Rory Gallagher

Pictured on Gallagher's official website and mentioned by Gallagher himself in the following interviews:

Guitar Player March 1978, "Rory Gallagher: An Irish Guitarist Traces His Roots In Acoustic And Electric Blues, And Tells How He Plays Them" by Stefan Grossman

Then I got into a tweed Fender Bassman, and recently I got a Fender Concert, which is an old brown one, from around 1959, with four 10” speakers. I use a Hawk booster through that just to roughen it up a bit, or if it's a quiet number I plug straight in and keep the guitar clean sounding.

Guitarist, February 1985, "Rory Gallagher" by Bob Hewitt

I don’t like stacks much, except the Marshall 4x12s and 50 watt heads. I like combos miked through the PA - the Vox AC30 is my favourite. Sometimes I’ll link that up with a 50 watt Marshall twin combo. I’m fortunate enough to have a couple of the old Fender tweed covered amps - a Bassman and a Concert. I use them with a Hawk Booster, which was made by Di Marzio before he got into the pick-up business. It’s really difficult to find the perfect amp, especially if you play a Stratocaster, because there are limitations in terms of ‘dirtiness’ you can get. You sometimes have to use pre-amp, whereas if you use humbuckers, you’ve all the dirt but little clarity.

What about effects?

I use them off and on! I go through phases when I just use the Hawk Booster. At the moment I’m using some Boss units - a vibrato, flanger, octave divider and occasionally a distortion pack. I also have a little DOD analogue delay between the two amps. I don’t like rack units, I prefer the battery power - it makes less noise.

I don’t like the idea of radio transmitters on the guitar either. I much prefer that sort of umbilical cord between me and the amplifier - it makes you feel as if you’re in touch with something!

One thing I do insist on is a studio quality noise gate, but as regards effects I try to get as much from the guitar and amp as possible.

Guitar for the Practicing Musician, August 1991, "The Wearing of the Blues" by Vivian Campbell

I used to use these boosters made by DiMarzio. They were treble boosters with kind of a graphic on them.

Gallagher's personal unit was replicated by Flynn Amps for the Rory Gallagher Hawk Booster; its manual (uploaded online in November 2015) describes Gallagher's use of the Hawk II in depth, while its official product page includes two images of the interior (here and here).

Flynn Amps Rory Gallagher Hawk Booster Manual, 2010

In march [sic] 2008 we flew down to London on a mission to try and recreate Rory Gallagher’s favourite booster, the ‘Hawk®’. With help from Rory’s brother (and band tour manager) Donal Gallagher, Tom O’Driscoll (band roadie) and Daniel Gallagher (Donal’s musician son) we took Rory’s Hawk apart, meticulously photographed and carefully measured every component. It was from these sketches and photographs that the Rory Gallagher signature Hawk booster was born.

Designed as a multi-purpose device, the Hawk was intended to be used with guitars, keyboards, vocals and mixing desks. The 18V power supply meant that the Hawk was capable of massive output levels and Rory discovered that it could overdrive the input of any valve amp he used it with. Rich harmonics, wide dynamics, smooth sustain and a biting edge are all controlled from the guitar volume control. Rory used his primarily with his Tweed Fender amps but it can drive most valve amps into classic Rory tones. The Hawk was a ‘set and forget’ device that would normally be left on all the time and for guitar use it would be used last in the effect chain driving the amp hard.

From around 1973 onwards you can hear Rory use the Hawk almost exclusively, both live and in the studio. It’s a clear yet highly driven guitar tone that is precise, natural and completely unique to Rory’s music.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in an interview in an August 1991 Guitar for the Practicing Musician interview with Vivian Campbell.

VIVIAN: You get a tremendous tone for a single-coil Strat. Are you using any kind of distortion device between the guitar and the amp?

RORY: I've got a Boss Graphic EQ.

VIVIAN: Is that a little 6 band?

RORY: Yeah, one of the real old green ones. And I've got a DOD analog. They're back on the amps, and that's set at the minimum setting, just for a little bit of slap-back. I've got a Dyna-comp, which is on all the time, to drive the songs from the leads. It's not for effect. It's a form of compression and I have it at a setting where the compression's really low on it. I usually use a Tube Screamer, which broke down on me. Last night I was using a Boss overdrive. I use them for some solos, not all solos. I was against using them for years. If I was doing a solo, I had to look at the monitor guy to turn it up and all this. So I keep close to the natural sound. I have a brown Boss octave thing.

VIVIAN: I heard that last night. You sounded like Prince! He uses that a lot.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Here Rory talks about his ME-5.

For all of his attention to the fine details of his sound Rory Gallagher insists that he isn't a programmer . He's a guitarist and proud of it.

