303-665-7733
Gibson Custom Shop
Serial Number: #A940471
This Murphy Lab '59 ES-355 is in fantastic shape! It shows faint signs of use in the finish, and the frets show faint signs of wear in the first position only. It has no cosmetic flaws to report, and it comes with its original hardshell case.
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 l... Read More...
Gibson Custom Shop
Nitrocellulose Lacquer
8.82 lbs.
.880 1st - .960 12th
'60s Cherry
This Murphy Lab '59 ES-355 is in fantastic shape! It shows faint signs of use in the finish, and the frets show faint signs of wear in the first position only. It has no cosmetic flaws to report, and it comes with its original hardshell case.
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 (fun fact: he brought Peter Frampton's iconic Les Paul Custom back from the dead after it had been resting in pieces in the debris of a crashed cargo plane for three decades!).
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.
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.
How do Tom and his team achieve such unparalleled vintage accuracy? Well, first off, Tom has discovered a brand-new formula for nitrocellulose lacquer to use on aged guitars that mimics the properties of 1950s and ‘60s finishes to a T. Thanks to this thinner finish, aged Murphy Lab guitars look like authentic vintage pieces. They don’t just look the part--they are the real McCoy!
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.
Gibson Custom Shop
2024 Murphy Lab 1959 ES-355 Reissue
'60s Cherry
Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Murphy Lab Light Aged
8.82 lbs.
3-Ply Maple/Poplar/Maple
Multi-Ply on Top, Back, Headstock and Pickguard; Single-Ply Rolled on Fingerboard
.880 1st - .960 12th
1-Piece Mahogany
Long Tenon Attached with Hide Glue
Authentic 1959 ES-335 C Profile
Ebony
12"
Custom Mother-of-Pearl Untapered Blocks
22 Authentic Medium-Jumbo
24.75"
Black with Gibson Logo and Split Diamond Inlay in Mother-of-Pearl
Nylon
1 11/16"
Solid Maple without Weight Relief
2 Alnico III Custombuckers, Unpotted
2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3-way Switch; Vintage-Style Taper Pots, Paper in Oil Capacitors
Bigsby
Gold
Gold Grover with Kidney Buttons
ABR-1 with Brass Saddles
Tortoiseshell
Gibson Custom Shop COA
Original Historic Brown/Pink Lifton Reissue 5-Latch Hardshell
An instrument from Wildwood isn't just an ordinary guitar. It's your guitar. Each and every instrument we sell includes a full, point by point setup, an exhaustive evaluation, and expert shipping procedures, with first class, industry leading standards from start to finish. Why? Because you deserve it.
This Murphy Lab '59 ES-355 is in fantastic shape! It shows faint signs of use in the finish, and the frets show faint signs of wear in the first position only. It has no cosmetic flaws to report, and it comes with its original hardshell case.
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 (fun fact: he brought Peter Frampton's iconic Les Paul Custom back from the dead after it had been resting in pieces in the debris of a crashed cargo plane for three decades!).
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.
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.
How do Tom and his team achieve such unparalleled vintage accuracy? Well, first off, Tom has discovered a brand-new formula for nitrocellulose lacquer to use on aged guitars that mimics the properties of 1950s and ‘60s finishes to a T. Thanks to this thinner finish, aged Murphy Lab guitars look like authentic vintage pieces. They don’t just look the part--they are the real McCoy!
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.
A940471
Gibson Custom Shop
2024 Murphy Lab 1959 ES-355 Reissue
'60s Cherry
Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Murphy Lab Light Aged
8.82 lbs.
3-Ply Maple/Poplar/Maple
Multi-Ply on Top, Back, Headstock and Pickguard; Single-Ply Rolled on Fingerboard
.880 1st - .960 12th
1-Piece Mahogany
Long Tenon Attached with Hide Glue
Authentic 1959 ES-335 C Profile
Ebony
12"
Custom Mother-of-Pearl Untapered Blocks
22 Authentic Medium-Jumbo
24.75"
Black with Gibson Logo and Split Diamond Inlay in Mother-of-Pearl
Nylon
1 11/16"
Solid Maple without Weight Relief
2 Alnico III Custombuckers, Unpotted
2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3-way Switch; Vintage-Style Taper Pots, Paper in Oil Capacitors
Bigsby
Gold
Gold Grover with Kidney Buttons
ABR-1 with Brass Saddles
Tortoiseshell
Gibson Custom Shop COA
Original Historic Brown/Pink Lifton Reissue 5-Latch Hardshell
