tickets?) Sorry for the rambling response but I thought I would share our experience. She thought the Alembic guitar was very sexy (she is very wise in that regard). There's just something special about Alembic's, and it goes beyond tone, or looks, or anything else you can name.... there is a magic deeply infused in Alembic. They were a very potent element of that great, cosmic swirl that was the 60's musical and cultural revolution, and that is one of the reasons I will always have a deeply  seeded love of the Alembic company.  They so beautifully represent that intangible, magical time! Some of that magic can be revisited by listening to CD's or DVD's.... or if you're really lucky, you can feel it in person, being created right then and there ... just go see FURTHUR! And if you need to touch the intangible, just pick up your Alembic!

Hey Bonesrad and Moonliner,
Did it seem like Phil had a cold or something when you saw him? I saw the 4/7/12 show and his vocals sounded congested compared to some prior shows. I'm bummed he didn't sing Eyes @ Red Rocks in these vids, and if he was sick that would be why.

Johns guitar sounds awesome!!!! Congrats!!!!!  
Pay heed, all of you who say activators can't capture that sound!!!!!