Gibson Custom Murphy Lab 1929 Nick Lucas Special | Argentine Grey - Light Aged

The Gibson Custom Shop do some pretty special stuff, whether it be re-issues of our favourite guitars of years gone by, or turning dream guitars into reality. The Gibson Custom Shop can do it all. The Murphy Lab team is a dedicated group of people within the Custom Shop who specialise in ageing guitars to look exactly like vintage golden era instruments. Headed by legendary builder "Tom Murphy", these guitars are the pinnacle of Gibson.

In the 1920s, few American performers shone brighter than Nick Lucas. Nicknamed The Crooning Troubadour, he made his mark on vaudeville stages, as a soloist, and alongside swinging jazz bands. His reputation carried overseas, where he gave special performances for European royalty. Lucas also earned a place in music history as one of the pioneers of the guitar solo, both on record and in live performance, and he became one of the earliest radio stars to feature the instrument.

During the mid-1920s, Gibson’s General Sales Manager, Frank Campbell, saw an opportunity and approached Nick Lucas with a proposal to move from his current instrument to a Gibson. Lucas agreed, on one condition: the company had to craft a guitar built to his exact specifications. Gibson embraced the challenge, and in 1926 unveiled the Nick Lucas Special, marking the debut of Gibson’s very first artist-endorsed signature model.

One of the things that Lucas requested was a compact but deeper body for better bass response, which has been brilliantly re-created In this new signature model. It’s a similar shape to the classic L-00 design, but with a significantly deeper body. It features a Thermally Aged Red Spruce top, alongside Mahogany back and sides. Together, they create a balanced tone which sits perfect in a mix. The Argentine Grey finish looks awesome and gives the impression of a really faded sunburst finish. The body also features gold sparkle top binding, and traditional back binding. The Murphy Lab team have done a really great job ageing this guitar, it looks exactly like what a vintage 1920s Gibson instrument would look like today.

The Mahogany neck joins the body at the 12^th fret, and features a traditional Gibson “C” neck shape, which feels really comfortable to play. The bound rosewood fingerboard features 20 frets, a 24.75” scale length, 43.815mm nut width, and of course the iconic Nick Lucas spec inlays crafted from Mother-of-Pearl. The headstock is fitted with Gold Waverly tuners capped with ivoroid oval buttons, while a classic mother-of-pearl “The Gibson” logo completes the vintage-inspired look. The Rosewood open slot bridge features a bone saddle, which further enhances this guitars vintage appeal.

The 1929 Nick Lucas Special Light Aged arrives in a redline-style hardshell case. This is your chance to own one of Gibson’s most characterful acoustic guitars, a small-bodied gem with remarkable depth and a voice far larger than its size suggests.