Played a Few Murphy Lab Gibson Acoustics Yesterday/Today -- My Thoughts

[brencat]

Okay folks, I finally got my hands on a few of the Gibson Murphy Lab Aged Acoustics at 2 different Russo Music locations here in NJ, along with a few other models too. Here's the review:

Hamilton store: Murphy Hummingbird, Murphy J-45 Historic, and non-aged J-45 Historic.

Asbury Park store: Murphy J-45 Historic, Murphy 1942 Southern Jumbo Historic, Advanced Jumbo Historic (non-aged), and 1950s J-45 (Sitka top).

Aesthetics: The Murphy Lab aging is cool! Far more realistic looking than Martin's effort, the Gibson MLs are the equivalent of a Pre*War Level 1.5 - 1.75 distress. There is orange peel effect, tons of finish checking on the top, sides, back, neck heel, and both sides of the headstock, noticeable wear around the sound hole, and random marks and scratches simulating a cared for but well played decades old instrument. You will not care if you put a ding on it because you won't be able to tell your new ding from the ones the factory put there.

Necks: You'd better like thick necks. I love thick necks. All of the Murphy Lab guitars including the Hummingbird have thick necks. My hands preferred the 1950s J-45 neck the best out of all of them -- more on this later.

The Guitars -- Hamilton Store

Murphy Lab Hummingbird -- Great guitar with a thick, syrupy voice. I understand why singers love these guitars. They harmonize, and for certain songs, they sound like 2 guitars playing simultaneously. The example I played was decently loud and had strong B and high-e string response which was good. However, I loved it for certain songs, and not so much for others. The neck was not so good for me. Maybe it was the thicker than average fingerboard binding (it was really thick and wide), but it was mostly the sharp edge where the binding met the fingerboard surface that my left hand did not appreciate, AT ALL. I'm used to rolled fingerboard edges on all my guitars and this reminded me of all the Martin necks that I hated in the past with that same sharp edge.

Murphy Lab J-45 Historic -- A killer guitar. They took it out of the box for me and I was the first to play this one. Loud, great deep bass, nice thick rounded neck, and wonderful reverb with blooming midrange response. Fuller and louder sounding than the non-aged J-45 Historic I played alongside it. The one caveat and it's a biggie -- the smell. I'm not sure the finish was cured on this one as I was feeling light-headed after about 15 minutes of playing. It smelled like a Maaco car paint shop. Come on Gibson...really?

The Guitars -- Asbury Park

Murphy Lab 1942 Southern Jumbo -- This was the one I was dying to try as I'm a Rosewood guy first in almost all situations. Beautiful aesthetic, a proper belly down bridge, lovely parallellogram fingerboard inlays, multi-ring rosette, etc, gorgeous. The tone? Disappointing. It was a quiet guitar with a bit of a thunky bass reponse. Playability was great with the extra room offered by the 1.77" nut compared to all the others at 1.725." I came back to this one at the end to see if my opinion changed at all, and nope. It's not a keeper, nor a contender. Neeeexxxxxxt

Advanced Jumbo Historic -- Adi over EIR, non-aged, long scale. People complain about the neck on these. It's more of a soft-v compared with the rounded C shape of the J-45s and Hummingbird. The neck was fine if you're used to Martin Authentic necks. The volume was good, but the highs were lacking. As a guitar ages and relaxes, the bass fills in, but if the highs aren't there at the beginning they never will be. I spent about 3 minutes with this one before putting it down. Meh, nothing special.

Murphy Lab J-45 Historic -- Another winner here, with a slightly smaller neck than the one at the Hamilton store and significantly less offensive finish smell.

1950s J-45 Sitka/Mahogany -- My first time trying this model. It's just a standard series J-45 with the batwing celluloid pickguard and a thicker neck. Great guitar with that familiar Gibson thunk but not particularly loud. I like loud guitars. I NEED loud guitars. Playability was a 10/10. Best neck and playability of anything i tried at either store. Anyone looking for a great J-45 standard should give this one a serious look. It was terrific.

