Gibson Custom Murphy Lab 1964 ES-335, Ultra Light Aged, 60s Cherry

Gibson Custom Murphy Lab 1964 ES-335, Ultra Light Aged, 60s Cherry Overview

The Gibson ES-335 is considered to be the quintessential hollow-body guitar. It was first introduced in 1958 and has been in production ever since.

The Gibson Murphy Lab is a new division of the Gibson Custom Shop and is dedicated to crafting historically-accurate guitars of Gibson’s most legendary and sought-after instruments. The team of experts is led by Tom Murphy, known for being one of the original pioneers of guitar ageing, who for 25 years has been faithfully recreating the sound, feel, and character of vintage guitars. The attention to detail in the Murphy Lab is second to none, from laser-scanning the dimensions to get the exact size and shape of the originals to reverse-engineering the original lacquer to create ultra-realistic ageing, every detail has been thought of. This guitar is the closest you can get to the real thing.

The Gibson Murphy Lab 1964 ES-335 has a 3-ply Maple/Poplar/Maple body and a solid maple centre block, giving it a nice substantial weight and producing top-end definition, with clarity, vibrancy and a precise tone. The neck is made from solid mahogany which adds some warmth and has an authentic ‘64 medium C-shape profile for comfortable playing and historical accuracy, topped with an Indian rosewood fretboard with 22 authentic medium jumbo-sized frets. There’s also an ABR-1 bridge and lightweight aluminium stop bar for increased tuning stability.

For pickups, it has a pair of unpotted Custombuckers with Alnico 3 magnets which deliver warmth and a nice mid-range punch, and there’s a 3-way Switchcraft pickup selector to get the exact tone you want.

To complete the 1964 ES-335 is a 1-ply Royalite binding, nickel Murphy Lab light aged hardware, a black 5-ply wide bevel pickguard, black top hat control knobs with silver inserts and a classic Sixties Cherry finish with nitrocellulose lacquer to complete the authentic vintage look.

It comes with .010 - .046 strings, a Brown/Pink Lifton Reissue 5-Latch case and a Certificate of Authenticity.

Overview by Gibson

The Sweet Sound of '64
The Historic Reissue ES-335 is back and better than ever thanks to a year of studying, scanning, and listening to original examples. The expert craftspeople at Gibson Custom Shop have rendered every contour, profile, inlay and color of the priceless vintage ES™ models in magnificent detail. The result is a playing and ownership experience that will keep you coming back for more. This 1964 Reissue model utilizes sharp horn cutaways, a medium C-shape neck profile scanned from originals, small block inlays, and vintage-replica parts. It also features Ultra Light Aging by the skilled artisans of the Murphy Lab. The Murphy Lab Ultra Light Aged finish treatment, paired with lightly aged hardware, simulates decades of light play wear, giving it the unique character, vibe, and feel of an original example from the Gibson Golden Era.