Big wavy flames and a Brazilian looking finger board is all over this burst! These guitars basically have all True Historic specs.   Now these guitars are truly special and very rare and certainly the one to own. Not only do they mark the humble beginning of the Edwin Wilson/Tom Murphy era at the start of the Gibson Custom Shop in 1994 they also mark the end of a truly great era with Edwin Wilson’s departure from Gibson Custom in March 2017. These guitars represent the very first work together at Gibson back in 1994 and their very last work together at Gibson in 2017 never to be done again. No detail was spared for this run and it’s the finest and closest authentic reissue ever done to date.   The 2017 1959 Les Paul Standard Historic Murphy painted 1994 guitars have nearly all the same specs as the Murphy painted 1994 True Historic version that I also have listed and was an exclusive (JSR) Japan Special Run of only 16 guitars ordered by the top dealers in Japan only and not offered to any other dealers. This Standard Historic version still features a “hand picked” top by Edwin Wilson and was painted by Burst Master Tom Murphy with Murphy’s initials in the control cavity. They even have all hide glue construction with the finger board glued to the neck with hide glue, neck glued to the body with hide glue, and the top glued to the back with hide glue and True historic plastics and pickup covers.   The only real difference between them is the Standard Historic version do not have the same top carve as the True Historic version and are not designated “Killer” tops so they don’t have the letter K in the control cavity, although many of these Standard Historic’s 1994 Murphy painted guitars have tops that are as good as the “killer top” version. This version of the Standard Historic has very different specs then from previous years and was specially ordered by the top dealers in Japan and are basically True Historic guitars except for the top carve. Gibson didn't designate any of the standard historics as killer tops no matter how good the top.     (The Back Story) Edwin Wilson and Tom Murphy were there at the of the Gibson Custom Shop some time around 1993 at the old shop and just sort of fell into it. When Henry Juszkiewicz  bought the company and moved it from Kalamazoo Michigan to Nashville Edwin and Tom were consulting and told him “the reason why the 59 reissue does not sell well is because the guitar is totally wrong from headstock to strap pin”. Henry challenged them he told them well “if you think you make it better than try it”. So they did and they bought a couple of folding tables and the inception of the Gibson Custom Art & Historic Division was born. 1994 was the first year Tom Murphy painted the very first guitars for Gibson. The 1994 59 reissue’s all had hand picked tops by Edwin Wilson and were painted by Tom Murphy and had the letter K stamped in the control cavity. The letter K designation meant that these guitars all had hand selected “KILLER” tops and Edwin Wilson hand picked every one of them. These guitars are known as the 1994 “KILLER” tops.   The 2017 1959 Standard Historic Murphy painted guitars are a throw back to the beginning and represent the first guitars Wilson and Murphy built in 1994 and now their last work ever in 2017. The tops were all hand picked by Edwin Wilson and painted by the Burst master Tom Murphy just as they did way back in the day in 1994. These guitars have all the 2017 True Historic specs  except for the top carve and were built at the request for the top dealers in Japan. The Murphy Burst finish is just incredible. The specially wound PAF pickups are just dripping with tone unlike anything you ever heard before.   (The Specs) The 2017 1959 Standard Historic Les Paul Murphy painted 1994 guitars feature a hand picked top by Edwin Wilson reminiscent of the tops from 1994. The neck carve is true to a real 1959 Les Paul Standard. The truss rod has no tubing, fingerboard 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, authentic True Historic plastic parts, hand selected tops by Edwin Wilson, hand selected lightweight Mahogany backs, back color mixed by Edwin Wilson, painted by Burst Master Tom Murphy, special wound authentic PAF pickups, and a nitro cellulose lacquer finish. You simply cant get closer to a real Burst than with this reissue. Notice Tom Murphy’s initials in the control cavity.   (The Tone) Nobody and I mean nobody can paint a guitar like Tom Murphy and color of these guitars is just so close to an original its sick! The tone and playability is unlike any other reissue ever done before with great clarity that is focused and very articulate with that Les Paul vintage punch. The guitar is very touch sensitive and very violin like the way the strings break over the nut and sustains for days.  The guitar is in mint brand new un-played condition with all hang tags, certificate of authenticity (showing Edwin Wilson and Tom Murphy), special “hand selected” certificate (showing Edwin Wilson selecting the tops), extra toggle cover, warranty card, and original the shipping carton.
  Brand: Gibson Custom Nashville Model: 59 Les Paul 1994 Standard Historic Color: Murphy Burst Cherry Sunburst Finish Type: Nitrocellulose Lacquer Weight: 8 Pounds 6 Ounces Top Woods: Highly Figured Flamed Maple Back Wood: 1 Piece Lightweight Mahogany Neck Wood: 1 Piece Mahogany Neck Shape: True Historic 59 Neck Dimensions: .902 1st Fret 1.01 12th Fret Fingerboard: 1 Piece Indian Rosewood Fingerboard Radius: 12” Inlays: Cellulose Trapezoid True Historic Neck Scale: 24.75” Nut Width: 1 11/16” Frets: 22 Headstock: Hollyhead Veneer Binding: 1 Ply On Body & Neck Pickups: Special Wound 59 Vintage PAF Controls: 2 Volume 2 Tone 3 Way Toggle Hardware: Aged Nickel Bridge: Wireless ABR-1 Tail Piece: Lightweight Aluminum Tuners: Vintage Kluson Plastics: 2017 True Historic Case: Gibson Vintage Reissue COA: Yes With All Hang Tags, Warranty Card, COA, “Hand Selected” COA, Toggle Cover, and Original Shipping Carton Sorry NO Trades