Tom Murphy Aged Acoustics?

[Holiday Hoser]

Gibson Brands Brand President Cesar Gueikian may have revealed a line of artificially-aged acoustic guitars – possibly by the Murphy Lab – in the works.
Two aged Gibson acoustic guitar models resembling a relic’d Hummingbird and J-45 respectively.
Gibson Custom Shop labels can be roughly made out in the sound holes of both models, signalling that these relic’d acoustics might be made available as a premium offering sometime in the future.

Typical Gibson... beat it up and charge twice the price. I wonder why, when I look in the mirror, my relic job created from years of hard livin' has not made me worth twice as much?

[Murph]

I have Murphy Slaw wear mine out...

[Murph]

Murphy's work is legendary.

He charges Gibson to do the work, and there are shipping and insurance cost involved. I'm sure they lose one once in a while.

It costs money to engage.

[gearbasher]

Why buy an aged instrument. when you can buy a used one in the same condition for half the price. Or, just keep playing a new one until it's aged.

I just never understood it.

[kidblast]

Yea, I don't get it as well.

Not something I'm interested in.

I do know a guy who has two Murphy Les Pauls that he's bought recently, 

He spent CRAZY money on them too.  

I've not played them yet, but someday I probably will.

He loves them, so that's really all that matters.  

 

[gearbasher]

When Fender came out with the relic Strat, my friend wanted one that had those specs but not aged. He ordered (what he called) an un-reliced relic from Fender's Custom Shop. A while later, Fender came out with the NOS line. My friend jokes about that being his idea.

Edited July 3, 2022 by gearbasher

[MissouriPicker]

When I was a truck driver I’d often drop-off trailers for furniture stores.  I’d go into the warehouse and bullshit with the folks.  I got to see the “aged and distressed” furniture.  They actually put dents in new furniture with hammers and scratch it with a wire brush.   The only thing “aged and distressed” about the furniture was the way it was painted.

[Sgt. Pepper]

3 hours ago, gearbasher said:

Why buy an aged instrument. when you can buy a used one in the same condition for half the price. Or, just keep playing a new one until it's aged.

I just never understood it.

Cause when your a dentist, which isn't cool, its cool to take out your "New" "Old Looking" Guitar to impress all your fellow teeth drillers, and you will willingly pay more for the pleasure as it adds to the cool factor.

Nobody buys a new Cadillac, and kicks in the front fender, and say man it looks better now that its dented aka relic'ed. 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[zombywoof]

Tom Murphy and Vince Cunetto (who was one of the Kansas City group who created the Fender Custon Shop in the ate-1980s) are wizards when it comes to aged finishes.  While I do not get it, you will pay dearly for any guitar they worked their magic on.

One of my close friends who has been dealing in vintage guitars for several decades (I snagged both my '42 J50 and '32 L1 from him) used to take some kind of a perverse pleasure in having folks he ran into at guitar shows sign something for me with the note You Suck".   One of those who obliged him was Tom Murphy.   

Edited July 3, 2022 by zombywoof

[Sgt. Pepper]

24 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

Tom Murphy and Vince Cunetto (who was one of the Kansas City group who created the Fender Custon Shop in the ate-1980s) are wizards when it comes to aged finishes.  While I do not get it, you will pay dearly for any guitar they worked their magic on.

One of my close friends who has been dealing in vintage guitars for several decades (I snagged both my '42 J50 and '32 L1 from him) used to take some kind of a perverse pleasure in having folks he ran into at guitar shows sign something for me with the note You Suck".   One of those who obliged him was Tom Murphy.   

Well I guess it must be true, you have it in writing.

Aging a guitar is silly. Those guys no doubt are good at it, but I don't need any guitar I own to look older than it does. The first time I ever saw a Fender Road Worn Strat and the guy told me what it was, I almost laughed in his face when he told me it was fake aged.

So a new guitar with new wood and new pickups is supposed to sound better because it looks beat up?

Question? How can you return a relic'ed guitar? Its already beat up, so what would be the grounds for a return?

Edited July 3, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Holiday Hoser]

Good one Sarge Just tell 'em "It was like this when I got it!"

[zombywoof]

3 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Well I guess it must be true, you have it in writing.

Aging a guitar is silly. Those guys no doubt are good at it, but I don't need any guitar I own to look older than it does. The first time I ever saw a Fender Road Worn Strat and the guy told me what it was, I almost laughed in his face when he told me it was fake aged.

So a new guitar with new wood and new pickups is supposed to sound better because it looks beat up?