Brencat's Overall Ranking (Best to Worst):

1. Murphy Lab J-45 Historic (Hamilton)
2. Murphy Lab J-45 Historic (Asbury Park)
3. 1950s J-45 Sitka (Asbury Park)
4. Murphy Lab Hummingbird (Hamilton)
5. Murphy Lab 1942 Southern Jumbo (Asbury Park)
6. J-45 Historic Non-Aged (Hamilton)
7. Advanced Jumbo Historic (Asbury Park)

Conclusion: The ML J-45 Historic at the Hamilton location was the clear winner except for that brutal uncured finish smell. Assuming this gasses off in the coming days/weeks, this is going to be a wonderful guitar for someone. But probably not me. I'm blessed to own more than a few top tier instruments, and nothing I played over the last 2 days would really displace anything in my current collection. Nothing was absolutely perfect, and I think at the price points we're discussing here, it kinda has to be.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Feedback and comments welcome.

[Skeezix]

Very interesting read — thanks for your insights. Fascinating that the SoJo and AdJo didn’t impress. (*Seek out the Murphy Lab J-45s but bring gas mask along when trying out new guitars fresh out of the box*)

[soups]

Thanks for your insight. Interesting about the hummingbird having sharp edges on the fretboard. Mine (as of 9pm) has a nice rolled contour on the fretboard and fret ends.

[dilver]

Timely post. I tried an Advanced Jumbo at my local GC a few weeks ago. Same experience as you; lacking highs, nothing special at all.

And like Soups, the fretboard edge on my Hummingbird 1960 Fixed Bridge (non ML) is also nicely rounded. Goes to show you how different hand finished guitars can be.

[SalFromChatham]

I played the J-45 in Asbury and it very much underwhelmed me. It sounded thin and 2 dimensional to me, compared to the memory in my head of my recent J-45TV and prior J50 Standard. I was playing several other guitars, and was expecting to be blown away, and I wasn’t. Maybe my expectations were too high.

I need to try Hamilton one day…

Thanks for the in-depth writeup. I always respect your take on guitars.

[soups]

I’ll post this review of my impressions of the ML guitars that I’ve played over the last two weeks at Cream City music in Brookfield WI. I posted these thoughts in the Acoustic Letter video thread. Clearly different instruments can render different overall impressions. Also, I think Brendan and I hear different things so it’s always nice to get a counterpoint. This summer I posted a thread in the classifieds about wanting an OM-28 1937 authentic. Brencat kindly private messaged me with his caution about that particular instrument feeling that the Madagascar made the model seem to dry to him and that he wasn’t a big fan of the model. Well I turned out to buy one anyway in UMGF and it’s my favorite guitar of all time.

That’s all to say that I love discourse that happens here and the opinions being expressed. Brendan always seems to be level headed, not wanting to state opinion as fact - and there are a lot of people here who do the same.

I have played the following Murphy lab light aged instruments:

SJ200
J-45 1942 banner
Hummingbird
1942 banner southern jumbo

All phenomenal guitars. A clear cut above any Gibson I’ve played. I have owned a “good” J-45 since 2002 and it’s never going to leave, but the Murphy J-45 seemed to breathe fire. Loud, clear and resonant. One of the best slope dreads in this style I’ve played including Collings take.

The SJ-200 was also extraordinarily resonant and Alive. We have all played good and bad SJ-200s and most tend to be mid tier to meh in my opinion. This one shined as having a real bass response and projection that reminded me of my Kopp.

I only had the southern jumbo in my hands for a brief time but it also made me take a step back and say wow.

The best was the Hummingbird. Lively, crisp and again extremely resonant with a vibe that reminded me of my Atkins - broken in, airy and alive. I was taken aback by this one and since the shop was doing a 20% off all new instruments before Christmas, I decided to put it on an interest free credit card and sell a couple of my other guitars to cover the purchase. It was that good. I went back the next day and it was sold already.

I don’t think these will be hot ticket items for people who don’t play them in person. It’s hard to imagine buying a new Gibson in the $6k range without having it make you buy it in person. But I am not mincing words in saying I honestly think the four Murphy acoustics that I played are the best new Gibson acoustics of each respective guitar’s model that I’ve ever played.

