“I say to people: ‘I’m sorry to tell you, but in 20 years, your finish will crack because it’s gonna get thinner. But it’ll sound better – so look forward to it!’” How Gibson brought relic’d finishes to its iconic acoustic guitars with the Murphy Lab

Gibson Murphy Lab Acoustics: the meticulously aged and relic'd guitars are photographed in a dark room.

Perhaps the greatest compliment we can pay Gibson’s Murphy Lab Heavy Aged Acoustic Collection is that we are terrified to play them.

Faced with the neckwear, soundhole scuffs and belt-buckle scratches of this five-strong historic line-up, the abiding impression is of inspecting the personal effects of some bygone billionaire collector in the moments before they are swaddled in bubblewrap and shipped to the auction house or family vault.