Question? How can you return a relic'ed guitar? Its already beat up, so what would be the grounds for a return?

Tom Murphy, Will Ray, Walter Trout and others could not all have been wrong.

I pretty much look going the relic route as a finish option just one which is driven by instant gratification.  With me though, not a day goes by that I do not wish my old guitars looked a whole lot shinier and brighter than they do,

I did have one guitar relic'ed though.  But it was a very different approach.  The guitar was slated for a refinish to replace that which had long ago been removed, The luthier who did the work did not want the new finish to standout like a sore thumb but blend in with headstock, neck, tuners and such all of which remained original.  While he did not create any artificial wear or beat the thing with a bicycle chain or anything, he shot the lacquer on thin enough so you could see the wood grain through the blackest black of the burst and in such a way that within a year you would not have known from the amount of crazing and checking that the finish had not been on the guitar for half a century.  So, more like he just goosed the aging process along,

Edited July 3, 2022 by zombywoof

[Sgt. Pepper]

I'm gonna go take an icepick and a handful of pennies, and go to town on my Martin's to see if they sound better after I man handle them, and give them a good flogging.

I hate the idea of relic-ing, road worn, fake aging what ever you call it, but clowns buy into it. Screw that new shinny looking guitar, I want the same one that is more expensive cause some guy takes a belt sander to it. Its your money spend it wisely.

When I buy an antique I expect it to look old, when I buy a brand new 2022 guitar I don't. I've said it before, send me your new guitar and I'll beat it up for free. You have to pay shipping both ways and results may vary as to how much or how little bumps and bruises there are.

If and when they come out, you and I know the guys that can afford them will be snatching them up to impress their friends.

Edited July 3, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[SteveFord]

Bizarre, pathetic, ridiculous.

 

[kidblast]

Oddly enough, despite most of us not getting it,  they're selling them quite briskly. 

 

The prices are nuts, (8~10k)

What ever.

 

[BluesKing777]

I think the buyers want a guitar that looks old and vintage but with all the motor and suspension brand new.

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by BluesKing777

[62burst]

Yes, having the worn in look but having recent build- bracing, fresh frets and fretboard, neck set, and plek'ed with some sort of warranty would be a plus.

Ironic that I feel more comfortable playing the more aged, but also more valuable vintage guitars than the modern ones that haven't got a mark on them. 

Also- the crazing on the Hummingbird looks great, and if it weren't for the mottled orange peel finish that had been put on it, it would be hard to tell from a 'Bird from a decade or two+ back.

EDIT: but no, I wouldn't pay to have someone do wear to the guitar as seen on the J-45 above. Genuine play wear or not, it just looks like sloppy playing. I can do sloppy playing, and still not inflict that level of wear.

Edited July 3, 2022 by 62burst

[slimt]

Before you know it.  20 years will pass by. Your present guitar will be a older guitar. With all the signs of abuse.    Dried out, cracked finishes, dents from missing the guitar stand,   And you save the additional cost of having someone else having fun neglecting the guitar . 
 

 

[Dave F]

I like the aged look but not the worn in look. The early Legends had a look I liked but some people preferred to buff them out to look new.  I like the look of  the Banner ‘42 SJ  I got a year or so ago. 

[dhanners623]

I figure if folks want to spend their money on it, fine.

Yeah, we want guitars that sound great, but most of us also care about our guitar’s aesthetics. I’ve got one guitar that had three different pickguards before I found one I loved. Another is on its third set of tuners; I just didn’t like the looks of the original equipment and the set I put on after that.

I’d love to go out and buy a used guitar that had well-earned “honest” wear on it. But I play upside down and left-handed, not changing the strings around. You might find a vintage lefty guitar with wear (but you probably won’t) but you’re not going to find a vintage lefty with wear that is strung right-handed. You can’t remove the pickguard because if it’s a vintage guitar, it’ll have a stark “suntan.” Your chance of finding a lefty pickguard that exactly matches the existing pickguard is pretty much zero. And getting back to that aesthetics issue, I find double pickguards butt-ugly.

So, yeah, if I had the dough, I’d spring for one of Pre-War Guitars’ J-35 copies, and I’d have them do some distressing on it to make it look old. Folks can scoff and take the attitude that I should “age” it honestly by playing it (as if I don’t play my guitars…) but at my age, I’m not going to be putting 20 years’ worth of wear and dings on it.

[J45fan]

On 7/3/2022 at 8:27 PM, Sgt. Pepper said:

I'm gonna go take an icepick and a handful of pennies, and go to town on my Martin's to see if they sound better after I man handle them, and give them a good flogging.

