Hey it's Mat from Gibson Product Development - AMA

[Finalfallmusic]

Would be tough to comment without photos. I'm sure it's fine though!

Thank you so much for the response! Inclosed closed are a couple pictures !

Would be tough to comment without photos. I'm sure it's fine though!

Would be tough to comment without photos. I'm sure it's fine though!

<a href="https://ibb.co/FKrdJMF">

 

[pulse.]

I don't know if it's discussed before, but will my 2023 Murphy Lab fade as the original 50s bursts did
with sunlight? I live in a very sunny country and my guitars live outside their cases.

 

[jhawk77]

I don't know if it's discussed before, but will my 2023 Murphy Lab fade as the original 50s bursts did
with sunlight? I live in a very sunny country and my guitars live outside their cases.

It's my understanding that the tops are not designed to fade, even on the Murphy Lab LPs (they will probably fade slightly, as all things do, but not significantly). The back and neck, however, utilize aniline dye (as I'm sure you probably know) and will fade significantly when exposed to UV light.

I'd be curious to know if aniline dye tops are ever going to be a thing. That would be awesome. @matkoehler, any chance in the future?

 

[matkoehler]

Mat! Hi! I was wondering why the pickup surrounds/Rings on the Custom Shop/ Murphy Lab are back to ABS and not the CAB that they were for awhile? It seems to me that as much as these guitars cost that they would continue using CAB. This info is what was given to me by Customer Service. I spent $6k on my M2M and expected it to have CAB rings. It can't cost that much to use CAB? Thanks!!

Mat! Hi! I was wondering why the pickup surrounds/Rings on the Custom Shop/ Murphy Lab are back to ABS and not the CAB that they were for awhile? It seems to me that as much as these guitars cost that they would continue using CAB. This info is what was given to me by Customer Service. I spent $6k on my M2M and expected it to have CAB rings. It can't cost that much to use CAB? Thanks!!

False. We have not gone away from CAB for the medium and extra tall rings; they have been this way for everything since 2018 (True Historic only before that).

 

[matkoehler]

Mat, any chance for an 1959 ES-345 in black with a Murphy Heavy Aged finish?

You can order this through M2M

 

[jhawk77]

False. We have not gone away from CAB for the medium and extra tall rings; they have been this way for everything since 2019 (True Historic only before that).

Mat, do you mean 2018? This was part of the marketing for the 2018 models, that they had “all True Historic parts and construction”.

 

[pulse.]

It's my understanding that the tops are not designed to fade, even on the Murphy Lab LPs (they will probably fade slightly, as all things do, but not significantly). The back and neck, however, utilize aniline dye (as I'm sure you probably know) and will fade significantly when exposed to UV light.

I'd be curious to know if aniline dye tops are ever going to be a thing. That would be awesome. @matkoehler, any chance in the future?

Good to know, thanks. My 2014 VOS SG has fade a lot as you can see on the pic.

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[matkoehler]

It's my understanding that the tops are not designed to fade, even on the Murphy Lab LPs (they will probably fade slightly, as all things do, but not significantly). The back and neck, however, utilize aniline dye (as I'm sure you probably know) and will fade significantly when exposed to UV light.

I'd be curious to know if aniline dye tops are ever going to be a thing. That would be awesome. @matkoehler, any chance in the future?

See next response below.

Mat, do you mean 2018? This was part of the marketing for the 2018 models, that they had “all True Historic parts and construction”.

Yes sorry. Actually being used in the late part of 2017, got my years messed. Does that make me a Gibson old timer yet?

 

[matkoehler]

Good to know, thanks. My 2014 VOS SG has fade a lot as you can see on the pic.

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We use aniline dye for any cherry toned mahogany at Custom Shop. We do not spray aniline dye because there’s a very good reason they only did that for a brief period in Kalamazoo…not only would it be a QC nightmare because of fading but it bleed all over everything in the finishing department. Even with the stains we have to keep it contained to a completely isolated room. So factory setting needs to be considered but also Tom Murphy points out that we have the unique ability to paint it however you *want* it to fade. Whatever the picture in your head is, we can do that style of sunburst. He likens it to selecting the color and wash of your favorite Levi’s.

 

[JASIII]

Hey Matt
This sounds like a nice bridge. Is it possible to get these without having to buy an entire guitar?

I also would like to buy one of these new bridges.

 

[Standard Magic]

Hi Matt, will Gibson ever do long neck tenons in their USA range in the future?

 

[sputnik]

You can order this through M2M

We can get ‘59 ES-345s again?

 

[matkoehler]

We can get ‘59 ES-345s again?

Available now through Made 2 Measure, yes.

 

[matkoehler]

Hi Matt, will Gibson ever do long neck tenons in their USA range in the future?

It's a function of feasibility/time required on one hand and value proposition on the other. It's a really important spec for a Historic Reissue buyer but not for most USA buyers. Plus we would have to charge more for it because of the added labor in neckfit. All that said, I have played lots of USA LP Standards (and 1970s LPs for that matter) which sounded unbelievable. Long tenon is historically accurate but can't be certain it creates a better instrument...I believe a long tenon may provide benefits to sustain, but it's certainly just one part of the recipe.

 

[matkoehler]

I also would like to buy one of these new bridges.

We will be launching an aftermarket Historic Reissue parts range in early 2024.

 

[garywright]

We can get ‘59 ES-345s again?

Please post a pic when yours arrives

 

[matkoehler]

Thank you so much for the response! Inclosed closed are a couple pictures !

Looks great to me!

 

[matkoehler]

G'day Mat, do you how many ES 330s were made in the Mike Voltz era '13-'18 at the Memphis facility?
Saw a video the other day with Mike and Greg Koch taken at the '13 NAMM show and he went into good detail about the guitars.

Shooting from the hip, and given my understanding of the production run rates over those years and the average mix, maybe 5000-6000 total ES-330s?

 

[matkoehler]

Hi Mat - Well the Faulkner V is here, but it's a $7K CS piece ? Does your earlier comment mean there will still be a USA run after the CS ltd run ?

Thx,
Jim

It's on the wish list for Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom, but no timeline at this point.

 

[matkoehler]

There never was a Custom Shop in Memphis.. So I really don't understand why there continues to be references to it. Yes, Matt said "competing with Memphis CS offerings" and "Memphis CS Reissue models". I have asked about this before and it was never answered, So it would be nice to have this addressed by someone besides me. Furthermore, Gibson apparently further muddied the waters by putting out Memphis models with "Custom" and "Custom Shop" identification. It took some investigation to reveal these models were part of a "Gibson Custom Shop Series" put out by Memphis. Just a name in that there was not a Custom Shop in Memphis. That certainly has caused a lot of confusion over the years. Would be nice to get that cleared up for once.

Yeah I can see how this is confusing. The Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville is its own business unit/factory and has been that way since 1993. But Gibson Custom Shop as a brand has been utilized for certain units produced in Bozeman (Custom Shop acoustics) and Memphis (Historic Reissues and Artist models). There was never a separate Custom Shop factory in Bozeman or Memphis -- they were made alongside the other production but with specs one would expect to find at Custom Shop Nashville. We are changing that for Bozeman, with a dedicated space for Custom Shop instruments, and obviously Memphis is no longer.

With regards to the "Custom Shop" ES-339 made in Memphis, again the Memphis facility was created by a team from Custom Shop Nashville and that model was originally developed by the CS Nashville team, so I'm guessing that was the reason to brand it as such. Lots of overlap and exception in that era and it's no wonder why, having survived that regime...let's just say internal competition causing brand confusion was part of the business model at that time. Ha.