PS- I bought a hummingbird and took delivery of it last night. It’s simply outstanding. Review to come

[brencat]

Originally Posted by soups

IÂ’ll post this review of my impressions of the ML guitars that IÂ’ve played over the last two weeks at Cream City music in Brookfield WI. I posted these thoughts in the Acoustic Letter video thread. Clearly different instruments can render different overall impressions. Also, I think Brendan and I hear different things so itÂ’s always nice to get a counterpoint. This summer I posted a thread in the classifieds about wanting an OM-28 1937 authentic. Brencat kindly private messaged me with his caution about that particular instrument feeling that the Madagascar made the model seem to dry to him and that he wasnÂ’t a big fan of the model. Well I turned out to buy one anyway in UMGF and itÂ’s my favorite guitar of all time.

ThatÂ’s all to say that I love discourse that happens here and the opinions being expressed. Brendan always seems to be level headed, not wanting to state opinion as fact - and there are a lot of people here who do the same.

I donÂ’t think these will be hot ticket items for people who donÂ’t play them in person. ItÂ’s hard to imagine buying a new Gibson in the $6k range without having it make you buy it in person. But I am not mincing words in saying I honestly think the four Murphy acoustics that I played are the best new Gibson acoustics of each respective guitarÂ’s model that IÂ’ve ever played.

Fair points by Chris here, and yeah I’m still stunned he found the OM-28 Authentic 1931 to be his best guitar ever (I played 5 of them, also owned one for 6 mos, and hated them all). That said, I’m primarily a flatpicker — 99% of what I play are fiddle tunes, or strumming to 90s grunge and classic rock songs. I don’t do any fingerstyle or fingerpicking, which is what an OM excels at. Volume, bass response, and a complex nuanced voice particularly in the mids and upper mids are paramount.

My recent Russo visits only reinforced my view that Gibsons are incredibly variable from guitar to guitar, and probably should be played first before buying to ensure you’re getting the type of guitar that suits you personally.

[mmarchi]

Originally Posted by soups

I’ll post this review of my impressions of the ML guitars that I’ve played over the last two weeks at Cream City music in Brookfield WI. I posted these thoughts in the Acoustic Letter video thread. Clearly different instruments can render different overall impressions. Also, I think Brendan and I hear different things so it’s always nice to get a counterpoint. This summer I posted a thread in the classifieds about wanting an OM-28 1937 authentic. Brencat kindly private messaged me with his caution about that particular instrument feeling that the Madagascar made the model seem to dry to him and that he wasn’t a big fan of the model. Well I turned out to buy one anyway in UMGF and it’s my favorite guitar of all time.

That’s all to say that I love discourse that happens here and the opinions being expressed. Brendan always seems to be level headed, not wanting to state opinion as fact - and there are a lot of people here who do the same.

I have played the following Murphy lab light aged instruments:

SJ200
J-45 1942 banner
Hummingbird
1942 banner southern jumbo

All phenomenal guitars. A clear cut above any Gibson I’ve played. I have owned a “good” J-45 since 2002 and it’s never going to leave, but the Murphy J-45 seemed to breathe fire. Loud, clear and resonant. One of the best slope dreads in this style I’ve played including Collings take.

The SJ-200 was also extraordinarily resonant and Alive. We have all played good and bad SJ-200s and most tend to be mid tier to meh in my opinion. This one shined as having a real bass response and projection that reminded me of my Kopp.

I only had the southern jumbo in my hands for a brief time but it also made me take a step back and say wow.

The best was the Hummingbird. Lively, crisp and again extremely resonant with a vibe that reminded me of my Atkins - broken in, airy and alive. I was taken aback by this one and since the shop was doing a 20% off all new instruments before Christmas, I decided to put it on an interest free credit card and sell a couple of my other guitars to cover the purchase. It was that good. I went back the next day and it was sold already.

