Murphy Aged Rant

[scottosan]

I love relics. 1/3 of my collection is either relic’d or well used player guitars. I’ve been out of the Les Paul game for a while until buying my R8 earlier this year. While I was on the hunt I ran across a few Murphys and quite honestly I was really turned off by how they were aged. I wrote it off to maybe being just a few bad samples.

I’ve seen plenty real 52s, 54’s, and 57-60’s. The checking lines on the Murphys do not look natural in the least bit. They look way too clean. There’s no grime. The crack shouldn’t stand out like a neon sign. The checking on every one of the boutique guitar brands I ran across at Sounde Messe in Osaka was far more convincing and had more character.

I here by dub these the Murphy McRelic labs. They’re the fast food equivalent of a relic job.

Rant complete

 

[Jakem]

Hi Scott,
Whilst in Tokyo’s amazing guitar shops I saw some killer looking Murphys but they varied quite a bit.

 

[cobrahead1030]

The quality overall seems to have gone downhill as they’ve increased the numbers they’re putting out. They used to be consistently pretty good, and now it’s rare that I see one that actually catches my eye.

At that price point, they should be as good as anything on the market.

 

[GJgo]

So are you complaining about the aesthetics, or the QC of the guitar? I figure I'll put my own aging / aesthetic touches on it as I play it / gig it. The aging process gives you a head start but it's IMO unrealistic to think (with the cost of labor) that you could buy a "real fake" aging at a price normal people could afford.

My thing with Murphy Lab Gibsons is it's been the only way I've found that you can have a high chance of getting a new Gibson with consistently good QC. I'm making an assumption that the best guitars are pulled off the line for this treatment based on what I've seen. As someone who lives in a rural place I have to buy to try, and if it wasn't for Murphys I simply don't have the time or the money to bring in enough Gibsons to find a good one.

"Should" is a funny word. Price-point wise I've come to accept the fact that the general quality-of-lutheirness of a $6500 Gibson is about on par with a $2500 E-II. That's as good as they can do. (To be fair I've never played a $10K Gibby..) That said, there is no universe that a Gibson could come close to the quality of craftsmanship of an Original Series ESP.

I bought my '68 RI Murphy Custom and R8 RI Murphy after also accepting that I would never find an ESP that sounded like a real, good LP. If I want that sound have to accept them for what they are.

 

[thegame]

I don’t like the way my face is constantly getting relic’d. Every iteration just looks worse and worse. Whom do I complain to?

 

[Anje]

Fully agree; never liked any recent "Murphy" aged guitar I've seen up close.
I'll add I've never been convinced by an artificially aged guitar, besides some 90's Cunetto Fender that were very tastefully & very lightly done.
Once you're used to real old / well played guitars, it's IMHO hard to like the artificial thing, from big manufacturers at least usually. Doesn't mean they are not good guitars, and that some relic job can't look "good/fun"; but realistic no, more often than not.
Worst case to me is when playing the relic guitar actually makes it "cleaner" and "wash away" the relic "treatment" (!); already happened to me, and looks ridiculous to be honest.

 

[Kordoba]

I don’t like the way my face is constantly getting relic’d. Every iteration just looks worse and worse. Whom do I complain to?

The Department of Motor Vehicles. I recently had a photo taken for my driver's license. I've pretty much turned into Uncle Fester from the Adam's Family.

 

[rsm]

never had any interest in "stolen valor" guitars, with all the fake and artificial use cosmetics.

I prefer pristine, new, in-the-factory-sealed-box, virgin guitars. I know what I'm buying, and do my best to keep them looking as good as the day they left the factory Much easier these days since I no longer gig. Any wear, dings, scratches, etc., will be from my use.

dig what you dig; buy what you like; it's your money

 

[Racerxrated]

never had any interest in "stolen valor" guitars, with all the fake and artificial use cosmetics.

I prefer pristine, new, in-the-factory-sealed-box, virgin guitars. I know what I'm buying, and do my best to keep them looking as good as the day they left the factory Much easier these days since I no longer gig. Any wear, dings, scratches, etc., will be from my use.

dig what you dig; buy what you like; it's your money

Agree 100%.

