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1993 R7 Tom Murphy question


Gibsonj50

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I am in the process of buying a 1993 57 gold top. The seller claims it was built by Tom Murphy. Of course in 93 there were no certificates so I can't be shure about this. The serial is 7 3020 and the claim is that the first 20 were built by Tom Murphy.

 

Can anybody verify this claim?

 

Also is the neck profile as it was in the 50's? I have a 1954 Gibson J50 and I absolutely love that neck. Are the two comparable?

 

Thank for any info.

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Hi,

 

Tom Murphy aged?

 

We can never tell this with 100% certainty, but , probably yes. We haven't kept any records for guitars that have been aged by Tom Murphy. He has worked time and again for Gibson, so we cannot confirm that this guitar has been aged by Tom Murphy.

 

Only for a certain time period; from 1993 to end 1994 we can tell with bigger certainty which sunbursts and goldtop reissues were aged by Tom Murphy. I quote from the article of Walter Carter:

 

"When the R9 debuted in 1993, it was still coming off the regular production line. Tom Murphy painted the finish on the first 25 sunbursts and the first 15 goldtops (considerable research had gone into replicating the original goldtop finish also). Then he monitored production but did no more finish work through the end of 1993.

 

In late 1993 Gibson separated the Custom Shop from the plant and gave it divisional status, complete with its own facility three doors down from the plant. Murphy made the move into the new division, and from the beginning of 1994 until Nov. 2 of that year (his last day at Gibson), he put the finish, the silkscreen logo and the serial number on every sunburst and goldtop Reissue." From this article we may conclude that he also aged the 57 reissue goldtops, but we don't have any records telling us this.

 

The R7 would have a 50s neck, but this is a bit different from necks from the Montana division. The Montana division uses the designation round D profile instead of 50s or 60s profile neck although they would be similar I think.

 

 

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Hi,

 

Tom Murphy aged?

 

We can never tell this with 100% certainty, but , probably yes. We haven't kept any records for guitars that have been aged by Tom Murphy. He has worked time and again for Gibson, so we cannot confirm that this guitar has been aged by Tom Murphy.

 

Only for a certain time period; from 1993 to end 1994 we can tell with bigger certainty which sunbursts and goldtop reissues were aged by Tom Murphy. I quote from the article of Walter Carter:

 

"When the R9 debuted in 1993, it was still coming off the regular production line. Tom Murphy painted the finish on the first 25 sunbursts and the first 15 goldtops (considerable research had gone into replicating the original goldtop finish also). Then he monitored production but did no more finish work through the end of 1993.

 

In late 1993 Gibson separated the Custom Shop from the plant and gave it divisional status, complete with its own facility three doors down from the plant. Murphy made the move into the new division, and from the beginning of 1994 until Nov. 2 of that year (his last day at Gibson), he put the finish, the silkscreen logo and the serial number on every sunburst and goldtop Reissue." From this article we may conclude that he also aged the 57 reissue goldtops, but we don't have any records telling us this.

 

The R7 would have a 50s neck, but this is a bit different from necks from the Montana division. The Montana division uses the designation round D profile instead of 50s or 60s profile neck although they would be similar I think.

 

Hi Stijn,

 

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. At least there is a high probability of Tom having done the finishing. One thing though: the guitar is from 93 but it has the Custom Shop decal on the back. Seems strange since the Custom Shop didn't really come into existance until 1994.

 

And now I know the neck is at least thicker than the 1977 Deluxe Gold Top that I have. I hope the frets are a little thicker too.

 

 

Thanks again.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi. I recently purchased a 94 Goldtop. After I got it home and pulled the back cover I discovered it was an R7. Also inside the control cavity there is a signature. It looks like Tom Murphy with a number above and to the right of the signature. I have heard stories of Tom signing guitars. Do you know if he did sign some guitars? Strangely there is no Custom Shop decal. My R7 serial number is 7 4014.

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Guest Farnsbarns

It may have been different back then but certainly reissues made today have no custom shop decal. This is because they are supposed to be a replica of the original.

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In the early days of the Custom Shop, while they were still within the walls of the gibson USA building, it was common to put a Custom Shop decal on them to differentiate them from the regular production. Once they were in a separate building there was no need to have the decal and as Farnbarns said, they were to be replicas of the original. I kind of like the old Custom Arts logo/decal. Yes Tom has said that he did sign some guitars while at Gibson. I do not know how many or when they started and stopped.

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