Watch the video and hear Rick Gembar and Edwin Wilson talk about the killer 59.
Collector Update June 13, 2017:
Its very unfortunate but Mr. Rick Gembar, General Manager has left The
Gibson Custom Shop last week. With Edwin Wilsons departure from Gibson in March
2017 and now Rick Gembar’s departure these guitars are the last work
ever collaborated by Rick Gembar, Edwin Wilson, and Tom Murphy never to be done
again and are very special.
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Oooh la la its Burst-A-Liscious with big laser like flames and perfectly book matched top.
These Japanese special
run guitars that are coming out of Gibson right now look amazing like real old 59
Bursts.
Just when you didn’t think Gibson Custom and Tom Murphy couldn’t build
anything closer to an original 59 Burst they come up with this Tom Murphy
aged and painted 59 Les Paul True Historic reissue. Japan always gets the best guitars Gibson Custom builds
and this run was an exclusive Japan Special Run of only 12 guitars built for the
top dealers in Japan only and not offered to any other dealers. All 12 guitars
in this run were instantly sold out. No detail was spared for this run and it’s
the finest and closest authentic 59 Les Paul
reissue Gibson has
built to date and True Historic’s are not being built by Gibson in 2017. Notice inside the control cavity Tom Murphy put his
initials under the lacquer before he painted the guitar and also signed the back
plate cover and he even scribed his initials in the aging. With its beautiful
honey burst color, aging, and mineral streaks this one looks like a real
burst.
These guitars were ordered back in March of 2016 under the direction of
Edwin Wilson, Tom Murphy, Yasuhiko Iwanda, and Rick Gember, prior to the firing
of Edwin Wilson and Rick Gember in 2017 for the top Japanese dealers in Japan
only. This was the
first of the last three projects that Edwin
Wilson and Tom Murphy worked on prior to all the management changes at Gibson in
2017. The Japanese dealers gave Tom Murphy the freedom to paint this run any color of his
choosing and Murphy selected the guitar on page 117 in the Beauty Of The Burst book by Yasuhiko Iwande. Murphy nailed the fade tea burst/honey burst color.
Edwin Wilson pick out all the tone woods for
this run including the tops, backs, and finger boards for this run and also
mixed up the back color and painted the backs. This one has a beautiful figured back too. Tom Murphy with the help of
Yasuhiko Iwande worked together to get the Tea-Burst/Honey Burst color spot on
and they simply nailed it. This color has never been done on any Murphy Painted
True Historic ever before. If you notice you can see Edwin Wilson and Tom Murphy
both on the COA.
There were only 12 guitars in this run and they didn’t ship until mid to
late in 2016 and instantly sold out. These guitars have all
the old school 2016 True Historic specs including a double carved deep dish top,
finger board glued to the neck with hot hide glue, neck glued to the body with
hot hide glue, top glued to the back with hot hide glue, updated tubeless truss
rod route, True Historic Plastics and an aged case. The Tom Murphy
painted and aged finish is wet sanded
by hand with thin lacquer and is the best finish I have seen yet. The finger
board is so dark its almost black. The Custom Bucker pickups were specially
wound for this run only per the Japanese dealer spec and it has incredible tone
with a nice tight mid range and a good bottom end. The guitar weighs in at 8
pounds 11 ounces and is a real joy for the eyes and ears and its nice and
light.
The guitar is in as new mint
condition in its original shipping carton. I carefully removed it for the photos
only and then put it back in its case and then back in its original box. This
guitar comes with all the hang tags, factory paper work, “Murphy Burst” tri-fold
certificate of authenticity, “Hand Selected” Edwin Wilson tri-fold brochure,
aged case, and a signed back plate cover by Tom Murphy “Burst
Wishes”.
- Brand:
Gibson Custom Nashville
- Model: 59
Les Paul Reissue
-
- Color: Tea
Burst
-
- Finish
Type: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
-
- Weight: 8
Pounds 11 Ounces
-
- Top Woods:
Figured Maple
-
- Back
Wood: 1 Piece Mahogany
-
- Neck Wood:
1 Piece Mahogany
-
- Neck
Shape: 50’s Rounded
-
- Neck
Dimensions: .912 1st Fret 1.00 12th Fret
-
- Fingerboard: 1 Piece Indian Rosewood
-
- Fingerboard Radius: 12”
-
- Inlays:
True Historic Cellulose Trapezoid
-
- Neck
Scale: 24.75”
-
- Nut Width:
1 11/16”
-
- Frets:
22
-
- Headstock:
Hollyhead Veneer
-
- Binding:
Ply On Top Of Body & Neck
-
- Pickups:
Specially Wound Custom Buckers
-
- Controls:
2 Volume 2 Tone With 3 Way Toggle
-
- Hardware:
Aged Nickel
-
- Bridge:
Wireless ABR-1
-
- Tail
Piece: Lightweight Aluminum
-
- Tuners:
Vintage Kluson
-
- Plastics:
True Historic
-
- Case: Aged
Gibson Reissue
-
- COA:
Yes With All Hang Tags, Factory Paperwork, “Hand
Selected” Edwin Wilson Tri-Fold Brochure, Signed Back Plate By Tom Murphy, and
Original Shipping Carton
-
- Sorry NO
Trades
