Gibson 2022 Les Paul R9 Murphy Lab Sunburst Ultra Light Aged

No sales tax for US customers outside California.

This Murphy Lab Les Paul is a really good one!  Look at that top! It isn't the lightest at 9 pounds 1.5 ounces, but it isn't one that strikes you as heavy when you pick it up.  It would likely weight exactly 9 pounds with the standard, plastic switch cover in place of the metal one.  It plays perfectly and set up for us with little effort.  

Tom Murphy is the reason the Gibson Custom Shop's Historic reissue program exists. He was instrumental in the development of the original Historic Les Paul models introduced in 1993, pioneered the laser-scanning and chemically-recreated plastics approach that has defined the program ever since, and spent decades refining aging techniques at his own shop before Gibson brought the program fully in-house under the Murphy Lab designation. Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Eric Clapton, and Billy Gibbons all play Tom Murphy aged guitars. The Murphy Lab is not a marketing program — it is the work of the person who knows more about making a new Les Paul look, feel, and behave like a 1959 original than anyone alive.

The 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue R9 is the instrument the Murphy Lab was built to age. From laser-scanned body dimensions to chemically-recreated plastics to color-matched sunburst gradients, the R9 represents the culmination of over two decades of Custom Shop development — the most accurate physical recreation of the 1959 Les Paul available. The Murphy Lab Ultra Light Aged treatment is specifically described as "a prized possession that has spent most of its long life stored carefully in its case" — minimal lacquer checking, VOS patina hardware, hand-rolled fingerboard binding edges, and the scientifically reverse-engineered nitrocellulose lacquer formula originally used in the 1950s and 1960s. This is not a heavily distressed relic. It is a guitar that looks and feels like it has been carefully owned and lightly played for decades — the most convincing simulation of a well-preserved original.

The unpotted Custombucker Alnico III humbuckers are the specific pickup chemistry of the original PAF — Alnico III magnets rather than the stronger Alnico V used in most modern humbuckers, producing a softer, more complex magnetic field with the characteristic bloom, warmth, and dynamic sensitivity that PAF chasers describe. Bridge reads 7.97k, neck reads 7.85k — close and balanced, correct for PAF-character unpotted humbuckers. The no-wire ABR-1 bridge and lightweight aluminum stop bar tailpiece are correct period specifications. One-piece lightweight mahogany body with two-piece figured maple top, solid mahogany neck in the '59 medium C profile at .892" at the first fret and 1.0" at the twelfth. Cellulose nitrate trapezoid inlays on Indian rosewood fingerboard. Action set at 2/32" on both strings at the twelfth fret. At 9 lbs 1.5 oz this is a well-balanced instrument. Near Mint condition — like new. Original hardshell case included.

There is a tiny bit of fret wear to show that the guitar has been played a little.  The neck is straight and the truss rod has room for future neck relief adjustments.  There are no changes, repairs, or issues, and all the original paperwork and COA are included in the original case.

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Be sure to check out the other cool guitar related stuff on our site
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Check out our current stock of Two-Rock amplifiers - we're an authorized dealer

SPECS:

• Color: Sunburst
• Weight: 9lbs 1.5oz
  
• Top: 2-Piece Figured Maple
• Body: 1-Piece Lightweight Mahogany
  
• Neck: Solid Mahogany
  
• Neck Profile: '59 Medium C
  
• Fretboard: Indian Rosewood
  
• Inlays: Cellulose Nitrate Trapezoid
  
• Frets: Original
  
• Fret Count: 22
  
• Nut: Original
  
• Nut width: 
  
• Radius: 12"
  
• Scale: 24.75"
  
• Neck thickness at 1st Fret: .892"
• Neck thickness at 12th Fret: 1.0"
• Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
  
• Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
  
• Overall length: 38-3/4"
  
• Lower bout: 13"
  
• Waist: 7-1/4"
  
• Upper bout: 9-1/4"
  
• Body depth/thickness outside edge: 2"
  
• String gauge: 10-46
  
• Hardware Color: Chrome / Nickel
• Pickguard: Original
• Bridge Pickup/Brand: Unpotted Custombucker Alnico III
• Pickup Reading: 7.97k
• Original?: Yes
• Neck Pickup/Brand: Unpotted Custombucker Alnico III
• Pickup Reading: 7.85k
• Original?: Yes
  
• Bridge: No-Wire ABR-1 with Lightweight Aluminum Stop Bar
• Tuners: Original
• Knobs: Original
  
• Switch: 3 Way
• Pots/Codes: Original
• Case: OHSC
• Notes: 

Shipping policy:

There are multiple shipping cost options for purchases made on our site.  Select Ground, 3 Day, 2 Day, or Next Day Air Saver.  For Reverb purchases, there is one cost option for Eastern states - customers from any state that is more than a 3 day UPS ground shipment from our shop will get their shipment via UPS 3 day air.  Otherwise, ground shipping will be used.  Shipments will require signature on delivery, no exceptions.  If there is damage, the buyer must retain all packing materials intact and picture them immediately and send them to sales@maharsvintageguitars.com.  Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely, but we are taking these additional measures to make sure you are happy with your purchase.