Murphy Lap checking photo

[Sct13]

that’s a good point. When you look at the guitars in the promo video, they are a lot better in terms of aging and checking. Makes me think they did those a bit diff than many of the ones I’m now seeing photos of.

Yea the thing that irritates me is Gibson ...yet again....drops the ball on a great plan....

I guess I shouldn't say anything, i haven't seen one in person yet....and probably wont real soon since I'm not planning on buying one....I'll be judgmental then....

 

[jlb32]

I really hope Murphy isn't doing compressed air aging with these Murphy Lab guitars.
That type of aging has been around for a long while now and is pretty proven to not look that great/authentic IMO.
It seems to cause mostly spiderwebbed cracking over the cracking you see on a lot of Originals.
Of course the Originals vary also but IMO Murphys razor blade checking looks better than compressed air spiderweb aging.
Just my opinion.
Truly hope the Gibson Murphy Lab guitars are a combination of many things and create amazing guitars. Maybe one day I will buy one!

 

[framos]

I have a Wildwood Spec by Murphy 58 vos. He aged (yellowed) the pickup rings and the pickguard. Erased a bit of the printing on the pickup selector chip. They used a Tom Murphy thin metal jack plate.

Same with my R6 & R7 of this same run. I really liked the work they did with the plastic/metal parts on those.
It's a shame it's not the case with the ML.

 

[the_lawyer]

Funny thing is, that old guitars in pristine conditions usually catches the highest prices. To me: A guitar isn‘t necessarily a thing that gets beaten up when in use. Most heavy dings happened in the 70s/80s when old guitars were worth nothing and the teenage third hand owners abused them for fun....

 

[Brek]

This is a great topic to discuss, I been looking at all of the ones available in the U.K. and there are more than one of two I would willingly buy if I was in market. Despite what some say, the checking I see looks good, the look is more more like an old one that previously achieved by Gibson. They have as many have said the would raised the bar that bit closer to the methods used in the 50’s (yes I know that are still details overlooked or just plain wrong, I am not knowledgeable enough to comment on those). The patina of the new nitro formula looks right. If I was to buy I’d probably get a ‘58 ultralight aged. In some kinda lemon.

 

[mudface]

Funny thing is, that old guitars in pristine conditions usually catches the highest prices. To me: A guitar isn‘t necessarily a thing that gets beaten up when in use. Most heavy dings happened in the 70s/80s when old guitars were worth nothing and the teenage third hand owners abused them for fun....

It's funny that you have said this..........I was a teenager during the late '70s and took extra care of all my gear..... 3 bucks an hour in those days took a year to save $500 for a Gibson.....cars, gas, chicks, and friends took the rest..... I couldn't afford to waste a dollar or trash my stuff.... So my 1978 Custom still looks pretty good today....though my amplifiers wouldn't last under the pressure.....My Hi-Watt 100....long since dead.....my JTM 50....burnt up in a few years.....Mesa Boogie Mark III didn't survive either... A lot moving around in vans and trucks didn't help.

 

[the_lawyer]

It's funny that you have said this..........I was a teenager during the late '70s and took extra care of all my gear..... 3 bucks an hour in those days took a year to save $500 for a Gibson.....cars, gas, chicks, and friends took the rest..... I couldn't afford to waste a dollar or trash my stuff.... So my 1978 Custom still looks pretty good today....though my amplifiers wouldn't last under the pressure.....My Hi-Watt 100....long since dead.....my JTM 50....burnt up in a few years.....Mesa Boogie Mark III didn't survive either... A lot moving around in vans and trucks didn't help.

Thanks mate for taking care!

 

[calieng]

I own a few Murphys and to me the earlier ones were the best. Just too bad about the plasticizer in the finish.

I have a mint unplayed Murphy True Historic '59. Excellent job on that one. Only thing is the color is not faded. Debating on whether to put it out in the sun for a bit or keep it pristine.

Did we ever find out for sure if the True Historic wet sanded finishes had less plasticizer???

 

[VictorB]

I own a few Murphys and to me the earlier ones were the best. Just too bad about the plasticizer in the finish.

I have a mint unplayed Murphy True Historic '59. Excellent job on that one. Only thing is the color is not faded. Debating on whether to put it out in the sun for a bit or keep it pristine.