I don’t think these will be hot ticket items for people who don’t play them in person. It’s hard to imagine buying a new Gibson in the $6k range without having it make you buy it in person. But I am not mincing words in saying I honestly think the four Murphy acoustics that I played are the best new Gibson acoustics of each respective guitar’s model that I’ve ever played.

PS- I bought a hummingbird and took delivery of it last night. It’s simply outstanding. Review to come

My Murphy Lab 1942 Banner J-45 arrived yesterday. I let it acclimate for 8 hours or so before I had to open it up. I'm pretty picky and usually know very quickly if I'm going to like a guitar or not (or want to put in any effort to adjust to to my likings with string changes, etc.) vs. return it. I'm less on looks, aging, etc...but more on how the guitar sounds. First strum I could tell I liked it.

I put some Martin Retro Lights on it last night (I usually like these strings with Mahogany guitars) and I liked what it did to the guitars sound. While it's a ML aged guitar that's supposed to come out of the box breathing, I thought...what the heck...I'll run it overnight with my Tone Traveler to get some activity on the new strings and vibrations through the body to see if it opens up more. (I had to lower the tone traveler volume because my wife has Superman-like hearing and the humming sound level was not going to work for her). The guitar sounded even better this morning. I can't tell you if it's the Tone Traveler work on the guitar, the strings getting broken it a bit, morning hearing or what....but the combination made me "hear" an improvement in sound and overall volume. It's plenty loud with L strings. I was assuming I would want to test Mediums but I think that might choke out the guitar. I'll still probably try them someday. Love to hear people's opinions on this for J-45's.

Is it as beefy sounding as my Martin Authentic D-28 with mediums...no. But, for the size and with L strings it's plenty loud with its own sound. Someone mentioned smell, no bad smell here. I have had an issue in the past with an acoustic smell but it was because of the case glue, not the guitar itself.

Aging/checking/looks. Pretty impressed to be honest. I am including a bunch of pictures with close ups so you can see for yourself.

[ZeroFretWear]

The problem with these Murphy Lab J-45s and Hummingbirds is that the real vintage ones they're modeled after aren't that much more expensive, but are 10 times the guitars the new ones are.
Compare that to the Martin Authentics, and you get a closer guitar in tone and the price difference between new and vintage is magnitudes higher.
All that to say, I don't get why people buy these expensive new Gibson vintage replicas....

[pickitPaul]

Originally Posted by ZeroFretWear

All that to say, I don't get why people buy these expensive new Gibson vintage replicas....

They are afraid to put the 1st scratch / ding into it?

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by pickitPaul

They are afraid to put the 1st scratch / ding into it?

He’s not saying, versus buying a new, non-relic’ed version, he’s saying versus buying an original, since it’s not that much more expensive. The fact that an Authentic is 1/20th the price of the guitar it replicates (or a Blazer & Henkes 1/10th, or a TJ Thompson 1/2, etc) gives builders a lot more “headroom” (and probably why there are many more builders trying to copy vintage Martins than vintage Gibsons, Larson Bros., etc.). Waterloos are practically inverted—a new Waterloo often costs more than an original that it replicates.

[soups]

Originally Posted by ZeroFretWear

The problem with these Murphy Lab J-45s and Hummingbirds is that the real vintage ones they're modeled after aren't that much more expensive, but are 10 times the guitars the new ones are.
Compare that to the Martin Authentics, and you get a closer guitar in tone and the price difference between new and vintage is magnitudes higher.
All that to say, I don't get why people buy these expensive new Gibson vintage replicas....

That’s your opinion. I have not played a vintage 1960 hummingbird that played or sounded as good as the Murphy lab one that I just purchased. It’s a new guitar without the issues of a sixty year old instruments. I like that.

I’m not all that interested in vintage guitars. I get the allure, but I don’t often vibe with vintage Gibsons.

I also really enjoy the tone. I don’t need to validate what I like - everyone is different. But to me, this is like buying an old house with the vibe and craftsmanship - but with new HVAC and electric. I get all the benefits of both the vintage sound and new construction in one Guitar. Mesh that with the fact that I think it legitimately sounds excellent and I really like it, it is worth it to me

Also, to me, there’s not a single hummingbird that I have played that was this good. Let alone 10 times as good.

