Murphy Labs finish defects

Philly_Q

They have the aged hardware as well, and rusty screws - there's something about the sight of rusty screws against that dark cherry colour which puts me right off. 

Here's another (which is a Murphy Lab one) at GV.  And an LP with that same dark colour on the back (plus flaky finish):

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/gibson-custom-shop-murphy-lab-1964-sg-standard-reissue-w-maestro-vibrola-cherry-red-ultra-light-aged

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/gibson-custom-shop-murphy-lab-1959-les-paul-standard-reissue-factory-burst-ultra-light-aged

designerseye88

Personally I’d just buy a cheap used reissue and send it to Historic Makeovers. 

JezWynd

Personally I’d buy a Fender.

PC1971

Philly_Q said:

They have the aged hardware as well, and rusty screws - there's something about the sight of rusty screws against that dark cherry colour which puts me right off. 

Here's another (which is a Murphy Lab one) at GV.  And an LP with that same dark colour on the back (plus flaky finish):

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/gibson-custom-shop-murphy-lab-1964-sg-standard-reissue-w-maestro-vibrola-cherry-red-ultra-light-aged

Well you gave that very guitar a 'Wow' back in May! Or maybe it was the cake? Either way, I can confirm they were/are both pretty Wow. I've had a lot of CS Gibsons and this is without question one of the best. pc ;-)    @Philly_Q ;

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/206848/ngcd-let-there-be-cake/p1

StratNut

Reviews of Murphy Labs guitars in Guitarist were too coy in my opinion.  They pointed out issues on a £10k guitar and still gave it 8 or 9 points.  If I paid £10k for an almost production guitar I would want it to be 100% perfect, no quibbles.  Gibson are leaving themselves open to being accused of taking the p*ss. 

GoldenEraGuitars

JezWynd said:

Personally I’d buy a Fender.

A Mexican apprentice Masterbuilt classic lacquer 50s spec player series? 

* I know, it’s not even a thing. But fender spread as much bullshit as Gibson so these days

Philly_Q

PC1971 said:

Philly_Q said:

They have the aged hardware as well, and rusty screws - there's something about the sight of rusty screws against that dark cherry colour which puts me right off. 

Here's another (which is a Murphy Lab one) at GV.  And an LP with that same dark colour on the back (plus flaky finish):

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/gibson-custom-shop-murphy-lab-1964-sg-standard-reissue-w-maestro-vibrola-cherry-red-ultra-light-aged

Well you gave that very guitar a 'Wow' back in May! Or maybe it was the cake? Either way, I can confirm they were/are both pretty Wow. I've had a lot of CS Gibsons and this is without question one of the best. pc ;-)    @Philly_Q ;;

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/206848/ngcd-let-there-be-cake/p1

It was the cake....

No, you've got me there!  What can I say, I'm fickle.... I do still like the spec of the '64 SG models, they would really appeal to me if only (as I probably also said in your thread) I could get one without a Maestro or a Sideways Vibrola. 

And I also must say that (honestly) my aversion to that dark cherry finish has only recently developed.  I've been looking at SGs on the Wildwood site for years and it's only in the last couple of months that I've started to notice the prevalence of that particular colour and taken a dislike to it.

Sorry @PC1971, no slight intended on your guitar!  It's not the guitar, it's just the colour.  And I do now have reservations about the Murphy finishes, in light of the recent reports.

PC1971

Ha ha! No problem at all! ;-) I totally get the colour thing. It's actually quite a bit lighter than those GV images in the flesh. I'd love an original '64 in Std Cherry but a little windfall on the lotto may be required for that to happen!  ;-) @Philly_Q ;

HandwrittenHero

To be fair the cake and guitar did look fantastic and top marks to your missus there!

I think it brings me onto part of my own annoyance. Whilst some have bristled at the use of ‘fans’ in the more recent foot in mouth comment, I don’t think it’s entirely off base. The way many of us justify a really expensive guitar is tied to something a lot of the time, be it Paul’s 50th or my R9 which was funded by part of inheritance from Grandparents (the rest I wasted on tragic things like mortgage and home improvements, live fast and die young kids).

I don’t have the words for how I’d feel if the guitar I picked out suddenly started peeling, went to Gibson under warranty and what I got back was just what Gibson grabbed and chucked in the post, not my guitar refinished. Along with 2 heaping spoonfuls of bullshit about acclimatising.

HandwrittenHero

Also, it’s not gonna make @Philly_Q feel any better…but I think my 64RI is actually the most head over heels I’ve been with a guitar immediately. Don’t tell any of my others!

Philly_Q

HandwrittenHero said:

I don’t have the words for how I’d feel if the guitar I picked out suddenly started peeling, went to Gibson under warranty and what I got back was just what Gibson grabbed and chucked in the post, not my guitar refinished. Along with 2 heaping spoonfuls of bullshit about acclimatising.

I'd completely missed the part about them sending replacement guitars under warranty!  Wow.  That's OK if you know in advance it's what they're going to do, but just to spring it on customers like that... it's not like a book or a Blu-ray where you can provide an identical replacement. 

I probably haven't mentioned it before (...cough...) but I'm fussy about things like weight... if I'd spent ages finding a lightweight Les Paul and they sent me a replacement boat anchor, I'd be furious.

