Tom Murphy (born 1950[1]) is an American luthier known for his pioneering work in guitar relic'ing and his association with the brand Gibson.
[2] A native of Marion, Illinois, Murphy's desire to be a professional musician took him to Houston and Austin, and eventually Nashville, where he found work as a guitarist in touring bands for Sawyer Brown and Marie Osmond.
[1] In the late '80s and '90s, Murphy helped establish Gibson's Nashville-based Custom Shop, where he worked on improving the authenticity of the brand's reissue guitar models.
[3][4] In 1999, Murphy began collaborating with Gibson, providing the relic'ing for their reissue guitar models in his own shop.
His work played a pivotal role in legitimizing the controversial practice of relic'ing guitars,[5] and his guitars became widely regarded among guitarists as Gibson's highest-end offerings.