Gibson has forever engraved its name in the hall of fame of guitar, from jazz to rock, blues and metal. Founded in 1894 by Orville H. Gibson in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, the company has revolutionized the guitar world with technical and aesthetic innovations such as the humbuckers or the Flying V, Explorer and Firebird shapes. With ambassadors like Charlie Christian and Slash, or Tommi Iommi and, of course, Lester Polfus, Gibson crosses the ages and musical styles, and stands out as a must-have brand of guitar, both electric and acoustic.
Tom Murphy and his team create each Murphy Lab guitar in the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee using the most sophisticated tools and technology. Each instrument is handcrafted and finished with techniques that produce the most authentic aging impressions, and thus features the character, sound and feel that elevated the original models to iconic status.
Sergio Vallín is a Mexican rock guitarist and composer who has wowed the music world with his exotic phrasing and a musical approach that draws on a wide variety of styles. He goes from Caribbean rhythms to Greek harmonies with virtuosity, but always with a fierce rock energy at the core. And for that, one of his favorites in his arsenal is a Les Paul Goldtop with Bigsby, and a special pickup kit. Murphy Lab took the concept and recreated exactly the one Sergio loves and uses, in a 100 unit run. We have one, which is gorgeous.
It's a Gibson Les Paul, with a mahogany body and two-piece maple top, mahogany neck and Indian rosewood fingerboard. The woods were of course carefully chosen from the best pieces. They are dry, which has lightened them and made the guitar very resonant. The Murphy Lab finish is superb. It's Ultra Heavy Aged, which means that the lacquer has undergone a lot of checking, continuous abrasion in some places, and the metal and plastic parts have been well worn down by use. All this is simulated, and the guitar is brand new. It even smells good.
The neck profile is a '59 Rounded C, so it's super easy to wrap your hand around to play in any position. Since it's fairly light for a Les Paul, it's comfortable both sitting and standing. The pickups are mismatched, with a Gibson Custombucker PAF on the bridge for a big, fat sound, and a Custom Soapbar P-90 on the neck for bright, crisp tones. To expand the sonic possibilities, a Bigsby B7 vibrato is fitted to this guitar, making it the pinnacle of cool.
We've tried it in ultra-clean amps and very dirty amps. The Custom Soapbar P-90 is very aggressive, but it can be tamed with the volume and tone controls. It's really a pickup that kicks ass on amps. The PAF-style Gibson Custombucker is hummable: the cleans have a great harmonic richness, but you can feel roaring crunches lurking in the shadows. Just turn up the volume or gain a little, and they jump out. The Bigsby B7 vibrato is stable, and well adjusted, can be abused without restraint.
2-year warranty from our workshop.
