Gibson has expanded its Murphy Lab lineup with its first ever acoustic guitars to be given the Heavy Aged treatment, making these 21st-century builds look like yesteryear’s instruments that have seen plenty of action.
Murphy Lab acoustics were a long time coming. When they launched in September 2023, two years after the first Murphy Lab electric guitars, we had five in Light Aged treatment from Tom Murphy’s team. They looked like vintage instruments, well looked after, placed in their guitar case right after use. You know the drill; one owner, little old lady, plays her 1942 Banner J-45 at church at the weekend.
The Heavy Aged acoustics bear the scars of a much harder life. They look like they’ve had night after night of action. Pre-War, pre-Beatlemania, pick your poison.
There are five period-classics to choose from, with the new range comprising the 1936 Advanced Jumbo Heavy Aged in Vintage Sunburst, the 1939 SJ-100 Heavy Aged in Faded Vintage Sunburst, the 1942 Banner J-45 Heavy Aged in Vintage Sunburst, the 1960 Hummingbird Heavy Aged in Washed Cherry Sunburst, with a 1963 Country Western Heavy Aged in Smoked Natural.
Robi Johns, senior product development manager at Gibson Acoustic Guitars says the brand has “fully mastered” the artificial ageing process for its guitars, “recreating the vintage sound, guitar feel, and appearance” of a decades-old instrument with forensic detail.
Just look at that J-45, and the distress to the finish around the soundhole, as though it has been strummed to within an inch of its life. The lacquer wear on the neck suggest this theoretical player has spent most of their time fretting cowboy chords around the third fret.
The Murphy Lab Heavy Aged finish treatment, paired with heavily aged nickel hardware, simulates decades of heavy play wear, giving it the unique character, vibe, and feel of an original example from the Gibson Golden Era
“The Murphy Lab Heavy Aged finish treatment, paired with heavily aged nickel hardware, simulates decades of heavy play wear, giving it the unique character, vibe, and feel of an original example from the Gibson Golden Era,” says Gibson. “Expect a heavy weather-checked finish, heavy belt buckle wear, light arm wear, and light neckwear.”
But it’s important to note that these are not vintage instruments. The finishes may be aged but the build is contemporary. The idea is that you don’t have the same issues as you might have with a vintage model, where time can play havoc with the neck, or where original parts have been swapped out over time.
The J-45 round-shouldered dread is Gibson’s workhorse but at $7,499 this example is a thoroughbred. Your money buys you those aged details, a thermally aged Sitka spruce top, mahogany on the back and side, a Historic profile mahogany neck that joins the body with a compound dovetail joint that’s set with hot hide glue.
This also offers the opportunity for players to pick up a lesser-spotted model, like the Advanced Jumbo, which pairs a thermally aged red spruce top with rosewood on the back and sides. Gibson didn’t make many of them back in the day.
This was an upscale build for the Great Depression. It’s got MOP diamonds and arrows inlay on its rosewood fingerboard, the firestripe pickguard, the Waverley tuners, and the open slot rectangular bridge. It’s priced $7,999.
The SJ-100 is another luxury item from difficult economic times. Another rarity. They only made them between 1939 and ’42. It has a thermally aged red spruce top, mahogany on the back and sides. The dot inlays and firestripe pickguard and the ebony moustache bridge – no MOP inlays here – give it more of a blue collar look than its Super Jumbo siblings. It is priced $8,999.
This release would not be complete without a Hummingbird, the square-shouldered songbird arguably Gibson’s most-loved acoustic. It is finished in a Washed Cherry Sunburst that makes it look like the sun has done much of the ageing work.
This one hues close to the classic recipe (it is a 1960 repro after all) with the Hummingbird pickguard casted as opposed to painted, thermally aged Sitka spruce on top, mahogany on the back and sides, MOP parallelogram inlays… It’ll set you back $7,699.
Finally, we have the Country Western, which was introduced as a Southern Jumbo variant but arrives very much looking like a Hummingbird with its work clothes on. It has the Hummingbird’s square-shouldered shape, the parallelogram inlays, and the aged tortoise pickguard is the same shape – albeit without the graphics – and the top is thermally aged Sitka spruce, mahogany on the back and sides, with a rosewood marquetry strip down the back.
Of course it has buckle rash. You couldn’t imagine a Country Western from 1963 without showing the wear from some dinner-plate sized slab of tin that's been holding someone’s 501s up. It’s priced $7,499.
All of these are available now, shipping in period-correct hardshell guitar cases, inside which you will find a certificate of authenticity. You can check out more specs and details at Gibson.