Did we ever find out for sure if the True Historic wet sanded finishes had less plasticizer???

I’m willing to bet it will fade if you sun it enough. My 2014 R8 faded like crazy.

 

[calieng]

I am sure it will! Just deciding whether to keep it or sell it. It is one of a few True Historics that are still unplayed and case stored that I tucked away....

 

[calieng]

OK let's try with my Dirty Lemon True Historic. It has a lot of dye bleed in the binding that I want to clean up anyway. Not too hot today here in San Diego so should be ok to leave out most of the day. P.S. don't worry if I mess it up I was going to send this one out for a Brazilian board and neck carve anyway....

 

[Patek]

From what I’ve seen so far the Murphy lab is a joke. For an ultra aged LP you can buy a used true historic and send to historic makeovers, get a braz board and have the guitar aged to exactly your taste. You’ll end up with something vastly superior

As guitars go they look and probably play and sound great, but if you want outstanding (as you would expect for the coin they’re charging) it doesn’t look like you’re going to get it

the Murphy lab clearly does not have the time, skill or inclination to do a proper job of it as you would get from the hands on perfectionists at historic makeovers, or say Florian at bavarian MO.

Going back a few years, I have sat with both a beautiful Tom Murphy 2014 LP, light weight, looked and sounded great, and a Terry Morgan replica. Of course the TM was almost twice the price of the used TM, but the difference was a really great looking and sounding LP next to an actual 59 burst. The difference was a million miles apart when both looking at a glance, and close up to the detail.

I’ve not owned a HM but based on what I’ve seen and heard you’re getting that TM quality in the finishing. I still bash myself over the head for letting that TM go

 

[calieng]

I think the quality of the fit and finish at Gibson continues to improve but the wood quality overall continues to decline. Some of Toms early work was really good. And Historic Makerovers really does a good job as well. But don't discount the Gibson staff. The 60th 1959 Gibson factory aged I have is about the closest looking to a real aged guitar I have seen so far (but who knows maybe Tom actually did that one).

 

[calieng]

OK let's try with my Dirty Lemon True Historic. It has a lot of dye bleed in the binding that I want to clean up anyway. Not too hot today here in San Diego so should be ok to leave out most of the day. P.S. don't worry if I mess it up I was going to send this one out for a Brazilian board and neck carve anyway....

View attachment 529632

After 6 hours in the sun the color was knocked down by about 10%. Pretty safe to try. Just do not do it on a hot day.

 

[boola1]

LP Shootout: Gibson Collector's Choice Minnesota Burst vs The Real '59

We follow the process as a holy grail is recreated and compare Gibson’s Collector’s Choice production model to the original Minnesota.

guitar.com

Real checking on a 59 burst:

“We’ll oxidise the wood using chemicals that are common in the woodworking industry, and the lacquer checking is done with razor blades.


Although Fender is starting to do some razor stuff, over the years they’ve mostly sprayed something called airplane lacquer, and it dries incredibly hard. Then they’ll use compressed air to crack it. The problem is it shatters the lacquer, and that’s not realistic-looking for us.
From the very first guitars Tom Murphy started working on, it has been all about recreating the look of an aged Gibson, and the only way you can do that really is with a razor.”

Things change I guess!

 

[calieng]

2011 Murphy Beano

2015 Murphy True Historic

2017 Murphy Limited Run

2019 factory aged 60th

 

[GearHo]

Here ya Go Gibson, do this.....

http://imgur.com/a/Tp7i8

 

[GearHo]

The lack of aging accuracy has not stopped them from raising prices, and hopping on the name of someone who is not actually doing the work.

So what happened to all the Gibson employees that were aging guitars before the “lab” was created....they got new smocks and went into the same room and did the same thing as before. But JC found a new way to get you to pay close to 7-10 k for the same poorly, hit or miss aging methods.

Remember when Henry was the ahole, he just charged you less to be one.

I love aged guitars, from fender,Gibson, DJ, HM. But, I won’t be going down this rabbit hole anytime soon.

One of my prerequisites for buying a guitar is it must be aged, not anymore.

 

[boola1]

Would it not be possible to simply have 2 rooms, 1 with AC down to say 10C another with heating to 30C.

Then just move the guitars back and forth between the rooms a few times?

 

[GearHo]

They can’t do this

http://imgur.com/a/o4pzhIa