The Marvels of the Murphy Lab
There are 7.764 billion people on this beautiful ball of water and dirt that we call home, and hardly any of them know Gibson guitars better than Tom Murphy. Tom is a legend in the world of guitars, and instruments bearing his name have acquired a deservedly sterling reputation due to their outstanding tone, jaw-dropping looks, and stunning vintage accuracy. But, he wasn't always a rockstar of lutherie. In fact, he worked as a professional touring musician for many years, and during that time he became intimately acquainted with vintage guitars: how they sound, how they feel, and how they look. After deciding to stop touring, Tom got a job as a finish specialist at Gibson and eventually became a project manager in charge of the first reissues of the 1959 Les Paul standard.
For a while, Tom also gained valuable experience working as a luthier to the stars, and his client list included luminaries like Jimmy Page, Dickey Betts, Joe Perry, Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, and Gary Rossington.
Now, things have come full circle, and our friends at Gibson have handed Tom the keys to a brand-new institution of sonic savagery within the Gibson Custom Shop: the Murphy Lab. Tom and his team of skilled craftspeople have one mission, and one mission only: to create the most ridiculously awesome recreations of vintage Gibson guitars that the world has ever seen. Now, they've expanded their efforts and stepped into the acoustic realm, and the resulting resulting guitars are surely the product of some sort of dark sorcery, because they have bewitched the Wildwood staff with their true-to-life, authentic aged finishes and superior sonic horsepower.
Step Into the Lab
Murphy Lab is aptly named because it is basically the musical equivalent of what happens when you give a mad scientist a laboratory fully stocked with warp drives and flux capacitors. With a plethora of resources behind them, Tom and his team have been able to create guitars that are essentially carbon copies of vintage Gibsons. They look, feel, and sound so close to the originals that it's downright scary.
Of course, the heart of the Murphy Lab is the aging process. Part of what made Tom a legend was his ability to replicate the natural wear and tear found on distressed vintage instruments by hand-aging brand-new instruments. With his practiced eye and skilled hands, Tom artfully mimicked the finish and feel of old guitars, and he has imparted his skills to the talented team at the Murphy Lab.
Though Tom may not age each and every guitar himself, he has done a bang-up job of teaching his team the Way of Murphy, and they do a marvelous job of replicating his masterful work. As a result, each guitar looks like it came out of a time machine and feels like your favorite worn-in pair of blue jeans.
Their acoustics offerings are meant to mimic the feel of one of a guitar that was someone's "number one" for many years. In other words, a treasured guitar that got played often but was well-taken-care-of, beloved but not babies. All in all, it feels pretty sweet--sitting down with one for the first time is kind of like saying hello to a best friend you've never met before.
Inspiration Station
This particular Murphy Lab model is named for a small-but-mighty bird, and ever since 1960, the Gibson Hummingbird’s addictive sound and stellar feel have compelled guitar players to send their fingers flying up and down the fretboard. Originally a high-end model second only to the J-200 in prestige and bling, the Hummingbird quickly became a popular favorite after six-string luminaries like Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Gram Parsons, and John McLaughlin adopted it as their acoustic of choice. Its warm, deep bass response has formed the backbone of countless rhythm tracks on hit records, while its rich, mellifluous voice has helped many a soloist stand out.
More importantly, though, the Hummingbird has a mysterious ability to draw additional creativity out of players and get them to try things they normally wouldn’t. For instance, did you know that the distorted guitar sound on Rolling Stones classics like “Street Fighting Man” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” actually comes from Keith Richards’s Hummingbird? He overdrove the preamp of a portable cassette player to get a saturated, dirty sound, but it’s still an acoustic guitar! The fact that Keith thought to do such a thing is a testament to the mysterious, inspiring qualities of the Hummingbird. Gibson’s modern iteration of the Hummingbird is brimming with inspirational sounds that will no doubt inspire you to reach new heights of creativity in your playing, too! Let’s take a closer look and see what makes the modern Hummingbird such a powerful creative tool.
There are three main factors that make the Gibson Hummingbird such a delightful dreadnought: classic tonewoods, a shorter 24.75” scale length, and a light build philosophy. First, let’s talk tonewood. Each Gibson Hummingbird is crafted from premium cuts of solid Sitka spruce and solid mahogany, and the undeniable chemistry between the two is on full display. The Sitka top projects with tremendous power and provides plenty of brightness, clarity, and presence. Meanwhile, the mahogany back and sides help everything sound round, warm, and balanced as they add extra depth and midrange muscle. Overall, this classic combo gives the Hummingbird a loud, clear, sonorous voice well suited to many genres.
But, what really makes the Hummingbird special is how responsive it is to player input. It has a wide dynamic range AND huge resonance, which is a rare and special combination. There are two reasons for its dynamism: its 24.75” scale length and its thinner, taller, lighter bracing. Acoustic guitars with shorter scales tend to have a warmer overall tonality, but they also boast a more percussive, articulate attack. The scale length works in harmonious tandem with the lighter bracing, which promotes fast response time and even frequency response at every volume level.
The end result is a guitar with tremendous versatility and range. Though the Hummingbird can certainly function admirably as a bluegrass cannon, it is subtle enough for a fingerpicker seeking a full-bodied sound. It can serve as a sonic backbone in a full band situation, but its meaty, punchy tone is sure to delight lead players. In solo singer-songwriter settings, it sounds big enough to fill the room while remaining dynamic enough to make intimate moments really pop. And, it’s a useful tool in the studio, where its clear, warm, midrange-forward voice will impress even the most hardened recording engineer.
Perhaps this is why the Hummingbird is so closely associated with guitarists that push boundaries of the instrument: it places no limitations on the player. It can do just about anything, which makes it a fertile breeding ground for creative new ideas. We are proud to showcase an instrument that unlocks new avenues of expression for our exceptional customers, and we know it will provide a lifetime of inspiration for any acoustic adventurer along their fretboard journey.
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