Junior vs Junior

Just how does this made-to-look-old new Murphy Lab Junior compare with a real 1957? We take a close look

- Dave Burrluck

Most of us have limited access to real vintage pieces, especially models that haven’t been molested. It can be the same for many guitar makers who may base their ’59-alike builds on far-from-vintage instruments, or even use books such as The Beauty Of The ’Burst (Yasuhiko Iwanade) as their guide. When it comes to ageing and relicing, it can be just as difficult: not every artisan working in this area has a real piece to study before they create their ageing. Evaluating authentic ageing, then, can be just as difficult.

The TV Yellow finish of our Murphy Aged ’57 Junior illustrates another typical problem: there’s not one definitive colour. Some are more sand-like, mustard or a brighter, deeper yellow – and even if there were a precise colour, is Gibson (or any ageing artisan) basing the colour on how it would have looked in 1957 or how it would look some 60-odd years on? A carefully cased guitar is going to look very different from one that’s been used and abused, even if they had consecutive serial numbers. And then, of course, whether it’s a finish, a pickup or a neck shape, there’s the “Oh, they were all different back in the day” caveat that can be a great get-out-of-jail-free card for any relicer, or indeed faker.

There’s plenty of truth in that caveat, of course, especially since Gibson, and other makers back in the 50s and 60s, didn’t use the precise computer-assisted machining tools that most use today. Necks, in particular, were hand-finished from more rudimentary machining, and the sort of variances that are out of spec today were commonplace back then.