Murphy Custom Guitars

05/23/2026

Hey Everyone!

I have a few cool things in progress in The shop these days.....this is the Sister Guitar to my Korina Neck-Thru Flying V project. It is a Neck-Through Korina Explorer cut from the same slab of wood as the V.
The Flame and figuring in the Korina, aka Black Limba is insane and really jumps out in sunlight! Check out the grain-matched truss rod cover and back cavity covers!

Hardware and electronics are on the way!

05/06/2026

This was so much fun and rewarding to be a part of.....it never gets old helping these young kids pursue their musical passion!

A special presentation was made at the senior high guitar concert on May 1. Back in August, an anonymous donor brought a Gibson Les Paul guitar to Jay Murphy, of Murphy's Custom Guitars, and asked that it be given to a young student in the KHHS guitar classes who was working hard, showed promise and potential as a musician, and who would find inspiration in owning a professional-quality instrument. Mr. Murphy contacted Mr. Golden, and together they spent the school year discussing the best way to proceed.
In a surprise announcement at the concert, Mr. Golden presented the guitar to 9th grader Cooper G. Mr. Golden noted Cooper's consistent hard work in class and potential as a musician, as well as his positive attitude, encouragement to his classmates, and respect to his teacher.

04/20/2026

Hey Callahan! We're bringing the party to you this weekend! Join us for our debut at Vault at SCW Liquors!

See you Saturday!

04/18/2026

Hey Everyone!!

I just finished this 4 String Bass for Chip Woods!

The Body is Chambered Poplar with a bookmatched Camphor top.

The neck is Sapele with a Walnut Fretboard. The frets are gold and the nut is Black TusqXL, it has Abalone marker dots and Luminlay side dots.....the strings are 24k Gold Plated Optimas.
The tuners are Graphtech Ratios, the bridge is a Hipshot A Type made of Aluminum.

The Dunlop Strap Locks are recessed into the body for a clean look.

The Pickups are Bartolini Mk5 Soap Bars and I used the Bartolini preamp system with volume, blend and a 3 way eq.

The Sapele back cover is magnetically attached for easy access to the electronics.

Lighter weight was a huge priority for this build, and it came in at 8.51 pounds with the Strap.

Cheers!

03/04/2026

Here's another little thing I threw together:

Happy Telecaster Tuesday!

This incredible bookmatched Camphor top sits on a layer of California Redwood that was reclaimed from The Gustafson home In Green Cove Springs, the back is a combo of Mahogany, Cherry and Flame Maple.

The Neck is Cocobolo and the Fretboard is Bloodwood. The neck also has a bone nut, MOP fret dots and Luminlay side dots. The tuners are Locking Hipshot.

The Pickups are Custom Wound by Bruce Wall and they sound Amazing, very spanky and bright, the bridge pickup is gritty and the neck is warm.....think Keith Richards tone. The bridge is solid brass with strings through the body.

The wiring is very basic with a 3 way switch, volume with treble bleed and the tone pot is a no-load pot, so at 10, the pot is disconnected from the circuit.

Hit me up if interested, or come see it and play it at The Howlin Wolf on Thursday nights!

02/16/2026

Hey Everyone, here's another creation from this amazing slab of Black Limba that I recently found......its the most figured Limba that I have ever seen.......

This 100% Black Limba Rudy body features a grain-matched fretboard and headstock veneer as well as a grain-matched, magnetic cavity cover on the back.

The neck is all Black Limba with 22 gold medium frets, the nut is bone , the tuners are hipshot lockers, the fret dots are offset Philippine Narra wood and the side dots are Luminlay, attachment is with threaded inserts.

The body is a single piece of incredibly figured Black Limba.....as resonant as it is beautiful.....it features forearm, belly and heel contours as well as a front and back perimeter levels.

The Tremolo is Babicz and is currently set up Floating........it has a brass block, noiseless springs and brass claw and screws. The Dunlop Strap Locks are recessed into the body as well. The k***s are also Philippine Narra wood with Luminlay dots.

The pickups are the SRB543 custom wound set from Bruce Wall .
The wiring is VTT with a treble bleed and tone control of all 3 pickups and a traditional 5 way switch.

This guitar plays like a dream and literally sounds like the Blues.......very Texas Blues tone........

Reach out if you're interested, or come try her out at the open jam at The Howlin Wolf on Thursday nights.......enjoy the Pics!!

01/05/2026

I've been doing some interesting "Grain Matching" with a few of my latest projects......especially on the Korina V where I grain matched the truss rod cover and rear cavity cover. It's kind of like building a puzzle, and then having to make the last few missing pieces.......

So, I just used scrap pieces from the V project to create a matching fretboard and headstock veneer to match the Korina Body on this Rudy! The neck is also black limba.

This Guitar is 100% Black Limba (Korina) with a crazy grain match from body to fretboard to headstock. The Cavity cover on the back is also a pretty sick match.

I'll have this guitar and several others with me at the Bruce Wall benefit at the American Legion in Middleburg on January 17th. Stop by and say hi!

01/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CgfKUs11a/

I want to thank Ric Burkett and his wife Deb Fisher Burkett for Graciously purchasing this absolute Beast of a Guitar, and Gifting it to my Good Friend Austin Gouldrup "A J."

I am so happy that this guitar is staying close by, I almost didn't want to sell it for rear of losing touch with it.

AJ will do it justice for sure!

Thank You Again Rick and Deb!

01/05/2026

Please join me in Congratulating David Pratt "Chuckie" on his purchase of this amazing 5 String Bass!
Say hi and buy Chuckie a cold one when you see him out and about layin down the groove!

Thank You Chuckie and cheers bro!🍻

12/17/2025

Hey Everyone!!
Here's something to feast your eyes on........
This is a True, Neck-Through Korina (Black Limba) Flying V
This entire guitar was carved from a single 2" slab of Black Limba!!
The grain and figuring in this wood is insane, and I didn't all I could to capture and preserve it in the Iconic Flying V shape.
I routed the back of the neck to insert the truss rod and used Philippine Narra wood for the skunk stripe and the k***s.
The truss rod cover and back cavity cover are grain matched pieces from the same Limba slab too.

The tuners are Grover Lockers and the nut is bone.
The Bridge is a Tone Pros, with thru-body ferrules top and bottom.
The Pickups are The Jim Wagner "Iron Man" set.
The electronics feature a single volume with treble bleed and tone with a Bumble Bee .022 Capacitor and a push-pull coil tap.
There is also a lighted LED Kill Switch.

The Dunlop Strap Locks are also recessed into the body.
The frets are Gold Jumbos to match the Optima 24 Carat gold strings!

It will come with an SKB Flying V case as well.

This thing sustains like a neck-through should and the action is clean and low.

Oh, I almost forgot........7 pounds on the nose!!

You better tell Santa if you want it!!! So he can get with me soon!!