Introduction to J. W. Gallagher Acoustic Guitars

An Introductory Letter by Don Gallagher:

2000 marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Gallagher Guitars. In some ways it seems like it was only yesterday when I was a young man helping my father in the shop. It was exciting sharing with him his thoughts and aspirations about guitar making. The older I become, the more I appreciate that experience.
You must understand, however, it has never been our goal to just make guitars. We have aspired to use guitar making as a way of expressing excellence in craftsmanship. Our objective has never been to make large quantities of guitars. Our objective has been to constantly strive to improve our guitars both in terms of craftsmanship and tonal quality. Over the years, we have continued to make improvements in our instruments; by developing better technical procedures, building a large inventory of well seasoned woods, perfecting wood curing processes, refining our designs, listening to what people have to say, and keeping up with what is happening to our guitars over the years.
Since 1965 every guitar we have built has been recorded in our ledger by model, serial number, initial owner, and the date it left the shop. If work is done on a guitar or if it changes owners and we know of it, we so note these changes in our ledger.
In some ways as I think back over the past thirty-five years, it seems like a very long time ago when we first started making guitars. What has made this business so special over the years are all the people we have had the pleasure of making instruments for.
Our guitar making is not just a business, it is a way of life. We take a lot of pride in what we do, and we hope we are making instruments today that can be enjoyed for many years to come.
We hope you enjoy the pictures of our shop.
Don Gallagher

Gallagher Special

Gallagher Guitars is a company that takes great pride in the uniqueness of its guitars. Having made less than 3000 guitars in 35 years each instrument may stake its own claim at being unique. As with any handmade product no two Gallagher guitars turn out exactly alike. Each guitar has its own personality that develops from day one in the assembly process and continues to mature in the lap of its owner. The personification process is advanced as many musicians give names to their instrument. Doc Watson for example plays “Donald” named after its maker. Steve Kaufman can usually be found playing “Hazel” named after Hazel (Gallagher) Brannon, Don’s mother. No doubt you too may have a name for your instrument (besides the name you called it when you were trying to learn that new song). Every picker’s goal is to be able to make his guitar sing, but for just a minute let’s look at this truly special guitar that would have truly inspirational stories if it could only talk.
In 1972 J.W. Gallagher began working on two very special sister guitars, which became the prototype of the 75 Special. These sisters were designed to have all the bells and whistles without becoming gaudy; J.W. had no tolerance for gaudy guitars. But these guitars were a testament to the man whose instruments carried his name around the world in less than ten years as a full time luthier.