Gibson Murphy Lab Relics

[Fireproof]

Here is a 59 I had in recently;
View attachment 2936
I get to play everything , thousands of pieces played, repaired, disassembled, authenticated.

Beauty!!

 

[paisleywookiee]

It’s literally my job. It’s also funny when people think facts are subjective.

Cool story, bro. What makes a guitar the "best"? If it's a cheesy relic that looks awful, for $9000-$10000, it's a pretty bad value, regardless of how good the overall playability and sound is.

 

[Eagle]

Cool story, bro. What makes a guitar the "best"? If it's a cheesy relic that looks awful, for $9000-$10000, it's a pretty bad value, regardless of how good the overall playability and sound is.

I’m going on 15to20 examples, two that I had at the same time as an original. I have honestly not seen a Murphy LP that is not a worthy replica. They all played better than most originals and also sound pretty much within the spectrum of originals. The finish on the ones I have played are very similar in thickness and in appearance including poor durability . Value for money depends on perspective, compared with a new standard ? No obviously but they are hugely better sounding. Now compare them to vintage, they look 99% identical play better sound so close you won’t notice and cost 1/30 th of the average price. That’s value isn’t it?

 

[paisleywookiee]

Okay guy. Obviously you know everything, so I'll leave it alone. "hugely better sounding" through the same amp and settings? Okay.

 

[la szum]

I’m going on 15to20 examples, two that I had at the same time as an original. I have honestly not seen a Murphy LP that is not a worthy replica. They all played better than most originals and also sound pretty much within the spectrum of originals. The finish on the ones I have played are very similar in thickness and in appearance including poor durability . Value for money depends on perspective, compared with a new standard ? No obviously but they are hugely better sounding. Now compare them to vintage, they look 99% identical play better sound so close you won’t notice and cost 1/30 th of the average price. That’s value isn’t it?

Appreciate you sharing your experience here, Andy. It's helpful for Average Joes like me
who will probably never get to play a legit 'Burst, let alone compare it too anything currently
in production.

 

[Eagle]

One thing to consider with convincing relics ( it’s up to you whether or not you think these are) is that they spend more man hours doing the paint and relic work than it takes to make three standards now factor that these are custom shop man hours. It’s not a justification for the very high prices but it’s part of the reason. I outlined a basic light relic on a strat body above and I can easily demonstrate how it will cost multiples of a basic 2k finish. Then the heavier the wear the more difficult it is to do and the time adds up rapidly.
Also these LP models have the MOST carefully cherry picked woods to best match the originals and all details are faithfully reproduced in a way that was not the case even up to recently on Historics including glues and truss rod.
I’m not trying to justify the huge price difference but it is easy to understand it particularly in the light of pricing in general.