HandwrittenHero said:

WezV said:

Apparently Gibson have just replaced some of the ones sent back for repair
https://www.mylespaul.com/threads/murphy-lab-finish-repair-not.458102/#post-9965504

Aware this is what warranty says, but would’ve thought they’d have given a bit more consideration to the idea of picking out “the one”. I mean, it looks like they didn’t even ask if there’s anything the customer, sorry fan, would prefer out of the replacement ie as close to looking like the old one or was there some compromise you made based on availability. Small things that look like you give a toss.

Edit:  Holy shit, I just skipped to the last page of that MyLesPaul thread - updated today - and the finish on the replacement they sent him is now flaking.  That's just unforgiveable.  No excuses.

Philly_Q

HandwrittenHero said:

Also, it’s not gonna make @Philly_Q feel any better…but I think my 64RI is actually the most head over heels I’ve been with a guitar immediately. Don’t tell any of my others!

Chiz!     I don't know if it's just the pictures, but I like that colour much better - and it hasn't got (what I imagine to be) the dark grain filler either.  To be honest, my dream SG would be a hardtail in TV Yellow - I don't really like that colour on LP Juniors and Specials, but I think it looks fantastic on SGs.

ICBM

Philly_Q said:

Edit:  Holy shit, I just skipped to the last page of that MyLesPaul thread - updated today - and the finish on the replacement they sent him is now flaking.  That's just unforgiveable.  No excuses.

And they will not give a refund. I'm fairly sure that wouldn't be legal in the UK - a company gets one chance at a repair and if that fails then have to offer a refund option.

And apparently they're *scrapping* the defective guitars, instead of refinishing them properly!! Allegedly because the pore filler goes too deep into the grain to be removed. (Despite looking like it's that it's sitting on the surface which is the problem, in the photos.)

Unbelievable. Can any of the finish experts here say whether this is a legitimate issue, or whether Gibson just can't do it right and so are destroying yet more wood unnecessarily?

terada

Philly_Q said:

I probably haven't mentioned it before (...cough...) but I'm fussy about things like weight... if I'd spent ages finding a lightweight Les Paul and they sent me a replacement boat anchor, I'd be furious.

@Philly_Q ;To make matters worse that also happened to the guy in that thread (replaced an 8lb 6 with an 8lb 12).

Gibson have completely broken rule 1 with this. The way they have dealt with people on this issue is completely not in line with what you'd expect from a premium brand.

GoldenEraGuitars

ICBM said:

Philly_Q said:

Edit:  Holy shit, I just skipped to the last page of that MyLesPaul thread - updated today - and the finish on the replacement they sent him is now flaking.  That's just unforgiveable.  No excuses.

And they will not give a refund. I'm fairly sure that wouldn't be legal in the UK - a company gets one chance at a repair and if that fails then have to offer a refund option.

And apparently they're *scrapping* the defective guitars, instead of refinishing them properly!! Allegedly because the pore filler goes too deep into the grain to be removed. (Despite looking like it's that it's sitting on the surface which is the problem, in the photos.)

Unbelievable. Can any of the finish experts here say whether this is a legitimate issue, or whether Gibson just can't do it right and so are destroying yet more wood unnecessarily?

In order to get the finish brittle and crispy enough to check like that they have, I’m guessing, used some sort of filler that isn’t compatible with their non plasticised sealer. The lack of plasticiser in their lacquers means it won’t move with the wood at all. I could be completely wrong of course. But they really need to sort it out.

This is from that thread regarding the flaking replacement..

” So i just spoke to Gibson Customer Service and they felt they may have sent an older guitar with the defective finish by mistake. He was very nice and is setting up another return.

He did confirm there is no way they can provide a refund and also that the guitars being returned are scrapped. They cannot be repaired as the defective pore filler goes too deep into the wood.

OK yet another NGD coming. Let's see how this next top looks.....”

3rd time lucky hopefully. And if not then Gibson just spun that poor guy a load of shit.. again.

TrentGuitars

It really has gone completely bananas. Especially as this guy must be in the top 5% of spenders with them in recent times having bought 14 Murphy Labs.

It's tricky to say if they could be refinished, getting the grain filler out is nearly impossible unless you could dissolve it with some kind of solvent but I'm unsure if that can be done without a lot of labour.

The only thing I could think to do was use some kind of adhesion basecoat over the grain filler but I figure there is no way they ever want this to happen again so they just want to burn them and forget about it.

WezV

The material cost is going to be a lot less than the labour cost  of stripping these back for a factory that isnt really set up to do refinishes.    The fact they are not refinishing these just shows the Murphy lab is as much a factory as the rest of gibson

GoldenEraGuitars

WezV said:

The material cost is going to be a lot less than the labour cost  of stripping these back for a factory that isnt really set up to do refinishes.    The fact they are not refinishing these just shows the Murphy lab is as much a factory as the rest of gibson

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, they’re a mass manufacturer. They’re not about details, they’re only about money. The fact that they can’t even be humbled when a problem arises says a lot.

UnclePsychosis

Gibson seem to have turned into Rolex - a company whose brand has become so strong that they can take the piss out of their customers and they'll keep coming back for more.

I always wanted a "proper" Gibson but I just don't know if I could bring myself to give them my money. 

Alterlifeson

UnclePsychosis said:

Gibson seem to have turned into Rolex - a company whose brand has become so strong that they can take the piss out of their customers and they'll keep coming back for more.

I always wanted a "proper" Gibson but I just don't know if I could bring myself to give them my money. 

At least I haven't had to ask my girlfriend to sleep with an authorised Gibson dealer so I can get my name down for the latest and greatest LP... yet