A Gallagher guitar has been a prize at Winfield since 1978.

In 2011, Don Gallagher is honored to have been commissioned to build a guitar that commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Walnut Valley Festival. This year's first place winner in the National flat Pick contest  will receive this special guitar as their prize.

The back and sides are figured Walnut and the top material is Adirondack spruce.

The body binding is curly maple with abalone purfling and sound hole inlay. The neck features a slight v shape with a nut width of 1 11/16”. The nut and saddle are bone. Gold Waverly tuners  secure the strings. The headplate is inlayed with the traditional Gallagher “G” and Bell Flower pattern. The bridge and fingerboard are ebony. The highlight of this instrument is a unique fingerboard inlay consisting of 70 pieces of inlay made of 17 different types  coral, stone, wood and various pearl shells commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Walnut Valley Festival.  Four stalks of wheat are blowing in the wind representing the 4 decades of the Kansas Festival.  Next a group of musicians - fiddle, banjo, bass, and guitar - are playing representing the many musicians and music enthusiast who have been a part of the festival over its forty years.  The theme of the Inlay is Music and memories as Bob Redford and all who have enjoyed this great musical event reflect back over the years since 1972.

Don Gallagher worked closely with Bob Redford and the festival staff on every detail of this guitar to make this a very special instrument. Don Gallagher has brought to bear his 48 years of luthrie experience to make this instrument not only artistically expressive but also tonally superb.
A label inside is signed and dated by Don Gallagher and Bob Redford.

We hope you enjoy these pictures which provide some insight into the making of the Commemorative Walnut Valley guitar.

A number of hours were spent between Don Gallagher and Bob Redford and his staff developing particular design elements of this guitar.

The building process began with selection of a beautifully flamed piece of walnut and an Adirondack top that would project well the warm tones of  the walnut.

These woods had been curing in our hot room prior to selection.  When woods first enter the shop they initially are place in the hot room. In this room the temperature is maintained at about 130 degrees and the relative humidity is about 30%.  Under these conditions the moisture content of the wood stabilizes to about 7%. 

This process dries and stabilizes the wood so  its tonal characteristics are enhanced and it is less susceptible to cracking.

Stephen Gallagher skillfully crafted the body, using designs and techniques that have been passed on from his grandfather by his father to him. (Click here to see more on Stephen)

Mike Howell, master craftsman and long time employee of Gallagher Guitars, did the pearl inlay work on this body. Mike is also responsible for all the wonderful finish on every Gallagher Guitar.

Wanda Johnson (Click here to learn more about Wanda) has been a long time collaborator with Don Gallagher for inlay designs.  Wanda took the basic concept design Don proposed for this guitar and make initial drawings. After input from Bob Redford and his staff the final drawing was created. Don scanned these drawings into a computer and created files for each element of the inlay pattern. A copy of the design was sent to Joann Thompson of Rescue Pearl for recommendations of the various types of material to use in the inlay to make it as stunning as possible.

Wanda and Don are pictured on the left looking over the completed project.

(Click to see local newspaper article).