Rory Gallagher: An Eccleshall Custom-Made Electric Guitar, 1970s,

guitar 39 1/2in (100cm) long

Footnotes

Luthier Chris Eccleshall (1948-2020) was Rory's favoured guitar technician throughout the 1970s and 80s. With a career spanning over three decades, Eccleshall established himself as a master of his craft, by combining traditional luthiery techniques with innovative design approaches.

Eccleshall's deep understanding of tone and acoustics allowed him to produce guitars that stood out in both studio recordings and live performances, so it was no surprise that Rory trusted him to take care of his beloved and battered trademark Fender Stratocaster (See lot 62). Over the years, Eccleshall worked on the famous Strat at least 15 times to help maintain and enhance its performance. This included a re-fret and a neck change, as well as modifications such as disabling the Strat's vibrato mechanism using a wooden block, (a modification he later also applied to Eric Clapton's 'Blackie')

Aside from his work on Rory's 1961 Strat, Eccleshall also created some custom guitars for Rory that complimented his musical style and sound, see lots 57-61.

His innovative designs, coupled with his reputation for quality, made Eccleshall a sought-after figure in the guitar-making world and his clientele outside of Rory included Pete Townshend, David Bowie, Peter Hook, and Mark Knopfler among many others.

"Somewhere in the very early '70s, Rory and Chris connected... It meant so much to my brother that another craftsman could appreciate his guitar-craft and comprehend the fine detail Rory required. Key to Rory's search was the 'true' amplification of his acoustic instruments, in particular, when endeavouring to have his Italian mandolin playing 'Goin' To My Hometown' (See lot 2). At first played through a microphone, the mandolin was competing with the hand-clapping and foot-stomping fans tattooing out the underlying rhythm of the ballad leading to the maxed-out microphone squealing with feedback. So Chris produced a solid, electric mandolin for Rory – a first of its kind, this allowed my brother to be more ambitious in both his stage and studio use of the instrument. The standardised limitation of 1970s guitar electronics and woodcraft saw Rory commission Chris to construct further instruments incorporating my brother's ideals, a fan of the Telecaster body many were moulded into that fashion."
- Dónal Gallagher.