Gallagher G-50

My G-50 dreadnought was built in 2005 in the Wartrace, TN shop. It has 14 frets clear. The top is solid Sitka spruce, the back, sides, and neck are solid African mahogany. It comes equipped with Schaller closed-back tuners and bone nut and saddle.

Right out of the box, this guitar sounds and feels great. The G-50 has rich, warm bass with singing trebles. I play bluegrass mostly, and this guitar suits the style quite well and sounded better than all the Martins I tried out when shopping around. There is a rainbow of tonal range when I experiment with pick attack. I give it a 9 because I've never heard a brand-new guitar that I thought sounded perfect. This comes pretty darn close, though.

The guitar was set up ALMOST perfectly. There were a couple notes that fretted out, so I had to send it to Don to do a little fretwork. Otherwise, the set-up was nice and high for the projection a bluegrass player needs.

One thing I noticed immediately about the G-50 was its construction. It is a heavy guitar and it could probably survive a missile strike. This is certainly an heirloom quality instrument that I'll never sell or trade. Everything is solid on this guitar.

The one time I sent the guitar for fretwork Don and company were friendly and dealt with business matters promptly. I e-mailed Don once to ask when the guitar was built and I was replied to the next day. It's nice to deal with a family-owned and operated company and not a huge bureaucracy.

I've been playing guitar for 10+ years, my only other guitar right now is a Martin D-18GE, which I am selling and replacing with a Gallagher G-70 I just custom ordered with an Adirondack spruce top, rosewood back/sides, and a slotted headstock. If for some reason my G-50 was lost or stolen I wouldn't hesitate to get another one, though I would probably upgrade the Sitka spruce top to Adirondack spruce, which is just a matter of preference. As far as I can tell, the Gallagher guitars are built with meticulous attention to detail and uncompromising quality, backed up with friendly customer service. What more can you ask for?

This is one of those great garage sale story's you hear about. The summer of 1996 A friend called to say his neighbor had a garage sale going and had a folk guitar which he felt I might be intrested in. I'd been looking for one at the time. I asked him the manufacture, neither one of us had heard of it before, a J.W. Gallagher G50. Before I went over to see it I called a reputable guitar shop, mentioned a garage sale and asked them about the manufacture. There comment was, where is it? That told me alot right there. When I saw the guitar though the entire guitar, body and neck had fine lacker cracks in it also the neck had a slight funny twist to it, I believe from years of being neglected and left in the garage during cold and hot seasonal changes of Denver, Colorado. I really didn't like what I was seeing but did notice it was US made in Wartrace, TN. I offered $50 with case which he accepted. Afterword I emmediatly took it to the guitar shop and they offered $600 right there, but I kept it and still have it. The Schaller tuners are great and the woods are still beautiful.

Possibly because of the condition I don't believe it has ever measured up to it's potential and I've tried all sorts of string manufacture's to bring the sound out. It may take a luthier to diagnose the sound issues.

I had to adjust the trus rod which did remove the slight twist of the neck and had to lower the bone bridge saddle. The top of the guitar at the bridge is also slightly sunken. I did speak to Don Gallagher shortly after aquiring the guitar. He told me not to touch the finish, that refinishing would only reduce the value of the guitar and ruin the charactor. I can see it was a once beautiful piece and fine lacker cracks do add charactor!

A very well built piece.

Don Gallagher has always been helpful in answering questions and e-mail. Don could look in his ledger and tell me this G50 left the shop in October of 1976 and was shipped to a music store in Longmont, CO. The serial number is a low nine hundred series in the teens. At the time of construction I believe Gallagher only mad 80 guitars a year.

Mine?.....I'm sure ther are better G50's out there. Again the one I stumbled on was in poor shape but I know they make quality instruments. To get the sound I wanted though I eventually purchased a 96 Martin OM-28V which I'm very pleased with.

I am commenting on my best friend's guitar. his mother was actually involved in making it while she worked at the guitar shop in Wartrace, pretty cool if you ask me. the features are top notch, 'nough said. real big body for an amazing full sound. real big neck too.

full, dynamic, beautiful. sustains for days. gives you the deep full sounds with piercing solos. tones of variety

one solid guitar too. you can feel it as soon as you hold it, i swear.

my dad knows don, they're really nice people. i dropped in one day to check the store/factory out-it's really small-and don was super nice to me, even let me go back into the manufacturing area. i imagine this translates into good customer support. good ole souther hospitality at it's best

i've said about everything. if you are ever within 100 miles of Wartrace, about an hour south of nashville of I-24, check the place out. if you ever get a chance to play one, cherish it.

Made in 1993 in Wartrace, Tn.
20 frets
Solid spruce top
mahogany neck, African mahogany back and sides, rosewood fretboard and bridge
high gloss body and peghead, satin finish neck
dreadnaught
Schaller tuners
thinner than usual custom size neck, standard width
Calton Delux case

Sound fits my style very well be it bluegrass or folk
This guitar mics up exceptionally well both onstage and in the studio. Much easier to deal with and get good stage sound than the Martin I own.
The sound is rich with lots of upper overtones and a fine balance between stings. Never boomy sounding, nor muddy.
I can get soft sweet tones or loud cutting lead sounds.
Sustain is the best of any mahogany body I've yet played.
I love the stability of tuning. This guitar will stay in tune! With my Calton case even after a long flight or drive it's often in tune with the digital tuner when uncased. Onstage it doesn't need touched up often at all, especially since I've found the proper capo to use with the instrument.
The only dislike I have is the smaller neck I origionally asked for. I like the standard Gallagher neck size better now and perhaps the beefier neck may help sustain. When I ordered the instrument I was playing a lot of electric (tele, ric 12str. and Gretch) and wanted a slim neck. I found the Victor capo to be perfect for the instrument. Paige works well too.
Intonation all over the board is very, very good.

The guitar needed a little lower action for my liking, easily brought to my specs and now plays great.

I've had this guitar on a lot of tours, U.S. and abroad. It's made to take the travel, stays in tune incredibly.

Among the best I've ever had.

35yrs onstage.
I'd have to have a replacement from Gallagher if I ever (God forbid) lost it.
I love the overtones, responsiveness, ease of miking, stability and ease of tuning.
I compare it with my Martin a lot right here at home and won't use the Martin anymore onstage at all. Just keeping the Martin for the sentimental value. The Martin is used to lay down a soft rythm track on some of my records then I lay the Gallagher G-50 tracks on top. The Martin I use because of a sentimental attachment.
After most shows, be it concert or festival, several folks will compliment me on the guitar tone. It just about always happens and sometimes coming from not just fans but guitar heros of mine!