If you want aged, buy vintage. I understand that a 50s LP will require a 3rd mortgage but that's the way it is. Buy an R- whatever and gig/play the snot out of it. Bang it around the garage. Age it yourself. I remember when my main USA Hamer, after years of gigging I finally took some polish and cleaned/buffed her up. Got all that smoke and nastiness off that guitar that had been there for years. The checking that appeared was really cool. Plus, I knew exactly where every ding/chunk that happened and the story behind it.
Unfortunately/fortunately I discovered Rig Talk and I got hooked on Charvels and I sold that damn guitar. Wish I'd have kept it but back then, any piece of gear I bought meant I had to sell something else.
Oh well.

 

[DrewJD82]

So are you complaining about the aesthetics, or the QC of the guitar? I figure I'll put my own aging / aesthetic touches on it as I play it / gig it. The aging process gives you a head start but it's IMO unrealistic to think (with the cost of labor) that you could buy a "real fake" aging at a price normal people could afford.

My thing with Murphy Lab Gibsons is it's been the only way I've found that you can have a high chance of getting a new Gibson with consistently good QC. I'm making an assumption that the best guitars are pulled off the line for this treatment based on what I've seen. As someone who lives in a rural place I have to buy to try, and if it wasn't for Murphys I simply don't have the time or the money to bring in enough Gibsons to find a good one.

"Should" is a funny word. Price-point wise I've come to accept the fact that the general quality-of-lutheirness of a $6500 Gibson is about on par with a $2500 E-II. That's as good as they can do. (To be fair I've never played a $10K Gibby..) That said, there is no universe that a Gibson could come close to the quality of craftsmanship of an Original Series ESP.

I bought my '68 RI Murphy Custom and R8 RI Murphy after also accepting that I would never find an ESP that sounded like a real, good LP. If I want that sound have to accept them for what they are.

Hell, E-II and Edwards are made by the same people in the same shop. My Edwards LP Custom was $1200 new, shipped to my door in Florida from Japan.

 

[DrewJD82]

never had any interest in "stolen valor" guitars, with all the fake and artificial use cosmetics.

I prefer pristine, new, in-the-factory-sealed-box, virgin guitars. I know what I'm buying, and do my best to keep them looking as good as the day they left the factory Much easier these days since I no longer gig. Any wear, dings, scratches, etc., will be from my use.

dig what you dig; buy what you like; it's your money

Ugh.....

Love hearing the stolen valor thing, as if it's remotely comparable to anything related the armed services or more to the point, anything being done with the actual guitar, like the notes played with it.

At this point I can only believe the anti-relic crowd has convinced themselves that a guitarist playing a relic is going to get more 'cred' or attention from ....I dunno who; other guitar players that can tell it's a relic, or the non-musician crowd that sees a beat up guitar and thinks it's beat up and absolutely nothing more?

I've asked several non-musician friends now; if you walk into a bar and a band is playing and the guitarist's guitar is beat to shit, what do you think about the guitar player?

"He doesn't take care of his stuff"

"He can't afford a new one"

I can post all the clips in the world of me playing one of my relics and ask the most staunch anti-relic dude "What am I faking?", but all ya get is silence in response because it's merely another mechanism for people to say "I don't like what you like, therefore I am better", while completely ignoring the point of the guitar- to make music.

 

[DrewJD82]

Plus, I knew exactly where every ding/chunk that happened and the story behind it.

This part I don't understand; my JEM is beat to shit and back from gigging it for 25 years, I can tell you where exactly 1 dent came from, when a roommate dropped something on it. Every other dent/scratch is a mystery, they happened while I was playing a show or paying attention to something else and being careless with the guitar.

My lived experience calls this sentiment into question and I'd assume if you asked the majority of gigging guitarists, outside of the first dent in a guitar, the rest of them are a mystery. The idea that these dents and scratches are more special is.....not something I can comprehend.

Who gives a flying fuck how scratches got on one's guitar if they don't give a shit about the notes coming out of it?

I think that's the thing that gets me all the more about the anti-relic crowd, 98% of them don't put out any music of their own.....what credibility are they worried is being stolen from them?

"I don't write or record shit, but I know damn well that on October 4th, 1986 I was jackin' off and when I threw my cumsock across the room it hit the headstock of my new Jackson and the thing fuckin' fell over and that's where that dent came from"

 

[rsm]

Ugh.....

Love hearing the stolen valor thing, as if it's remotely comparable to anything related the armed services or more to the point, anything being done with the actual guitar, like the notes played with it.

