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lets talk about the nitro on the Murphy labs .......

Dr. Green

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Dec 12, 2018
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so today I had an opportunity to check out some Murphy labs vs regular Historic Les Pauls

a few observations :

1) the Murphys Labs did indeed look " vintage " in comparison to many relics I have seen which looked so fake to my semi trained eyes who has seen several vintage bursts first hand - but not played one

2) the back colors were obviously different with the Murphs having almost a burnt chocolate coloration in comparison to a deep classic red of a normal historic or the wonky milk chocolate of a historic goldtop

its obvious that the wonky plasticizer formula has been changed

the crazing looked right and close to vintage Gibson I have seen

3) the Maple used was not impressive in the sense that there were no begal tiger dramatic tops

4) the Maple did look right for a les paul and being less "over the top" lent itself to the vintage vibe .... short of a "less is more" type thing

5) the hardware was aged but I will reserve comment as I am not the ultimate guru on that particular detail - it did seem right in the sense that it was subtle and not ridiculously over the top such as home attempts using nitric acid , salt and coffee grounds which look silly


6) now we get to the "meat and potatoes " - the NITRO was a HUGE step up from the sticky, gummy , tacky soft mess of years past - it was rock hard on all surfaces with the neck having a wonderful glass feel. the nitro felt thinner - there was none of the wonky VOS type surface finish - THE NITRO WAS SUNK INTO THE WOOD - in other words you could feel the wood grain had absorbed nitro into the pores

any comments or criticisms ?????????
 
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Faded_LP

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May 23, 2021
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Which versions did you check out? Light or heavy aged? Do you see the finish chipping off easily?
 

Dr. Green

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Which versions did you check out? Light or heavy aged? Do you see the finish chipping off easily?

it was the lighter aged version which was the epitome of restrained elegance

I inspected the nitro very closely and would not expect any issues with chipping

oh one thing I left out - the fingerboard was real nice dark uniform color ..... not the yellow/brown color that some of the newer R's have which to my eyes look like CRAP

the neck was particularly different as you can feel ribbons of wood grain which run parallel to the neck lengthwise

the color of the neck and back are perfectly matched
 

Dr. Green

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Dec 12, 2018
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I looked on line for a photo that was true to the actual color of the Murphys

this image is real close

there is a tactile connection to the longitudinal grain because the finish is thinner and harder

IMG_9537_c1a69ad3-c307-4057-b049-2eaefb62c806_1024x1024.jpg
 

C-4

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Jan 5, 2005
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I'm liking what I am reading here about the Murphy Lab guitars.
I have one on order but the delivery won't be for about 9 more months.
 

Faded_LP

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May 23, 2021
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I'm liking what I am reading here about the Murphy Lab guitars.
I have one on order but the delivery won't be for about 9 more months.


Wow 9 months? I can’t decide between getting the golden poppy or green lemon. Which color finish did you pick and from where?
 
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C-4

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Wow 9 months? I can’t decide between getting the golden poppy or green lemon. Which color finish did you pick and from where?
I ordered a M2M '59 355 in ultra light ageing, as I'm not really into the finish, but I like the watermelon red color and the rolled fret board binding it will come with. I have nothing against relic'd finished guitars at all, but when I tried to order just the color and the rolled binding, Gibson told me they would not do those options. I've been waiting for it since March and they told me 10-12 month wait. I'm now hoping I only have about 9 months wait left.

I have a 60th Anny faded lemon LP Standard, which I really like, so I wanted another 355. I reduced the herd radically, so after getting the 355, I'll be down to 4 guitars.
 

El Gringo

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Apr 8, 2015
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Gibson Custom has issues with the nitro formula as that is why the formula keeps changing from year to year . Best bet is if you are lucky to get a new Gibson Custom that has had some time for the nitro to harden .
 
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