The Guitar Magazine – July 2019

picked this up, can you try it in this... see if you can

make it sound like the Strat.’

“I think he was always hunting for another guitar

that did exactly what he wanted, like the Strat did –

that was a big part of it.”

1963 EPIPHONE CORONET

One of the most strikingly desirable guitars Daniel

has brought with him today is an Epiphone Coronet

from 1963 – with its single P-90 pickup and

beautifully checked and faded finish, it might be the

most eye-catching guitar here, and Daniel agrees...

“I absolutely love this guitar!” he enthuses.

“The upper-fret access, the colour, everything!

He absolutely loved P-90s. I think if he could have

routed out his Strat and put a P-90 in the bridge he

probably would have! He loved Les Paul Juniors, the

Gretsch Corvette he had, he routed it out and put a

P-90 in there.

“HE HAD OVER 120 GUITARS!

THERE’S THE ONES YOU KNOW

FROM THE STAGE, ALBUM COVERS,

TV... BUT THEN THERE’S THE ONES

THAT HE JUST HAD AT HIS HOUSE”

OPPOSITE TOP This 1957

Rickenbacker Combo 400

is much altered and is

about as out-there as any

instrument in Rory’s

120-strong collection

ABOVE LEFT The tune-o-matic

ùŸĭāġĈƤÝžńĭl·ĈńƪŸĈƇŸŕƼƇƇĈāƇŕ

ŕƷĈŸŋŕŸĈžƇÝùĭńĭƇƪƇĩÝōƇĩĈ

original Rickenbacker unit

ABOVE RIGHT The guitar’s

scratchplate bears the

scars from a series of

electronic mods

OPPOSITE LEFT Rory’s D-35

was recreated by Martin

in a limited run of 29

• with its gold anodised scratchplate and a back
  covered in a grey non-slip material made of a mix
  of horse hair and enamel paint designed to stop the
  guitar moving around, it’s certainly a curious guitar
  and perfectly at home in Rory’s collection.
  “He had over 120 guitars!” Daniel exclaims.
  “There’s the ones that you know from the stage,
  album covers, TV shows and all that... but then
  there’s the ones that he just had at his house.
  “When I was a kid, he lived on the Fulham Road,
  not far from here and I would pop in on the way
  back from school, and if he’d answer the door, I’d go
  in and try to get a guitar lesson out of him! But there
  was always guitars everywhere – just in case he had
  an idea. In the kitchen, in the living room, there was
  always a guitar at hand.
  “I haven’t see another one, but I think someone
  has ripped the pickup and added a single-coil extra
  bit to the pickguard to accommodate it, and they’ve
  actually matched it quite well – it definitely didn’t
  come out of the factory looking like that!
  “In our archive there are just boxes and boxes of
  old pickups that he would constantly be swapping in
  and out. He had a bunch of guys – including Chris
  Eccleshall and Dave Edwards – and he’d go: ‘I’ve

RORY GALLAGHER

GUITAR MAGAZINE 45