Tom Murphy | How to age your guitar like Tom Murphy does close up in his own words | Tony Mckenzie
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- Tom Murphy himself telling you about guitar ageing and how he invented it. Then Tom moves on to showing you what he used - one incredible story and telling you exactly which tools did what on which guitar. Tom still makes a living today doing this and still ages Gibson Les Paul's and I can guess many others too.
Tom is surrounded by a myriad of amazing guitars some of which he worked on including the Gary Moore Les Paul.
If you're in to working out to make an aged guitar then this video is a must! Filmed In Dallas recently and worth watching.
If you like this visit my CZcams channel or visit www.tonymckenzi...
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#tommurphy #gibson #ageing #guitar
Please note that by watching 5 minutes of this video might not help. Tom goes through how he ended up doing this stuff and also his career too. I'm not the content and Tom is! If he said it then its on here and if he did not then its not! But he does also talk throughout the video about certain aspects of how he did stuff and particular techniques dropped in long before where he shows the tools he uses towards the end. four thumbs down? Hmmm very disrespectful of someone that took the time to create the video in the first place.
Ratio on this type of work (from the thumbs) is about three to one currently, so the position is still that some guys do like this stuff. It still remains an educational video though. Thanks for watching guys.
I know how they get the checking in the lacquer. You spray computer duster on the finish, and it shoots a film of frost on the finish, then you heat it with a hair dryer, and repeat till the checking starts. THe rest is sandpaper, and various other knick knacks that make small dents in the finish. The guy from stewmac takes pebbles from his driveway, and glues them to sticks to make the dings. Also, when wood is exposed they use various oils to make the wood look worn in. THe artistry come in when you can do all that and make it look totally natural.
Great post - and thanks for that - I'm sure many guys would want to know what they do re the checking too.
I like aged guitars. It’s a real skill to get it to look right. Just wish Murphy Lab guitars were more affordable.
Sadly I only recorded some of the chat he had... time was important at that particular point... but he was very interesting and all those Les Pauls behind him... we all might need to sell something to buy one! :) Thanks for watching.
From what i've heard the Historic Les Pauls are fairly accurate to the ones made in the 50s, the only difference is the modern Historics have a steel ABR-1 bridge instead of a nickel plated brass bridge which affects the tone. I watched a video here on YT where a guy had a Les Paul historic, he played it with the stock ABR-1, and then he played the same guitar with a Faber historically accurate plated brass bridge..The results were amazing. I wouldn't have believed something like that would have made a difference, but i heard it with my own ears.
Thanks for the info. Slightly different note... I bought a tremolo for a Strat and had a choice of different saddles. The difference between the saddle materials honestly was incredible. Video here and worth watching because I do demo the materials with playing on there. Heres the link: czcams.com/video/_kPTmpXd7Ps/video.html and if you get time watch the playing and different saddles and let me know what you think... thanks.
Thanks for some useful knowledge Tony. Some of us still appreciate it.
Exactly... whether we use it, we like it or not, there is no doubt that Tom Murphy does have something to contribute about what he does. How I look at it, he was (and still is) a successful business. It can all be too easy for some people not to understand that Tom is really a business man. There are lessons in that talk he made about so many things - all we have to do is see them. That's why I made the video. Thanks JH.
Tony you're a legend mate, keep the videos coming. Never stop!!
Ha more a Leg end I think :) Thanks for the kind words.
Sorry but the ambient noise drowned what he was trying to say. I gave up after 4 minutes, the effort of concentrating so much on trying to distinguish what he was saying, spoiled it.
I understand that Derek... it's hard to record - even when he had a microphone. That's a very busy show and unfortunately I only have this footage. But thanks for visiting - appreciated.
thanks tony. interesting stuff. and something that ordinary folk would not get to see. thank you for putting it out there awesome.
I never saw him describe this stuff like this before and those Gibsons all around him were truly incredible stuff... not all new and some very special. It was a sight for sure.
Really interesting watching, thanks for posting that Tony
It certainly was something different that anyone who wanted to make one of those 'fake' old guitars might find useful, so I filmed it for posterity. Thanks.