[dilver]

Originally Posted by ZeroFretWear

The problem with these Murphy Lab J-45s and Hummingbirds is that the real vintage ones they're modeled after aren't that much more expensive, but are 10 times the guitars the new ones are.
Compare that to the Martin Authentics, and you get a closer guitar in tone and the price difference between new and vintage is magnitudes higher.
All that to say, I don't get why people buy these expensive new Gibson vintage replicas....

I have and have had vintage guitars. Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s good. Some of them are a royal pain in the *** requiring neck resets, bridge replacement, bracing repair, cleats on cracks, bellying/sinking top repair, etc. not to mention basic things like refrets, nut and saddle replacement. I’ve also had some vintage pieces that didn’t need much at all. Point is, it’s harder to find a vintage Gibson that doesn’t need at least some work. And there’s no way a mint condition 1960 Hummingbird that plays and sounds amazing is going to cost anywhere near what I paid for my new Hummingbird 1960 fixed bridge.

While buying a new vintage reissue guitar isn’t the same as the real thing, I honestly believe Gibson and Martin are putting great effort into making these recent Custom Shop guitars really great. I don’t think anyone is saying they’re the same the vintage guitars they are modeled after, rather they try to use many of the same specs, materials and build methods. A great guitar is a great guitar and some of these Gibson Custom Shop reissues are stellar.

[mmarchi]

Originally Posted by ZeroFretWear

The problem with these Murphy Lab J-45s and Hummingbirds is that the real vintage ones they're modeled after aren't that much more expensive, but are 10 times the guitars the new ones are.
Compare that to the Martin Authentics, and you get a closer guitar in tone and the price difference between new and vintage is magnitudes higher.
All that to say, I don't get why people buy these expensive new Gibson vintage replicas....

I’ve played plenty of vintage ones and 50% are not that great. But, I will agree that there are some gems out there. In my case I wanted to go new and I’ve had great experience with ML Les Paul’s and Aged Martin Authentic D-28’s. When you played the ML’s did you feel they were 10x less than the vintage ones you’ve played (or own). I’m sure everyone would appreciate your detailed analysis on what makes the ML’s so inferior.

[soups]

Originally Posted by mmarchi

My Murphy Lab 1942 Banner J-45 arrived yesterday. I let it acclimate for 8 hours or so before I had to open it up. I'm pretty picky and usually know very quickly if I'm going to like a guitar or not (or want to put in any effort to adjust to to my likings with string changes, etc.) vs. return it. I'm less on looks, aging, etc...but more on how the guitar sounds. First strum I could tell I liked it.

I put some Martin Retro Lights on it last night (I usually like these strings with Mahogany guitars) and I liked what it did to the guitars sound. While it's a ML aged guitar that's supposed to come out of the box breathing, I thought...what the heck...I'll run it overnight with my Tone Traveler to get some activity on the new strings and vibrations through the body to see if it opens up more. (I had to lower the tone traveler volume because my wife has Superman-like hearing and the humming sound level was not going to work for her). The guitar sounded even better this morning. I can't tell you if it's the Tone Traveler work on the guitar, the strings getting broken it a bit, morning hearing or what....but the combination made me "hear" an improvement in sound and overall volume. It's plenty loud with L strings. I was assuming I would want to test Mediums but I think that might choke out the guitar. I'll still probably try them someday. Love to hear people's opinions on this for J-45's.

Is it as beefy sounding as my Martin Authentic D-28 with mediums...no. But, for the size and with L strings it's plenty loud with its own sound. Someone mentioned smell, no bad smell here. I have had an issue in the past with an acoustic smell but it was because of the case glue, not the guitar itself.

Aging/checking/looks. Pretty impressed to be honest. I am including a bunch of pictures with close ups so you can see for yourself.

Great to hear! Very interesting about the town traveler. I don’t have one, but may experiment. I did change my strings immediately, and that made a huge difference.