I hate the idea of relic-ing, road worn, fake aging what ever you call it, but clowns buy into it. Screw that new shinny looking guitar, I want the same one that is more expensive cause some guy takes a belt sander to it. Its your money spend it wisely.

When I buy an antique I expect it to look old, when I buy a brand new 2022 guitar I don't. I've said it before, send me your new guitar and I'll beat it up for free. You have to pay shipping both ways and results may vary as to how much or how little bumps and bruises there are.

If and when they come out, you and I know the guys that can afford them will be snatching them up to impress their friends.

OK, I am one of the "clowns" who bought an aged Martin D-28! I played several D-28's at my dealer, they had 2 D-28 Authentic 1937 aged versions, one non-aged and they had several of these Custom D-28 Authentic's aged and non-aged. They aged ones sounded better than the non-aged ones and I bought one of the Custom D-28's aged because it was the best sounding one from all these Authentic's they had in the store.  According to Martin, the finish on the aged ones is thinner than on the non-aged ones. But what I really like is the rounded fingerboard edges which feels great and yes I like the looks of the Stage 1 aging as Martin calls it. 

I get it, you don't like it, fine. But calling other fellow guitar players "clowns" because they like something you don't is quite arrogant. BTW, the aging of new instruments is done much longer on violins and cellos, because they feel broken in. Aging is an art, I agree some of the aging you see on electric guitars is a joke and totally fake looking. But good examples are a piece of art. I was very happy when Fender came out with the Relic series, at first it helped me not to worry as much anymore taking out my '56 Strat. When someone asked "is this a real one?" I replied, no a relic. The interest dropped significantly after my answer.

I custom ordered a copy of my '56 from the Fender Custom Shop, Chris Fleming did an outstanding job copying my guitar and he also did an amazing job on the aging. It feels and sounds very much like my vintage one, which I leave at home ever since. There are quite a good number of professional players who play Relic Strats and Teles and not just for the looks.  And no, I am not a dentist and I play in bands since 1975. 

I respect very much if someone wants new, pristine guitars and when they polish their guitars every day and worry about getting a scratch or ding. That's not for me, I play in a band and s.. happens. But I find it strange whenever Relic or aging of guitars come up that some people are getting hostile and calling people who are into the aged ones, clowns, stupid, bragger ....

[dhanners623]

⤴️What J45fan said….

You’re not being a “clown” or a poseur if you buy a relic’d guitar. You’re just going for a certain aesthetic and we all do that. For the life of me, I don’t understand why people buy Taylors but I don’t begrudge anyone who does.

[fortyearspickn]

J45fan -    there is a market for 50 year old guitars with honest road wear, for 50 year old guitars that are minty fresh, and for 5 day old guitars that are minty fresh and - as discussed here - for 5 day old guitars that are made to look 50 y/o.   None of the people who buy them are clowns, as someone here suggested.  Saying it doesn't make it so.  Writing it on a guitar forum neither.  I hope you stick around and get a few thousand posts under your belt - then you'll realize some people come here to complain about blue Gibson guitars,  drops of glue inside their Gibson guitar bodies, pick guards covering part of the rosette, pick guards not covering part of the rosette, plastic bridge pins, heavy tuners, too much bling,  etc.  In most of those discussions, someone will eventually resort to words like 'clown', 'pathetic' and worse.  When those discussions are 'political' they are taken down.  Otherwise, they're left up to toughen us all up a bit more.    

It occurred to me - a lot of the performers I see on TV have 'noticeably aged' looking guitars - often J45s  They also have torn jeans, baseball hats on backwards and sing about dogs and pickup trucks they've never owned.  So, I just accept it as part of the performance.  I doubt anyone here, if somehow forced to discard their penchant for outrageous language, would either.  

[kidblast]

On 7/3/2022 at 6:59 PM, slimt said:

Before you know it.  20 years will pass by. Your present guitar will be a older guitar. With all the signs of abuse.    Dried out, cracked finishes, dents from missing the guitar stand,   And you save the additional cost of having someone else having fun neglecting the guitar . 
 

 

not sure about that

here's my oldest LP  1995 Les Paul.  She's got lots of miles but.. don't really look it.

 

 

here's 2002

Edited July 5, 2022 by kidblast

[slimt]

8 hours ago, kidblast said:

not sure about that

here's my oldest LP  1995 Les Paul.  She's got lots of miles but.. don't really look it.

 

 

here's 2002

There is the exception.   Ive seen a few acoustics that I owned in the past.  That would pass for Murphy