Hello Tony, Hope you are well i do enjoy your video's.
Yes good to see you... still making this stuff... hope you liked it... thanks.
Hi Tony. Thank you for this video. Although I’m not a great relic look fan I found it interesting to hear his story. I would however love to own the Gary Moore LP, my favourite guitarist, but it would be pretty meaningless as it’s not the original and that one is now locked away in a vault somewhere.
Once again Tony thanks and I look forward to your next video. 👍🏻
Yes Gary was one of my all time favourites too. The one he showed is a copy of course, and Kirk Hammett now owns the original! It was just an interesting thing to learn about Tom Murphy and I doubt he'll be hanging around daily talking as he did... I thought it was interesting - and for guys that might even want to make a 'relic' guitar. Not really for me, but it was a useful insight in any case. Thanks for watching also.
My Favorite Guitar Player. The great Gary Moore....nice Video!
Hey Tommy, yes and certainly mine too. Gary Moore was probably one of the best out of Ireland and as good as any rock guy out there. I searched for his 'grave' on CZcams and was shocked to see how it was - someone made a video of the visit to it. For someone at the top of his career and with the amount of money in his estate it made me realise that what happens when we pass on is probably not what we think will happen. Sad. But Murphy did a good job of that Gary Moore guitar - it looked sop real.
tonymckenziecom Yea I was shocked by his grave. Compared to Phil Lynette grave it’s a mere thumbnail. He certainly deserves better. But... his fans go there all the time. And the cemetery looks ancient. Perhaps there’s no room there and it’s probably not even letting most people there?
@@Thomasdgolden Good points really but still a little off putting I thought about Gary's final resting place. Still, I guess when we're gone over time everyone else fades too.
tonymckenziecom Well man, I was bummed too. I really was. The people here have no clue about him but us select few.
His family has his guitars and his publishing. If that was my Dad, there would be something far, far better to at least close to Lynott.
Sad.
Joe Bonamassa is very close in the same style.
(Yet Kirk Hammett bought his number 2). (Ugh).
@@Thomasdgolden Exactly... of course things often turn out differently later than what someone might plan in life... I have seen that on many occasions at 66 now and it never surprises me really any more. At one stage even in my own family I saw things happen by others that were not in the will's etc. and that's how people are sadly sometimes when the greenbacks are concerned. I was left not a huge amount of money... spent 40% on crap, then started a company - walked out of my job in to my living room in 1981. Relatives had nothing left after 3 months... on the other hand I built a whole company on that tiny amount of money. Every day I go to work I can see the help that my parents left, turned in to a very successful business. And I guess that's the way it should be.
I like Jo Bonamassa, actually earlier stuff than later stuff, but I too was surprised about KH buying that guitar... oh well.
Is there a complete version of this talk on CZcams?
I can't tell you. I arrived slightly late to the chat. However, while I did see other cameras there, I don't believe that any were there from start to finish... but of course I could be wrong.
I was wondering if he was the guy that started this.!And now we know.He does some nice work,but there is a price he's got in mind.I 'll stick with my 56 yr.old Custom LP,that I traded for a Fender Mustang64 and 300 bananas.What a deal huh!.Of course that was in 84.Cheers Tony.Now get outta here pow!,👍🎸
Ha nothing like the real deal I guess - mine are not that old as I swapped etc. (what most do) thinking I was 'improving' something … I was not. There is a skill in it but it was interesting to hear his story I thought. Yes that WAS a deal for sure... now I'm outta here :)
@@tonymckenzieofficial Yes sir,it sounded great from the gitgo,I've got newer ones also . Cheers from Calif.😎🎸
@@Wildman9 Yes good to hear you Bob and I trust you're doing OK there in Cali. You lucky devil ;-) its a wonderful place... been a few times.
Hey Ken... if you post again without the profanity... that would be the best way... and I urge you to do that... Thanks... Tony.
This is a good video but the intro is about 60 seconds too long.
I change the intros from time to time and its a good point, but I have what I have... and actually after checking this intro was ended a while back. Thanks and stay safe.
