Murph Guitars

It seems that the Murph factory was a hotbed for ideas. Maybe it was a case of 'too much too soon' as far as working on so many ideas all at once when such huge financial pressures were on but there were many new designs in prototype stage and things were a buzz - and then maybe all these designs helped scare the big guys into coming down hard on them .…. whatever it was, here are some of those crazy Murphs that almost made it!

The Gemini

The Gemini was a semi-hollow, wide body, double cutaway similar in shape to a Gibson 335, but again, like other Murphs, individual in form - and certainly NOT a carbon copy.

( I have been provided some photos of the scarce Murph Gemini by Gordon Lockhart of Seattle - his example was given to him many years ago by Denny Doherty of the Mamas & the Papas )

Above are 2 photos of the rare Murph Gemini Semi-hollow guitar. These used a standard Murph Squire neck, pickups and tremelo ( this one has a home made arm fitted ) The serial number on the neck plate was prefixed ‘G’

Gemini II:    Slim body, 2 pickups, tremolo.
Gemini 12 String:     Slim Body; 2 pickups
Gemini IV:      Slim body Bass; 2 pickups

Now before we go on, Murphy Music Industries did some custom 'one offs' as well. Take this example, a Gemini body with a Satellite bass neck built especially for Skip Straw, bassist for Jimmy Lawton & the Lawmen, a 1960's country & western outfit. A matching 12 string was built for Jimmy Lawton, but Skip tells me it was lost ( it's gotta be out there somewhere! ) Skip still owns his bass & loves it as much today as when Pat built it for him in 1966. Thanks for the photos, Skip ..

Continental IV

The Continental IV was a single cutaway along the styling of the Gibson Les Paul, ( but with it’s own uniqueness )
made in late 1965 ( as indicated by it’s inclusion on an early pricelist ) and at the same time as the ‘Westerner’ ( see Squire page ). Again there were VERY few of these made and so far, NONE have surfaced. The ‘IV’ was a solid body, single pickup guitar and available in White only!

Tempo I & II

These were ‘build your own guitar’ kits with 1 or 2 pickups. A slab body & headstock which could be left as is or shaped by the builder, the Tempo was a COMPLETE “ do it yourself ” guitar furnished with detailed instructions No MURPH logo was placed on these - they were designed for the home builder or customizer - only a few of these were ever made.

The Silvertone Murph

In mid 1966 the company started negotiations with Sears department stores to build a Silvertone branded Murph. It was not something they waanted to do as it robbed them of their independance but sales were hard to get all by themselves and it was thought that an alliance with a large organisation would help. They would have been a Squire II style of guitar but with a Silvertone logo on the truss rod cover. An example of the cover is shown above. As explained in the company history, only 25 were made in 1966 and Sears assured them that more would be ordered the following year but by then Murphy Music Industries had ceased trading.

The Califone Murph

The Califone guitars were made for Rheem Califone ( the record player people ) in Los Angeles to complement their range of school PA equipment. In mid 1966 Murphy Music was approached by Califone ( also located in San Fernando ) to build a range of guitars & amps ( this is how the amp side of the business got started ) that they could market to schools to compliment the audio stuff they were providing to the education department - a potential BIG money spinner for MURPH! ....BUT, as seemed to happen a lot with them, the luck of the Irish WASN'T with Pat Murphy with this venture either - Califone had a change of heart and called off the deal after 25 or so prototypes were made. They were made up of 6 strings, basses & 12 string guitars. Most were basic Squires as shown below with a changed nameplate but they did do some with ‘slanted’ pickups and different Gumby-like headstocks. ( the 12 string is owned by Tom Carmody – New York )

The Murph acoustic

At the Summer 1966 NAMM show Pat was approached by a Japanese company to import acoustic guitars. The samples the representative showed looked promising but when the shipment of 25 arrived they were JUNK!! They had been victims of the old 'switcharoo'. After disposing of the imported product ( and after some sobering reflection ) Pat thought they could make a better version themselves - & so they up and designed one. It was a traditional flat top, round soundhole style but only ONE prototype was made before the company went bankrupt. This is still owned by a member of the Murphy family but tooling for this ( the electric former for the sides and various jigs & fixtures for constructing the body ) still exists, stored in boxes for the last 40 years!

The Guitar Stand

Murphy Music Industries had also developed a new design for a guitar stand. This was made from furniture grade plywood, modular in construction so it could be disassembled and could display the brand name ( for a shop display ) or that of a band ( for on stage )
Made to suit both the Squire range as well as ( through necessity ) the heart shaped ‘Satellite’, it was another innovative & radical idea from a progressive company!