Murphy lab yay or nay?

[Carlosdjimenez]

They are beautiful. To be clear. All that checking is the ultra light aged finish? Or have they checked more since you've played them?

I cant really say if they've checked more since I got them. But the les paul has definetely gotten a few chips here are there so im sure in a year or two it will look at least like a light aged one.

 

[6L6]

Check out this ultra heavy aged headstock

 

[Wizard1183]

Check out this ultra heavy aged headstock
View attachment 24110

 

[Wizard1183]

Yea cause the headstock gets 50 dings on it on a regular basis.

 

[Subliminal lanimilbuS]

If you are buying it to play and want it to look aged buy whatever aged Gibson you can find that looks the best aged to you and plays and sounds the best. There are really good looking aged Gibson's from back when he was a one man show, a team and now the Murphy Lab team. If you are buying it to collect or as an investment is debatable. It is probably a good guess that guitars Tom Murphy personally aged will be collectible. He was the man that started this whole thing with Gibson. The first true run of Murphy aged guitars come from 1999. There are a handful of guitars that Gibson sent to him prior to this to be aged. I imagine all the aged guitars up to the late 2000's were done by him, but you never know. A certificate with this signature is helpful. His initials under the treble volume knob even better. I don't know when the Murphy team started to appear at Gibson, but the first horribly looking aged guitar I saw was in 2012. Nothing but a series of straight lines on the body and headstock. I know a couple collectors of his guitars that are centered on the years 2008 to 2011 and only if they have his signature in the COA and his initials under the volume knob. They feel that is kind of the end of his reign before the team started and things got out of control. I can personally attest to the year 2011 as I have one that is perfect in every way. Not really an investment for me, though, as I will never get rid of it.

 

[Chronomariner]

I cant really say if they've checked more since I got them. But the les paul has definetely gotten a few chips here are there so im sure in a year or two it will look at least like a light aged one.

I heard it will continue to check a bit more with time. But I guess that depends on how much it already has checked.
In a 3 month old interview with Andertons and Tom Murphy he did say that ultra light was without checking, but it would most likely check before reaching the store or the customer.

 

[Chronomariner]

To sum up.
Buy whatever you personally like. Think of it as a lifetime guitar and not as an investment. Pass it on to your kids if you have kids or a family member.
If you don't know, you gotta go and try one and see the difference visually and in feel and sound.
If you still don't know then go for a VOS.

I however know I am in the ML camp, ultra light or light aging is my thing.
If you know what you love, then don't think about what others think. It’s supposed to make you feel joy or inspired. Buy the thing that does that for you. I know I made the right choice for me.

 

[Subliminal lanimilbuS]

I just remembered an article from Tom Murphy. In that article he says that the key to a really good sounding Les Paul is a heavy maple top on a light mahogany body. Easy to do when you are building the guitar, but how do you tell as a buyer on a completed guitar unless it is specified. I don't know how to visually tell light mahogany from heavy mahogany, but I do have some insight on the maple. Eastern maple is usually harder and heavier than western maple. Some of the heaviest maple comes from the Appalachians of eastern Canada and the US. Maple growing on mountains there is often called Hard Rock Maple. Most tops on vintage bursts came from that region. The rock in those mountains have a high iron content. The trees absorb that iron and it gets deposited into the wood. The dark brown specks or streaks you see in some tops is iron. Also called mineral streaks. A top with those specks and streaks is a really good sign that a top is Hard Rock Maple. You can then deduce if a Les Paul also has light mahogany. Generally speaking, if a Les Paul has a Hard Rock Maple top and weighs under 8.75 pounds it has a light mahogany body. I don't think I have ever seen a Les Paul with a heavy streaked mineral top that weighed under 8.5 pounds. That is unless it is chambered. If anyone has one under 8 pounds I am interested in purchasing it.

 

[Any Name You Wish]

Can you force aging? Can you somehow speed it up in the factory? There is desire for an old, well played guitar that shows history, but can that desire be quenched buying an ML guitar? Being completely honest with myself the answers to these questions is no. That puts ML guitars in a different category that I would call "factory intentionally blemished" because "aged" by definition is time.