This is the exact definition of posing. Buying a beautiful guitar and, rather than weathering it by putting in thousands of hours on it, paying someone to bash it around for you so you can pretend you put thousands of hours in on it. The guy's a great con-artist though. Convincing people they should pay him to make their guitars look worse? Takes quite a bit of skill to pull that off.
Well, I personally don't have a single guitar like that I like nice condition guitars for sure and I don't see myself paying for one of those. And I certainly take your points - more my way of thinking. BUT - he does have a skill there's no doubting that if you ever see the Gary Moore guitar he completed... some people do want that whether for collections or 'posing' as you say. How I would tend to look at it stepping back a little, is that if people are prepared to pay for that like he does, then he's just filling a 'need' and he's not really the culprit - the buyer would be. Actually if you look at one of those Murphy finished guitars the checking is actually made line by line with a razor blade... it will take a long time to do and the finished thing really is hard to tell from the real deal. I don't fall either way really on the guitars completed like this but as I said I would personally not buy one. It was an interesting thing though to see Tom explain how he ended up there. Thanks for watching.
Except if you think shiny new Guitar Center guitars look UGLY, as I do. They look like cheap plastic. But old guitars, like old blue jeans, look SO much better without shiny paint, with life wear and dings in them. I've done it to many guitars, not to pose, but so that they don't look so ugly.
All those stories about not be able to spot the difference between a real 50's Les Paul and an aged Murphy are there to fool unexperienced buyers and feed the hype. Experts spot the difference from a mile away, the razor blade checking , the still in abundance use of plastizers in the so called nitro laquer , the wrong molded PAF covers ,hell they still can not correctly reproduce the carved maple tops . The only reason Gibson uses Murphy is his shitty way of aging is done way more faster and cheaper then the more correct way then let's say Kim LaFleur..
I agree an expert always will! But step back a little. Experts are NOT the buyers of his work. Now, I'm not particularly for 'aging' of any type so don't assume I support it - I don't. The real deal is of course the right answer... but how many guys could afford a 59 Les Paul. I doubt many. And that's why Tom Murphy is even heard of I guess. Stay safe out there.
Truly interesting - but I am definitely not a fan of the idea of new/old guitars - like a baby born with an aged and scarred body.
Me neither I hate scratches even... Some like them by how many get sold but to me over priced for a battered guitar. Having said that, he does have a skill (close up those Gibsons were incredible how he did it) but not really for me. I thought about guys that might want to make one though and Tom did give some pretty interesting hints about that. Thanks.
@@chris9650 But still interesting chat he had... Thanks Chris.
Somebody please please stop giving Tom razor blades! Especially the Edward Scissor hands treatment he gives some of the headstocks. I like aging as it encourages you to play and less time stressing over a scratch but enough with the blades. Hot/cold cracking looks looks natural to me.
That's actually a good point re the dents and scratches we all worry about on a 'perfect' guitar... I do that myself too! Tom did come up with some great ideas though, I don't buy them myself, but the way he does that stuff is incredible. Thanks for watching.
Except that could be a bad idea for the fretboard/neck as well as the headstock. Especially with the inlaid pearls and holly overlay.
I won't make a bad comment...or a thumbs down...but I just do not understand the concept of faking anything.
I do 'get' the concept myself, but I don't own any? and never have done. I prefer a nice guitar rather than a 'faked' guitar. But if someone wanted to make one... then this video is a good intro to what he does hence making it for on here. Throughout that show I recorded literally two days of video - most still yet to come on the channel from stuff like this, through luthiers, accessory guys, artists, dealers, Gibson guys literally carving a body with an incredible patterning and much more. For me, this video (like most from the show where anything like what I described above) is actually educational and no one 'better' equipped to talk about that subject than Tom Murphy. I still personally would not buy one. ;-)
@@tonymckenzieofficial I watch most of what you post, even if I'm not interested in the subject. I cannot wait to see some of the other stuff...but a relic'd guitar is something I'll never respect...or those that make or sell them. Owning them is a personal choice I guess...but nobody wants to ask me what I think of that...LOL!
@@TheDogPa Ha... no... I get it... and as you will know and I surmised I don't own a single one ;-)