One of the best Guitars in the world is made in War Trace, Tn. | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Gallagher guitars are hand crafted in a small town in Tennessee since 1965.

    I first became aware of this remarkable guitar during a concert in 1972 at the Great Southeast Music Hall in Atlanta, Ga. It was during a Doc and Merle Watson concert. Bluegrass picking on a guitar is a special talent that the blind Doc Watson had mastered. I have previously posted about him on BCN . During one of the breaks, I asked Doc what kind of guitar he was playing, as I was not familiar with the logo on the head. He said it was a Gallagher and they were made in War Trace, Tennessee.

    I did not think much about that but tucked the name away in my memory bank for later reference. As my career and family began to take precedence over my selfish hedonism, I almost forgot the instrument, but every now and again it would come up for one reason or another. I decided that I would one day look into buying a Gallagher guitar.

    In 2007, my brother, Jim and I made a trip to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to revisit some of his old friends from his company Phillips 66. We decided to drive and spend some windshield time together. Since we were both retired and had plenty of time on our hands, we took the leisurely route. On our return trip we were driving down I24 south of Nashville when I saw the sign for the War Trace Exit.



    Just a few minutes later, we were in the town of War Trace, population about 600. It was not hard to find the Gallagher shop in a town that small. We stopped in and introduced ourselves and I explained to the young boy there my story of Doc Watson. He said they got quite a few visitors there based on Doc Watson's use of their guitars.

    Well, he gave us a tour and I told him that I always wanted a Gallagher guitar and he pulled one off the display rack to show me. I asked about one of the non-custom models and he said since there was no dealer involved he could sell me one for $800.





Just by coincidence, I had $3400 cash in my pocket from my winnings at the Osage Indian Casino in Oklahoma.

    I came within a nat's hair of buying that guitar on the spot, but youthful wish list memories and realities do not always mess. I passed on the opportunity and thanked him for his offer. That was in 2007. A similar model today is aroung $3 grand. Gallagher GC70 for sale

    A doc Watson custom design will go for over $10,000. One of the things that I wish I had not lost to adulthood and growing up was that impulsiveness that we all had when we were young. Most of the time it never leads to a good result but maybe just once in a while it would be okay. I am seventy years old now and can't get the fingers to work, so a Gallagher would be just another memory in the trophy room that my kids can sell as a discount to some lucky impulsive young guy.

    Here is the link to a tour and explanation of this wonderful Dream Guitar that I still have not possessed. The kid doing this video tour is the grandson of the founder and the same one I met when I was there in 2007. He looks older I think.

   
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( October 26th, 2015 @ 5:21 pm )
 
A closing sales question, "Is 3 grand important to you?" Good story.



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