'I have got a Boss ME-5 -the programmable effects board. I know what it will do and what I want it to do, but I don't actually bother programming it. I leave all that up to an engineer. I've never really been into programming, but I'm learning.

'The BE-5 is another matter. You just set it up as you need it. I'm enjoying using that in the studio because it allows you to work at the sound as you go along.'

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in an interview in an August 1991 Guitar for the Practicing Musician interview with Vivian Campbell.

VIVIAN: You get a tremendous tone for a single-coil Strat. Are you using any kind of distortion device between the guitar and the amp?

RORY: I've got a Boss Graphic EQ.

VIVIAN: Is that a little 6 band?

RORY: Yeah, one of the real old green ones. And I've got a DOD analog. They're back on the amps, and that's set at the minimum setting, just for a little bit of slap-back. I've got a Dyna-comp, which is on all the time, to drive the songs from the leads. It's not for effect. It's a form of compression and I have it at a setting where the compression's really low on it. I usually use a Tube Screamer, which broke down on me. Last night I was using a Boss overdrive. I use them for some solos, not all solos. I was against using them for years. If I was doing a solo, I had to look at the monitor guy to turn it up and all this. So I keep close to the natural sound. I have a brown Boss octave thing.

VIVIAN: I heard that last night. You sounded like Prince! He uses that a lot.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in an interview in an August 1991 Guitar for the Practicing Musician interview with Vivian Campbell.

VIVIAN: You get a tremendous tone for a single-coil Strat. Are you using any kind of distortion device between the guitar and the amp?

RORY: I've got a Boss Graphic EQ.

VIVIAN: Is that a little 6 band?

RORY: Yeah, one of the real old green ones. And I've got a DOD analog. They're back on the amps, and that's set at the minimum setting, just for a little bit of slap-back. I've got a Dyna-comp, which is on all the time, to drive the songs from the leads. It's not for effect. It's a form of compression and I have it at a setting where the compression's really low on it. I usually use a Tube Screamer, which broke down on me. Last night I was using a Boss overdrive. I use them for some solos, not all solos. I was against using them for years. If I was doing a solo, I had to look at the monitor guy to turn it up and all this. So I keep close to the natural sound. I have a brown Boss octave thing.

VIVIAN: I heard that last night. You sounded like Prince! He uses that a lot.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in an interview in an August 1991 Guitar for the Practicing Musician interview with Vivian Campbell.

VIVIAN: You get a tremendous tone for a single-coil Strat. Are you using any kind of distortion device between the guitar and the amp?

RORY: I've got a Boss Graphic EQ.

VIVIAN: Is that a little 6 band?

RORY: Yeah, one of the real old green ones. And I've got a DOD analog. They're back on the amps, and that's set at the minimum setting, just for a little bit of slap-back. I've got a Dyna-comp, which is on all the time, to drive the songs from the leads. It's not for effect. It's a form of compression and I have it at a setting where the compression's really low on it. I usually use a Tube Screamer, which broke down on me. Last night I was using a Boss overdrive. I use them for some solos, not all solos. I was against using them for years. If I was doing a solo, I had to look at the monitor guy to turn it up and all this. So I keep close to the natural sound. I have a brown Boss octave thing.

VIVIAN: I heard that last night. You sounded like Prince! He uses that a lot.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in an interview in an August 1991 Guitar for the Practicing Musician interview with Vivian Campbell.

VIVIAN: You get a tremendous tone for a single-coil Strat. Are you using any kind of distortion device between the guitar and the amp?

RORY: I've got a Boss Graphic EQ.

VIVIAN: Is that a little 6 band?

RORY: Yeah, one of the real old green ones. And I've got a DOD analog. They're back on the amps, and that's set at the minimum setting, just for a little bit of slap-back. I've got a Dyna-comp, which is on all the time, to drive the songs from the leads. It's not for effect. It's a form of compression and I have it at a setting where the compression's really low on it. I usually use a Tube Screamer, which broke down on me. Last night I was using a Boss overdrive. I use them for some solos, not all solos. I was against using them for years. If I was doing a solo, I had to look at the monitor guy to turn it up and all this. So I keep close to the natural sound. I have a brown Boss octave thing.

VIVIAN: I heard that last night. You sounded like Prince! He uses that a lot.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in a couple of interviews archived on RoryON!!.

Kerrang No. 15, May 6-19 1982

"I use the Boss FET pedal which, although a transistor, has been designed to sound as much like a valve as possible. It still can't beat the old Dallas Rangemaster that was doing the rounds in the 'sixties though. The company's now gone bust so they're like gold dust if you can find one. I have a couple but they've corroded with use. They used to be lethal. They'd not only boost the bass and treble, but give you a couple of extra watts as well!

