This article originally appeared in Acoustic Guitar magazine. © String Letter Publishing, all rights reserved.
J.W. Gallagher and Son
I suspected that a visit to famed flattop company J.W. Gallagher and Son in Wartrace, Tennessee, would be a rural treat when I noticed that the directions said, "After you get into town, turn left at the flagpole." Entering the small-town, storefront office was a bit like stepping back in time. "My grandfather made the bricks that this building is made of," Don Gallagher told me with pride. Gallagher and his staff of five are proud of the history, tradition, and old-time craftsmanship of their instruments as well.
J.W. Gallagher and Son (7 Main St., Wartrace, TN 37183; [931] 389-6455; www.dnj.com/gallagher) grew out of a woodworking and furniture shop established by J.W. Gallagher (Don's father) in the '30s. The father-and-son team got into the guitar business in 1965, when large companies such as Martin and Gibson had a firm grip on the dreadnought market. Fortunately for the Gallaghers, one of their instruments caught the ear of famed flatpicker Doc Watson, who has been helping them get the word out ever since. The relationship resulted in the Doc Watson signature model released in 1974.
Since then, J.W. Gallagher has passed on and the company he founded has grown a lot, but it hasn't lost its small-shop atmosphere. Although a CNC machine is used to shape fingerboards and create inlays, other machinery is decidedly old-school. "We still use some of the basic woodworking equipment my father got back in the '30s when he started making furniture," explains Don. "We also use a big stroke-sander my father made back in the late '50s to sand the tops and backs after the bodies are assembled."
But Gallagher's reluctance to modify the machinery around the shop does not carry over to his guitars. Although the popular G-70 rosewood and spruce dreadnought hasn't changed much in outward appearance over the years, it has-like all of Gallagher's models-been modified in several significant ways. "The most important change came in about 1987, when we changed the neck [truss] rod from a quarter-inch steel rod to a U-channel rod," says Gallagher. "It made the neck a lot stiffer and allowed us to do a bit more in terms of profiling the neck, so it gave us a better-feeling neck." Another development was the change to a top with a 25-foot radius, with the apex right in front of the bridge. This change makes the guitars stronger and enriches their sound. The Steve Kaufman signature model features a neck with a steeper angle and an elevated fingerboard, which results in a higher bridge that creates more tension and torque for better sound projection. Most of these changes were based on customer and dealer feedback.
Gallagher offers 14 basic models (starting at $2,000) that appeal to a wide variety of players. From the small-bodied GC-70 (available with a 12- or 14-fret neck) to the 12-string G-70-12, each model is built with a particular sonic goal in mind. "We've always tried to produce a guitar with a good balance across the range; good, clear projection; and a fullness and richness to the sound," says Gallagher. "Even the mahogany guitars, which are traditionally a little thinner and more trebly sounding, have a fuller sound than the traditional mahogany guitar. The difference is in part the way we voice the bracing and in part because we use African instead of Honduran mahogany."
Every six-string Gallagher model can be ordered as a seven-string, and standard options include inlay work, cutaways, and slotted headstocks. Customers appreciate Gallagher's attention to detail and frequently order custom instruments as well.
-Teja Gerken