Doc Watson

Doc primarily used mahogany or sapele (African mahogany) guitars throughout his career. In his early recordings, Doc frequently used a Martin D-18, but in 1968 he began a long association with J.W. Gallagher Guitars. Doc began playing a Gallagher G-50 (serial #68001) in 1968 that earned the nickname "Ol Hoss." This is the guitar that Doc played on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken album where Merle Travis comments that the guitar "rings like a bell."

Doc's first guitar was a Stella, which he got at age 13. He called it "one of those ten dollar guitars - a pretty good thing to learn on, but hard to fret as a barbed wire fence." (Gary Govert, Carolina Lifestyle, August 1983). At 17, he purchased a Sears Silvertone mail-order guitar with money he earned chopping wood with his brother. A year later, he traded up to a Martin D-28 with money earned by street busking.

By 1953, Doc was married and had two children. He started playing in a band with piano player Jack Williams to earn money to support his family. At that time he swapped his D-28 for a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar which he used with the band for the rockabilly style music they performed. Doc was still playing the Les Paul in 1960 when he was discovered by musician-folklorist Ralph Rinzler, who had come to the area looking to record Clarence "Tom" Ashley. It was Ashley who had suggested that Doc play guitar for the recording.

Doc primarily used mahogany or sapele (African mahogany) guitars throughout his career. In his early recordings, Doc frequently used a Martin D-18, but in 1968 he began a long association with J.W. Gallagher Guitars. Doc began playing a Gallagher G-50 (serial #68001) in 1968 that earned the nickname "Ol Hoss." This is the guitar that Doc played on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken album where Merle Travis comments that the guitar "rings like a bell."

The first Doc Watson model was built in 1974 after Doc had been playing a G-50 for six years. J.W. and Don met Doc and his son, Merle, at the Union Grove Fiddlers’ Convention in 1968. When J.W. and Don were choosing guitars to take to the festival, they had only one mahogany guitar finished. But it had a problem. During the building process, the guitar had cracked along the side of its body. The crack had been repaired, but J.W. didn’t want to sell the guitar because of the blemish. But it was the only mahogany guitar they had, so they decided to take it for display only. J.W. went up to Doc and Merle as they were picking under shade tree. Doc invited J.W. and Don back to his house to check out the guitars. J.W. brought a G-70 (the top of the Gallagher line at the time) and the blemished G-50 for Doc to try out. Doc really liked the sound of the G-50, but J.W. didn’t want to sell it because of the crack. Doc told J.W. and Don that he didn’t care about the crack – it was the sound that he loved! J.W. made a deal with Doc that he could use that guitar for as long as he wanted, with no strings attached (“except the ones on the guitar”) as long as when Doc was finished playing it, he would send it back. J.W. didn’t want a blemished guitar out in the world. After playing the G-50 for six years, Doc decided he was ready for another guitar. Doc had learned how to play fiddle tunes on a Les Paul guitar, so Merle brought a Les Paul neck to the shop and asked if Gallagher could make a similarly sized neck for Doc’s new guitar. Thus, the Doc Watson models all have a 1 3/4” neck with jumbo frets. All Doc Watson models have mahogany back and sides, Sitka spruce tops with voiced bracing, and herringbone purfling and rosettes.

Doc's first guitar was a Stella, which he got at age 13. He called it "one of those ten dollar guitars - a pretty good thing to learn on, but hard to fret as a barbed wire fence." (Gary Govert, Carolina Lifestyle, August 1983)

At 17, he purchased a Sears Silvertone mail-order guitar with money he earned chopping wood with his brother.

In the YouTube video, Doc Watson - live in concert 1978. You can see Doc's Gallagher is plugged in to the fender twin reverb behind him on the right.