The history of the Gibson Custom Shop can really be traced back to early artist partnerships of the 1920s. Affixing an artist’s name to a particular guitar model to the benefit of both Gibson and the artist began as a simple marketing ploy, and continued right through to the 70s. From early pioneers such as Nick Lucas and Carson J Robison through to jazz great Barney Kessel and Trini Lopez, the idea of an “artist guitar” was well established by the time Henry Juszkiewicz and Dave Berryman bought the company in 1986, and split the “Custom Shop” into a separate division. The purpose of this side of the company was not only to cater to artists’ requests but also to the regular customer who has the requisite funds and a dealer through whom they could place their custom order.
Into the 1990s, the Custom Shop began releasing limited edition reproductions of famous guitarist’s particular instruments, along with reproducing the modifications that these artists had made to their guitars. Today, the Custom Shop is revered across the globe for the standard of its historic recreations. Their VOS (“Vintage Original Specification”) guitars, for example, are perhaps some of the most thoroughly researched instruments being produced today, in order to as closely match the historic feel and look of iconic Gibson models past. As part of the Custom Shop today, you are likely also to discover the Murphy Lab: a unique part of the Custom Shop that deals in the ageing of newly released Custom Shop guitars to simulate years of wear and play. Headed by master luthier Tom Murphy, the Murphy Lab offers four levels of ageing – from ultra light to ultra heavy – that guarantees to put you in as close a reach as possible to a true vintage Gibson.
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