Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher, the Irish blues and rock guitarist born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal on 2 March 1948, built one of the most recognized guitar tones in blues rock with almost nothing on his pedalboard. He played a standard Fender Strat into the normal channel of a Vox AC30 top boost amp, and the only stompbox he used was his treble booster¹². He sold in excess of 30 million albums worldwide, played in Taste during the late 60s, and died in London on 14 June 1995³.

A Strat, an AC30 and a treble booster

Gallagher's rig was about as stripped down as a professional rig gets. From his time in Taste onward he amplified his 61 Fender Strat primarily with a Vox AC30 top boost, and his treble booster was the only effects pedal he ever used on stage². The Rangemaster paired with the AC30 became a crucial part of his tone, driving the amp harder and adding crunch⁴⁵.

The Strat at the center of it all was a 1961 Fender Stratocaster in three tone sunburst that he found in a music shop in Cork in 1963². British Pedal Company describes the guitar and the original Number 1 Rangemaster together as the key components in his tone, which they credit with defining the history of Irish blues music⁶⁷.

His own view of effects was blunt:

Rory Gallagher played a standard Fender Strat into the "normal" channel of a VOX AC30 "top-boost" amp, and the only stompbox he used was his treble booster³. After a Rangemaster he switched to the rare Hawk booster, very similar to the Hornby-Skewes³.

That matches what those around him observed: except for an old phaser pedal, or a chorus he used occasionally, Gallagher didn't use effects at all³. For a player curious about the pedal types he skipped, the site has pages on wah pedals, phaser pedals and chorus pedals.

The Rangemaster and Hawk treble boosters

Gallagher used a Dallas Arbiter Rangemaster for some time, then switched to the rare Hawk booster, a unit very similar to the Hornby-Skewes treble boosters of the era¹⁸². Either way, a Rangemaster or a Hawk treble booster was one major aspect of his signature tone³. The Rangemaster itself was an amp top treble booster unit guitarists used in the 1960s to drive their amps harder and get more crunch, and in Flynn Amps' words it was "one pedal that every British lead guitarist knew they needed"⁵⁹.

Several makers have built boosters aimed squarely at his sound:

The BSM RG is fitted with the same germanium transistors as the original Hornby-Skewes units and is designed for single coil pickups with relatively low coil inductance, such as those in Fender, Rickenbacker, Burns or Vox guitars²⁸. A gitarre & bass review of the tribute model noted its single volume control, one on/off footswitch, and an Eddystone aluminum enclosure².

Flynn Amps says of its Hawk booster that "Unbelievable sustain, drive and dynamic range are all controlled from the guitar and the player"¹⁰, and recommends Tweed Fender amps such as the Bassman, Tweed Twin, Tweed Deluxe and Concert, as well as Marshall combos and Vox AC30/15 amps, for classic Gallagher tones¹⁰. The build uses C&K switches, Switchcraft sockets and tantalum caps¹¹. Madsen Amplification's GE Boost, a Rangemaster style unit, was likewise inspired by Gallagher's playing and tone¹².

Amps and guitars behind the sound

Beyond the AC30, Gallagher's amp collection included an Ampeg VT-44, a Fender Tweed Twin from 1954, a Fender Bassman from 1954, a Fender Concert, a Magnatone combo, and Marshall combos and heads³. In the studio, his brother Donal says he particularly liked the old Fender Tweeds³.

His guitars beyond the famous Strat included a '57 Strat with a maple fretboard, a '61 Telecaster, an Esquire Tele and a Duosonic, all Fenders³. Strings were Fender Rock & Roll sets, .010 to .038 or .010 to .040, and he played heavy Herco picks³.

What became of the Number 1 Rangemaster

Gallagher's 1961 Stratocaster sold at auction for $1.16m, and it was revealed that it was to be donated to the National Museum of Ireland⁴. The Number 1 Rangemaster took a different path: the family withheld it from the mass auction of his gear and gifted it to Joe Bonamassa. Daniel Gallagher, with his father Donal's blessing, presented it to Bonamassa before a Beacon Theater show in New York⁴.

Bonamassa noticed the pedal had gone missing from the auction a few months earlier:

Rory Gallagher and Brian May

Gallagher's influence on other players runs through the Rangemaster story. Guitar World reports that Rory showed Brian May how to use one¹³, and May went on to make the treble booster part of his signature sound with Queen¹⁴. MusicRadar describes the Dallas Rangemaster as the pedal Gallagher used "to such devastating effect that May simply had to add one to his rig"¹⁵. Both Rory and Brian never stopped using theirs¹³.

A short career timeline

• Late 60s: tenure in Taste³
• First eponymous album: hired bass player Gerry McAvoy, a relationship lasting twenty years on the road³
• 1972: released Deuce, essentially three piece R&B; voted Melody Maker's Top Musician of the Year, dethroning Eric Clapton³
• 1973 to 1978: the line-up with Rod De'Ath on drums and Lou Martin on keyboards stayed together³
• 1970s: ten albums, including the live albums Live in Europe and Irish Tour '74³
• Mid 70s: collaborated with Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis on their respective London Sessions³
• 1980s: produced Jinx, Defender, and Fresh Evidence³
• 10 January 1995: final performance, in the Netherlands³
• 14 June 1995: died in London³

He was invited to try out with The Rolling Stones following Mick Taylor's resignation, with Canned Heat, and was David Coverdale's second choice, after Jeff Beck, to replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple³. His final resting place is St Oliver's Cemetery, on Model Farm Road just outside Ballincollig near Cork City³.

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