Gibson custom shop and historic guitars have been out for decades now. You can get truly "aged" ones. They are for sale on CL or Reverb and typically carry a "good" or "fair" description. No warranty of course but the price will make up for that. Now If you simply want the best playing and sounding guitar it will require patience and effort. I would say at a minimum playing 5 of them, side by side if at all possible. If you put up roadblocks such as "it has to be ML" or "VOS" or whatever you are lowering your chances of getting simply the best playing and sounding guitar. I would not recommend doing this. Stay open to whatever fate brings your way.

 

[garywright]

stock, rocked, dropped but never stopped

2005 R8 with 1200 gigs on it. All natural wear

I bought this baby brand new and used it for about 9 years. We played 3 nights per week at 3-4 hours and I never switched guitars, so it has thousands of stage hours. When I left the band I put it away in the case and have only just now started playing again. Dan Erlwine did a setup and even...

www.lespaulforum.com

 

[ppgf]

have had several “59s as well as a blonde dotmarker. i’m a big fan.

 

[Wizard1183]

Can you force aging? Can you somehow speed it up in the factory? There is desire for an old, well played guitar that shows history, but can that desire be quenched buying an ML guitar? Being completely honest with myself the answers to these questions is no. That puts ML guitars in a different category that I would call "factory intentionally blemished" because "aged" by definition is time.

Gibson custom shop and historic guitars have been out for decades now. You can get truly "aged" ones. They are for sale on CL or Reverb and typically carry a "good" or "fair" description. No warranty of course but the price will make up for that. Now If you simply want the best playing and sounding guitar it will require patience and effort. I would say at a minimum playing 5 of them, side by side if at all possible. If you put up roadblocks such as "it has to be ML" or "VOS" or whatever you are lowering your chances of getting simply the best playing and sounding guitar. I would not recommend doing this. Stay open to whatever fate brings your way.

I agree but your best sounding out of 5 doesn’t guarantee 100 ppl will agree with your best. The ears are subjective. A good player will make what you perceive to be subpar Guitar something you’d want because HE made it sound better than you could do playing it.

 

[Subliminal lanimilbuS]

I agree but your best sounding out of 5 doesn’t guarantee 100 ppl will agree with your best. The ears are subjective. A good player will make what you perceive to be subpar Guitar something you’d want because HE made it sound better than you could do playing

This is a good point. I will take it one step further. You go the the guitar store and play a bunch of guitars. Chances are though, they are set up completely differently. Someone who is used to playing a guitar with low action might not play a guitar with higher action quite the same. Might even deter the person to think that guitar sucks. Maybe one has the tail piece screwed all the way down and another up. Maybe one guitar has Ernie Ball strings and another D'Addario. Maybe one guitar has old strings and another new strings. If a part has been changed you can add in a whole slew of other things like pickups, pots, caps, etc., the list goes on. I have played several Star guitars over my years. Guitars that were used to record songs that were popular on the radio. You would expect those guitars to be some revelation in tone or ease of play. Some were setup very odd to me and most sounded like just any other guitar to me. I think they worked out good for the Star that played them because the setup and tone from them fit perfectly with what that person perceived using their fingers. In the end it all boils down to getting guitars that you think would suit your style of play the best and then meddling with them. Sometimes you get lucky and all factors come together that are just right for you.

 

[Wizard1183]

This is a good point. I will take it one step further. You go the the guitar store and play a bunch of guitars. Chances are though, they are set up completely differently. Someone who is used to playing a guitar with low action might not play a guitar with higher action quite the same. Might even deter the person to think that guitar sucks. Maybe one has the tail piece screwed all the way down and another up. Maybe one guitar has Ernie Ball strings and another D'Addario. Maybe one guitar has old strings and another new strings. If a part has been changed you can add in a whole slew of other things like pickups, pots, caps, etc., the list goes on. I have played several Star guitars over my years. Guitars that were used to record songs that were popular on the radio. You would expect those guitars to be some revelation in tone or ease of play. Some were setup very odd to me and most sounded like just any other guitar to me. I think they worked out good for the Star that played them because the setup and tone from them fit perfectly with what that person perceived using their fingers. In the end it all boils down to getting guitars that you think would suit your style of play the best and then meddling with them. Sometimes you get lucky and all factors come together that are just right for you.

And as you said. Set up. Which is ultimately what a player wants. So let’s say they’re a reissue. And then a MUrphy slab. The Murphy is set up to your liking but the other isn’t. Well obviously you won’t like it. It’s junk in comparison because the MUrphy slab they set up to be better. Which They do. This one plays like shit. But the Murphy plays great. You don’t think it’s intentional?