At this point I can only believe the anti-relic crowd has convinced themselves that a guitarist playing a relic is going to get more 'cred' or attention from ....I dunno who; other guitar players that can tell it's a relic, or the non-musician crowd that sees a beat up guitar and thinks it's beat up and absolutely nothing more?

I've asked several non-musician friends now; if you walk into a bar and a band is playing and the guitarist's guitar is beat to shit, what do you think about the guitar player?

"He doesn't take care of his stuff"

"He can't afford a new one"

I can post all the clips in the world of me playing one of my relics and ask the most staunch anti-relic dude "What am I faking?", but all ya get is silence in response because it's merely another mechanism for people to say "I don't like what you like, therefore I am better", while completely ignoring the point of the guitar- to make music.

no matter how well you play, you're guitar is fake, artificially aged and damaged.

"Stolen valor" is the act of falsely claiming military service, rank, or unearned medals for personal gain.

A relic guitar is a new instrument that is intentionally distressed and aged to look like a heavily used, vintage model. This artificial aging can include lacquer checking, scratched finishes, tarnished hardware, and worn-down necks.

Fake is fake. Nothing to do with playing skills or lack thereof.

Close enough, by definition.

Enjoy!

 

[tallcoolone]

Ugh.....

Love hearing the stolen valor thing, as if it's remotely comparable to anything related the armed services or more to the point, anything being done with the actual guitar, like the notes played with it.

At this point I can only believe the anti-relic crowd has convinced themselves that a guitarist playing a relic is going to get more 'cred' or attention from ....I dunno who; other guitar players that can tell it's a relic, or the non-musician crowd that sees a beat up guitar and thinks it's beat up and absolutely nothing more?

I've asked several non-musician friends now; if you walk into a bar and a band is playing and the guitarist's guitar is beat to shit, what do you think about the guitar player?

"He doesn't take care of his stuff"

"He can't afford a new one"

I can post all the clips in the world of me playing one of my relics and ask the most staunch anti-relic dude "What am I faking?", but all ya get is silence in response because it's merely another mechanism for people to say "I don't like what you like, therefore I am better", while completely ignoring the point of the guitar- to make music.

Agreed—hating on relics is like arguing against someone’s favorite color.

 

[DISTORT6]

I don't care what people spend their own money on.

 

[thegame]

I once took a screwdriver and ‘relic’d’ the owner’s initials across the sunburst part of his new Murphy Lab LP. I can’t even begin to express how incensed I was at not getting paid for my efforts.

 

[rsm]

Agreed—hating on relics is like arguing against someone’s favorite color.

A color choice is different than intentionally paying someone to age and damage a new guitar. Either case, it's your money, buy what you want.

I mean people are still buying telecasters, in 2026. Even TV yellow,

I don't care what people spend their own money on.

Which I said in my first comment, your money, buy what you want.

...before someone decided to get triggered when I called it stolen valor for guitars.

Just call it like I see it. the distress and aging on relics wasn't earned by use; it's fake or at least contrived. IMO

 

[DanTravis62]

Agree 100%.

If you want aged, buy vintage. I understand that a 50s LP will require a 3rd mortgage but that's the way it is. Buy an R- whatever and gig/play the snot out of it. Bang it around the garage. Age it yourself. I remember when my main USA Hamer, after years of gigging I finally took some polish and cleaned/buffed her up. Got all that smoke and nastiness off that guitar that had been there for years. The checking that appeared was really cool. Plus, I knew exactly where every ding/chunk that happened and the story behind it.
Unfortunately/fortunately I discovered Rig Talk and I got hooked on Charvels and I sold that damn guitar. Wish I'd have kept it but back then, any piece of gear I bought meant I had to sell something else.
Oh well.

Man I hate hearing stories like this, golden era Hamers (as well as Deans and BCRs) keeping shooting up into the "Astronomical" price range these days, wish you would have kept it too

 

[rsm]

Hamer is dying a slow death at JAM industries; looks like BC Rich and Dean are not far behind. I think Schecter is dying too.

SMH.

 

[tallcoolone]

...before someone decided to get triggered when I called it stolen valor for guitars.

Just call it like I see it. the distress and aging on relics wasn't earned by use; it's fake or at least contrived. IMO

Sorry man, that’s the gayest take I’ve heard in a while. “Earning” distress and aging? No less ridiculous than “earning” a different color or a faded pair of jeans. And comparing it to people impersonating Veterans is just jumping the shark