Philip's Guitars

PD01

This is Philip Donnelly's Les Paul, an exact copy of a 1957 made by Gibson for Philip. The pick-ups were hand wound in the original factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This Les Paul is called Tiger for obvious reasons. It's very rare Tiger strips are giving it a fantastic look.

The guitar has played on the best part of 2,500 tracks in Nashville during Philip's 10 years of recording. There Philip used Tiger on the hit "From a Distance" with Nanci Griffith. Also with Nanci Griffith on the Grammy winning CD "Other Voices,Other Rooms". Also on the world reunion tour with the Everly Brothers 298 shows in all, the two reunion tours with Don and Phil, "E.B. 84" and "Born Yesterday". Philip used this guitar on "I Believe in Love" for Don Williams, which went straight to number one and became the biggest country single of all time staying in the charts for 49 weeks.

Philip has used Tiger on albums with:

John Prine
Clannad
Billy Burnette
Rocky Burnette
Dorsey Burnette
Townes Van Zandt
Chips Momen
Cowboy Jack Clement

To name but a few. You have to be near this guitar to feel the vibes...

This pink Stratocaster was given to Philip by Fender during the time when Steve Wooley was there. It's the last '57 type Strat made!

This is an 1842 Orion Ladies' Guitar (pre Martin). I found this in an old junk store in Indiana one Sunday afternoon. It was split along the side and I paid $7.50 for it, I got it fixed in The Pickers Parlor in Nashville for $120 plus they gave me this case, which was made in 1920. I use the guitar as a high string. It sounds great and it's been on many a recording!

This 1961 Guild 12 string used to belong to my publisher Ralph Murphy, who ran Pic-A-Lic with Roger Cook. Ralph said I have this old 12 string under the bed. Why don't you try it out? When I got it I realised it needed a lot of work. It was blond at the time so I gave it to the late Moses, a great Luthier in Nashville and asked him to make a new bridge, gold-plated machine heads, burgundy sunburst finish, shave the neck and turn the strings around so the high string is on the top. And add two mother of pearl stars, one one with a planet inside it. He did the job for $880. A brilliant job at that. Some time later I was playing in the office when Ralph came in and was saying "What and amazing guitar. Where did you get that?" When I told him it was his he realised he wasn't getting it back!

This Dobro was given to me by a friend of a friend called Frankie in a club in Kentucky where I'd just finished eight shows in 4 nights with John Prine. He came up to me and said he'd been at all 8 shows and I had just blown his mind on the guitar and he realised the dobro was in the wrong hands so Frankie, if you ever log on to this, the dobro is doing fine.

I just got this resonator guitar in Kinvara, Galway in Stewart's Guitar shop on the pier, when I was down swimming with my son Brian. It was 88 degrees. It's made in the Czech Republic. It's an electric acoustic. And it's called Amastar. we were there saying goodbye to John Prine and family after the summer holidays. I'm about to use it soon, so I'll get back to this space.

This is Nanci Griffith's Taylor guitar which she gave to me one night in her house in Franklin, Tennessee. This guitar has been on many an album and played on many a tour. I think this is the first of her signature model from Taylor. I'm very grateful to Nanci for this guitar. It's in great shape. I use it all the time and it's the acoustic on my album "Live from the Midleton Folk Club". Thanks, Nanci.

This is the case for the Taylor!

I bought this cow from a lady at a crafts fair in Milwaukee

These boots have done a lot of walking and a lot of gigs.

This Strat, plus one of the first made, was given to me by Fender. I used this guitar on Townes Van Zandt's last album "No Deeper Blue" which I produced in Xeric Studios in Limerick. It's the first time I've used a tremelo arm.

This is a 1962 guitar which I got in London in 1972. It has a new sound board made by Derrick Nelson of Denver Instruments in Marley Park in Dublin. This guitar sounds and records perfect. No negative tones there. It's a long story to this guitar from the Gary Moore Band days when we were on CBS. I'll add it in at a later date. Too painful now!

This is a Yamaha electric acoustic semisolid guitar which I got in Musicians Inc., Drury Street, Dublin one day when I went in for some strings and a chat!

The case for the '57 was made by my late father Gerard Donnelly. A master carpenter, he used dovetailed joints on the case and piano hinged it. It's held together over the years on and off planes, boats and trains more than any other guitar case I've ever had.

This Parker Fly Guitar was given to me Don MacAlease when he worked for Korg Ireland. It's an interesting electric and acoustic guitar all one piece out of a new fibre which came down from the aliens made in Canada. I was using it until one night in 2002 in the Glen Theatre Banter Cork. The frets started falling off it. Bizarre!

This is a Vantage guitar. It was £100 new a long time ago. I use it for slide and I have the strings raised up for slide only! It works.

This is my 1957 Les Paul Junior which Sid Maura got me in The Guitar Center in Sunset Strip one morning when I was staying in the Riot House Hotel on Sunset. When I went down to breakfast that morning my room was cleaned out of all my guitars and my clothes. I was doing a concert that night in the Santa Monica Civic with Donovan! It was a great show but it took me a while to get over all my guitars being stolen. The clothes didn't matter. I remember Aerosmith being in my room the previous night and having a great time. The next morning was a terrible shock. Thanks to Sid Maura (Donovan's manager at the time). He got me this '57 Gibson!