Murph Guitars

While Murphy Music Industries made a few different styles, it was the solid body ‘Squire’ series that was by far the most prolific design. While no exact figures survive, of the 1200 or so MURPH guitars made, the great majority were Squires in one of the following forms ……

Squire I -T ( single pickup, tremelo, thin offset body )
…. In red, white or blue **

Squire II -T ( two pickups, tremelo, thin offset body )
…. In candy apple red, white or blue ** ( & sunburst )

Squire Bass (two pickups, thin offset body )
…. In candy apple red, white or blue ** ( & sunburst )

Squire I2 string ( two pickups, thin offset body, completely adjustable bridge )
…. In candy apple red, white or blue ** ( & sunburst )

** The ‘blue’ mentioned above is also referred to in sales literature as ‘aqua’ or ‘turquoise’ so the EXACT colour is uncertain although surviving examples today tend to look more greenish due to colour shift in the old nitro cellulose lacquer. ( even though they never actually made a Green guitar! )

Sherwin Williams paint ( the same company that supplied Fender ) was used on all Murph Guitars. 10 coats of “hand-rubbed” lacquer gave a deep rich colour that only nitro can provide. However, nearly 40 years on, many Murphs will exhibit quite severe checking and surface cracks if the coating is still the original one, such is the effect of varying temperature & humidity on old lacquer paints.

The ' Westerner '

For a fledgling company high standards were the norm. All Murph guitars were thoroughly checked for ANY flaws in those “10 coats of hand - rubbed lacquer”. The Westerner model evolved as a way to utilise Squire guitars that did not meet final paint inspection & at the same time introduce a “country & western” style of guitar to the public.

Rather than having to go through the repainting stage again, the guitars were upholstered in a naugahyde ( vinyl ) metalflake material with a row of upholstery tacks around the join between front and back panels. ( vinyl was a covering method used by Hofner, Egmond and other European makers but NEVER with chrome upholstery studs….a definite Murph original )

“Elegantly upholstered in red, white, blue, gold, silver or aqua material” is how the catalogue eloquently puts it.

Just how many Westerners were made is uncertain but it certainly wasn’t a lot - maybe the world wasn't ready for this sort of glitterfest - really 10 years before their time ...... but in the 70's, bring it on!

There was a design change to the ‘Squire’ model that occurred late in 1966. The neck & headstock were kept the same but some changes were made to make the Squire "grow up" and be more like it's more expensive counterparts - a logical improvement in the growth of the brand…..

A 3 way toggle switch was placed in the top lower corner of the pickguard ( and the guard reshaped accordingly ) rather than a slider switch down lower. This offered neck, or bridge, or both - rather than the Squire’s on / off bridge pickup.

The Mark 2 had separate volume / tone controls for each pickup ( therefore 4 knobs in all ) giving a whole new range of voincings to the instrument.

The tremelo was the same as the Squire one but a fully adjustable bridge ( as was used on the 12 strings ) was fitted.

In the final months of 1966 another prototype rolled out of the Murph factory! It was a semi-solid version of the Squire guitar, the flagship of the Murph Company ( and the one that was to cause them all the grief )

Basically sharing much of the design of the Squire, this unnamed model had an abbreviated trussrod cover ( complete with new waterslide decal ) and metal buttoned individual Klusons rather than the Squire's plastic '3 on a plate' ones.

A 3 way toggle switch was placed in the top upper corner of the guitar ( there was no pickguard on this model ) offering neck, or bridge, or both pickups.

Individual tone controls but a master volume gave the semi-solid it's own voice.

The tremelo was a new German sourced design ( you may see them on Framus or Klira guitars of the same era .... or even Harvey Thomas' creations from up Seattle way as he sourced from Germany also.

The pinnacle of the line was the 12 string. Tipping it's hat to Rickenbacker and other Californian manufacturers, the 12 string Squire was surely a nice instrument and maybe another thorn in the eye of Murph's compeditors.
A fully intonateable bridge ( although it could have had 12 saddles to achieve it better with the octave pairs ) there seems to have been a large number produced and this is reflected in the fact that most that surface on Ebay and Craigslist are indeed this type!