Pickers certain love to speak about their guitars, and various will enthusiastically let you know about their favourite acoustic’s “bell-like” tone, describing its chime and the way in which it rings. Maybe that is the place Gallagher Guitar drew inspiration for its Bluegrass Bell, a correct dreadnought that shares many specs with the bluegrass cannons of the Golden Period.

Primarily based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Gallagher has been constructing customized guitars for the reason that mid Nineteen Sixties and had a longtime relationship with Doc Watson, so it’s no shock the corporate is producing bona fide bluegrass and folks bins that pay homage to nice American guitars. The Bluegrass Bell is their tackle spruce-topped dreadnoughts of the late ’30s.

Our check mannequin had East Indian rosewood again and sides, however the Bell can be obtainable with mahogany and Madagascar rosewood. The highest is torrefied, simulating age and making it much less prone to modifications in temperature and humidity. Beneath the hood is torrefied Adirondack bracing in a forward-shifted X sample. The result’s an augmented bass response to go together with the flicker within the higher register of this square-shouldered cannon. Put by means of its flat-picking paces, the Bell is robust and assertive. Although it’s a modestly loud field, the true quantity and tone of this full-bodied guitar is bound to mature with time and play. Nothing is misplaced beneath the substantial bass response; the mids are very a lot current and the highs… effectively, they ring.

Different nods to the previous embody the positively great V-shaped neck. Reasonably deep and rounded pretty effectively, it’ll really feel like a dream for anybody searching for a V form, however can be fairly accessible to gamers searching for a contemporary U neck. Herringbone trim and rosette are an aesthetic nod to the Golden Period, and the tester got here with a good-looking shade high. Open-back tuners put the of entirety on the aesthetics package deal.

The Bell was gentle and vigorous proper out of the case, tipping the scales simply previous 4.5 kilos. Motion on the 25.25″-scale fretboard was medium and cozy, taking part in quick sufficient to maintain up, however nonetheless excessive sufficient to actually dig in with the choosing hand and make some noise. At 13/4″, nut width is true out of the classic playbook. The forward-shifted X-bracing completely reveals itself within the type of loud and heat low-end. That is the embodiment of the traditional cannon.

This text initially appeared in VG’s August 2023 concern. All copyrights are by the writer and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.