Gibson Murphy Lab Gone Acoustic

[btc5865]

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gib...-lab-acoustics

Do you think it's worth the $1500 upgrade over their custom shop acoustics?

[b1j]

Not for me. My J-45 was 40% of that price. But there’s a connoisseur for every luxury.

[pagedr]

That 1933 tuxedo L-00 is pretty awesome

[Hexcore]

Personally, I like modest aging that deglosses the finish a bit and smooths angles and edges, especially for the neck and fretboard, where they can feel much nicer to handle. I don't think I'd pay and additional 1.5K for it, however. I would also want to be assured that the Murphy Lab has its processes under control and that the flaking and peeling widely reported has been eliminated.It's an unhappily ironic twist when expensive fake aging starts to look weird when it... ages. Everybody's doing aging on acoustics and Gibson should join the club.

[btc5865]

Of course for me, I recently acquired a CS Hummingbird and realized I play my Atkin J-43 more than the bird due to the fact it's already aged a bit and don't have to worry about babying it.

[abn556]

I don’t know if anything is worth the money, but those all sure sounded good. I guess I would say that 15 years from now you won’t remember the rest of the money you spent this year, but if you buy a guitar you’ll surely remember that purchase.

I have guitars from decades ago that are literally the only thing we have left from that time period. I bought a Strat out in Monterey, CA in 1986. I don’t have anything else left from living out there except for the Strat and a few photo albums of yellowing pictures….

[Monty Christo]

I probably wouldn't choose to spend that much, but it very well may be worth every penny. I generally think Murphy Labs does an outstanding job of imitating age. I know relics get a lot of hate here, but it's nice to not have to baby them and get all retentive about scratches.

[martingitdave]

They look cool. Bet they sound good. But, dang! They cost a lot.

[UncleJesse]

I'll definitely be interested in finding a J45 or SJ on the used market. I love my Murphy Lab 335. That guitar smothered my electric guitar GAS in its bed.

[azjohn]

My 3 year old Hummingbird is starting to look and sound really good. I'll take what is happening naturally over the artificial process. If others are into relics, then I say: go for it!

[L50EF15]

Gibson can do the fake aging but they no longer have the capacity to make archtops. Unfortunate.

[pagedr]

Originally Posted by L50EF15

Gibson can do the fake aging but they no longer have the capacity to make archtops. Unfortunate.

I'm sure they have the capacity and ability to make archtops, I imagine they just don't see that as a money making venture.

[L50EF15]

Originally Posted by pagedr

I'm sure they have the capacity and ability to make archtops, I imagine they just don't see that as a money making venture.

Only last week I looked into getting a custom ordered archtop from Gibson. Their customer service directed me to speak with a local Gibson dealer to work out specifics. One of the oldest and finest shops in NYC told me flat out, "no archtops. They won't do it. They don't have the luthiers."

Obviously stuff like the Murphy Lab is more profitable, but I would have expected them to be able to handle a custom order. I'll go real vintage instead.

[BluesKing777]

Here is the Acoustic Letter video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4yitbm6qhE


I want the '33 L-00 tuxedo reissue! I wannnaaaaa wannnna want!

But it says $5,499 and double that to get it to me here on Mars' second moon.

In a minute I will be playing my wonderful Waterloo WL-14X Tuxedo - around 2015, I was watching a video of a '32 Gibson L-00 tuxedo, sold...and 10 minutes later approx, I owned the Waterloo! 1 3/4" nut, 2 3/8" Bridge space, V neck - thanks Bill.......

Now aged for about 8 years by....ME!

But I still want the Gibson L-00 Tux - they may make a production run I guess?



Here is real one from Reverb.com:

https://reverb.com/item/72619230-pre...on-l-00-tuxedo



BluesKing777.

[zoopeda]

My three year old Historic looks about like that now lol. I wonder if they’ll do them more aggressively in the future.

Checked finish looks cool. Has anyone taken a condensed air can to a J45 standard or historic? I’d be curious to see if it checks nicely or if they’re plasticized like martins.