Guitar for the Practicing Musician, August 1991 interview with Vivian Campbell

VIVIAN: You get a tremendous tone for a single-coil Strat. Are you using any kind of distortion device between the guitar and the amp?

RORY: I've got a Boss Graphic EQ.

VIVIAN: Is that a little 6 band?

RORY: Yeah, one of the real old green ones. And I've got a DOD analog. They're back on the amps, and that's set at the minimum setting, just for a little bit of slap-back. I've got a Dyna-comp, which is on all the time, to drive the songs from the leads. It's not for effect. It's a form of compression and I have it at a setting where the compression's really low on it. I usually use a Tube Screamer, which broke down on me. Last night I was using a Boss overdrive. I use them for some solos, not all solos. I was against using them for years. If I was doing a solo, I had to look at the monitor guy to turn it up and all this. So I keep close to the natural sound. I have a brown Boss octave thing.

VIVIAN: I heard that last night. You sounded like Prince! He uses that a lot.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in an interview in an August 1991 Guitar for the Practicing Musician interview with Vivian Campbell.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in a couple of interviews archived on RoryON!!.

Kerrang No. 15, May 6-19 1982

"Echo units are indispensable, however. I always have a small delay on one of my amps, like a Memory Man or a DOD, but if you want anything like that authentic Rock 'n' Roll sound, then you have to have tape echo. The Copicat is great for that, but you can also set it with a very shallow delay and it can compensate for dead halls.

Guitar for the Practicing Musician, August 1991 interview with Vivian Campbell

VIVIAN: You get a tremendous tone for a single-coil Strat. Are you using any kind of distortion device between the guitar and the amp?

RORY: I've got a Boss Graphic EQ.

VIVIAN: Is that a little 6 band?

RORY: Yeah, one of the real old green ones. And I've got a DOD analog. They're back on the amps, and that's set at the minimum setting, just for a little bit of slap-back. I've got a Dyna-comp, which is on all the time, to drive the songs from the leads. It's not for effect. It's a form of compression and I have it at a setting where the compression's really low on it. I usually use a Tube Screamer, which broke down on me. Last night I was using a Boss overdrive. I use them for some solos, not all solos. I was against using them for years. If I was doing a solo, I had to look at the monitor guy to turn it up and all this. So I keep close to the natural sound. I have a brown Boss octave thing.

VIVIAN: I heard that last night. You sounded like Prince! He uses that a lot.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page and mentioned in an interview in an August 1991 Guitar for the Practicing Musician interview with Vivian Campbell.

VIVIAN: You get a tremendous tone for a single-coil Strat. Are you using any kind of distortion device between the guitar and the amp?

RORY: I've got a Boss Graphic EQ.

VIVIAN: Is that a little 6 band?

RORY: Yeah, one of the real old green ones. And I've got a DOD analog. They're back on the amps, and that's set at the minimum setting, just for a little bit of slap-back. I've got a Dyna-comp, which is on all the time, to drive the songs from the leads. It's not for effect. It's a form of compression and I have it at a setting where the compression's really low on it. I usually use a Tube Screamer, which broke down on me. Last night I was using a Boss overdrive. I use them for some solos, not all solos. I was against using them for years. If I was doing a solo, I had to look at the monitor guy to turn it up and all this. So I keep close to the natural sound. I have a brown Boss octave thing.

VIVIAN: I heard that last night. You sounded like Prince! He uses that a lot.

RORY: I've got a Boss flanger, as opposed to a chorus, which I use sparingly, I use that only in “Shadow Play” and “Moon Child,” and one other song. That's my talk on technology. I have a Vox wah-wah which I did use for one or two gigs, but purely to click it on for slide solos. I used it in the studio, for some solos as well. I don't use it on-stage, because even as it is, I try to keep it simple, within reason.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page.

Pictured on Gallagher's official website's "Effects / Pedals" page.

This article comes from the June 1978 issue of the Dutch publication Music Magazine.

Rory Gallagher: “I have a MXR phase 90 which I mess around with, on some of my records I have sometimes used the effect with accompaniment work. Furthermore, I have a wah-wah, but that I only monkey about a bit at home. It’s not bad, but on stage I don’t use it. The only other effect device I have is a Powerbooster.”

Pictured on Rory Gallagher's official website, which notes its mention (albeit under the misremembered name "Boss BD-1") in an interview for the July 29, 1989 issue of Sounds.

If you get them set just right they can inspire your playing, but I don't use that many effects. About the first one I got was the Boss BD-1 [sic DB-5] Driver, which I still use. It’s a big green box (rather like the old Boss CE-1) with three settings: Distortion, Fuzz, and a third which is almost straight -a plain graphic and overall volume boost, which is the setting best suited to me. It can really change the character of your guitar.