OLD MASTERS

When it comes to the art of guitar relicing, Gibson's Murphy Lab sets the pace. Senior product development manager, Robi Johns, told us why playing the new Heavy Aged Acoustic Collection is like stepping aboard a time machine

- Henry Yates

Perhaps the greatest compliment we can pay Gibson's Murphy Lab Heavy Aged Acoustic Collection is that we are terrified to play them. Faced with the neckwear, soundhole scuffs and belt-buckle scratches of this five-strong historic line-up, the abiding impression is of inspecting the personal effects of some bygone billionaire collector in the moments before they are swaddled in bubblewrap and shipped to the auction house or family vault.

To lift such an instrument from its stand, to run your fingers over its blemished fretboard, to hear its ancient voice sing of centuries past is a heart-in-mouth moment, loaded with both joy and a faint dread that a curator is about to burst in and admonish you for handling it without white cotton gloves. The twist, of course, is that these guitars are in fact younger than yesterday, representing the latest cache of releases from Gibson's Murphy Lab.

The life's work of Tom Murphy surely needs no introduction in these pages. Now in his mid-70s, the undisputed godfather of guitar relicing has elevated the practice to a branch of science (and changed the perception of pre-worn instruments from gimmick to art form). Since the luthier returned to Gibson at the turn of the decade to establish the Murphy Lab, we've seen some of his most mouthwatering treatments applied to a wishlist of electric instruments. But as senior product development manager, Robi Johns, tells us, Murphy's unprecedented swerve into aged acoustics since 2023 has added a whole new string to his bow.

The Murphy Lab has been creating stunning aged electrics for a few years, but now the acoustic side of the operation is in full swing. Are you pleased with the output so far?