Guitar Models

Murph Squire

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, adjustable bridge )
…. In candy apple red, white or blue ** ( & sunburst )

** Blue is also called ‘aqua’ or ‘turquoise’ in sales literature so the EXACT shade 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 Sea-foam Green guitar! ) The cream colored examples to the right were originally white. They have discolored with age.

Sherwin Williams ( the same company that supplied Fender ) was the paint that was used on all Murph Guitars. “10 coats of hand-rubbed lacquer” is how they were described, giving a deep rich colour that only nitro-cellulose paint 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.

( All Squire model guitars were stated as being available left handed -for $50 more – AND in narrow or wide neck versions AND in standard or ¾ scale lengths but very few of these were actually made )

Build details of the MURPH Squire

Murph guitars were billed as being “professional quality” and the choice of materials & components in the build reflects this. Selecting top quality local and imported woods, German hardware, dual truss rods, Kluson tuners & top quality electronic components, the Murphy Music Industries product assured the customer of a robust, well made instrument and let the opposition know that the MURPH guitar was a force to be reckoned with …………if only the company had lasted longer!

Necks
• All Murphs are noted for having a super thin neck design made from Eastern hard rock maple. Early ones were 3 piece construction although later necks were made from one piece – this was less economical but much stronger.

12 String Squire

Semi-Solid Squire

In the final months of 1966 yet another prototype was 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 )

Sharing much of the design of the Squire, this unnamed model had an abbreviated truss-rod cover ( complete with a 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 Squire 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 German manufacturers also.

Heart-Shaped Satellite

The heart-shaped ‘SATELLITE’ model that bears the MURPH name is a MOST unusual creature! It looks nothing like the normal ‘Squire’ model generally associated with the company and only a few examples are left in captivity. ( not that many existed in the first place ) It’s existence was first brought to the world’s attention by well known bizarre guitar collector Teisco Del Ray in his regular columns in Guitar Player magazine in 1986. It was a most unusual find in the “oddball guitar field “he specialized in and a design that even today stands alone in it’s “uniqueness”.

Who exactly came up with the idea is unclear but some family sources attribute the design to Pat Murphy himself ( although his wife Mary Jane was the designer of the ‘Squire’ models ) while Pat recalls that the heart shaped guitar was suggested by their salesman, Jim Gurley who had been the kids music teacher and came into the business to help market the guitars.

This period was a hostile time in the guitar industry and everyone was being accused of design theft. Murphy Music Industries were in mid 1966 embroiled in a potential legal challenge over the offset shape of their ‘Squire’ solid body guitar range which to one of the major guitar manufacturers looked too much like their “offset body” styling. Some new models were being developed and it was thought that if a truly radical design was produced, especially one which was so different to existing guitars, then rival companies could not claim it had been copied.

The name of this oddball was to be the ‘SATELLITE’ but it’s factory working title remained the ‘heart-shaped guitar’. They were designed in 6 and 12 string configurations as well as a 4 string bass, however it and the 12 string version ( with the massive “6 tuners a side” maple & rosewood headstock ) were terribly top heavy & the instruments were quite unbalanced.
This wasn’t helped by the fact that the bodies were semi-hollow in construction with a poplar perimeter frame with ply deck & back – all finished in a black/red sunburst. Pickups were locally made covered by white molded covers. ( sadly they were fairly weak in output )

The other hardware used was common to the Squire range of 12 strings. ( tailpiece / bridge / Kluson tuners / electronics etc… )

Two photos that show the massive headstock on the 12 string version of the Satellite

Serial numbers were stamped into the triangular neck plate and prefixed with an ‘S’ for Satellite. Well, this was the intention, as some have surfaced with no ‘S’ prefix or no number at all!

The radical body shape needed a special stand to support the instrument and it was unable to be supported comfortably whilst in a sitting position. These were issues that would have been remedied if the company had survived but that was not to be.Pat estimates that because production of these guitars was toward the end of 1966 and times were difficult, that there may have been less than a dozen or so ‘Satellite’ heart guitars made ( of all the styles ) ….making this possibly the rarest of all MURPHs

6 String Satellite

12 String Satellite

12 String Satellite Headstock

Gemini

More research is being done.

Califone

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 )

Top right is a Califone bass.

Westerner

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 )

A super rare Murph Westerner owned by Tim King

“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!

Mark 2 Squire

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.

Bass

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One of a Kind Proto-types

In the final months of 1966 yet another prototype was 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 )

Sharing much of the design of the Squire, this unnamed model had an abbreviated truss-rod cover ( complete with a 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 Squire 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 German manufacturers also.

Baby Murph Satellite

Doesn't have a real name. Never got into production. Came with a wooden stand that had an amplifier built into it. 3/4 neck.