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Rory Gallagher was an Irish blues/rock
guitarist. Born in Ireland, he grew up in Cork City. He is best
known for his solo albums, and for his tenure in the band Taste
during the late 1960s. A multi-instrumentalist who gained a
reputation as a gifted and charismatic live performer, Rory
Gallagher's albums have sold in excess of 30 million copies
worldwide.
Gallagher was always associated with his well-worn sunburst 1961
Stratocaster (Serial Number 64351), which his brother Donal has
officially retired. It was reputedly the first in Ireland, and was
ordered from Fender by Jim Connolly, a showband member performing
with The Irish Showband. Connolly ordered a cherry red Stratocaster
through a music shop in Cork. When Fender shipped a sunburst
Stratocaster instead, it went on sale as a second-hand instrument,
which Gallagher bought for just shy of £100 at Crowley's Music Store
on Cork's McCurtain Street. The guitar was extensively modified by
Gallagher. The tuning pegs, for a start, are odd (5 Sperzel pegs and
one Gotoh), and all of these have been found to be replacements.
Secondly, it is thought that the nut has been replaced and
interchanged a number of times. Thirdly, the scratchplate was
changed during Gallagher's time with Taste. Another change was made
regarding the pickups, of which none are original. The final
modification was that of the wiring: Gallagher disconnected the
bottom tone pot and rewired it so he had just a master tone control
along with the master volume control. He also installed a 5-way
selector switch in place of the vintage 3-way one. The most notable
effect that years of touring have had is the almost complete removal
of the guitar's original sunburst finish, partly through being left
out in the rain in a ditch for days after being stolen. Other quirks
include a 'hump' in the scratch plate which moves the neck pickup
closer to the neck on the bass side and a replacement of all of the
pickups, though this replacement was due to damage rather than a
perception of a tonal inadequacy. One final point of interest is
that one of the clay double-dot inlays at the 12th fret fell out and
was replaced with a plastic one, which is why it is whiter than the
other clay inlays.
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