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Another Murph Guitar Sighting on eBay

Murph Alert!

If you are into rare electric guitars made in SoCal, in the category of “not made by Leo Fender” then this is for you! Designed and built near my hometown of Riverside CA by WWII Navy pilot, Patrick Murphy.

Another rare Murph Squire II-T electric guitar up for auction on eBay:
Rare 1966 Murph Squire 2 vintage elec. guitar Tobacco burst San Fernando USA

Seller’s text from the auction:

Welcome to my auction!
Here we have a very Rare Rare 1966 Murph Squire 2 Electric Guitar with rare tobacco burst finish. This guitar was USA made in San Fernando California in 1966.
I had wanted a Fender Jag in this color, when this guitar presented itself I fell in love. This falls into the category of RARE, and where are you going to find another”. Please read copied description that will go with guitar. This guitar is ALL original and unmolested condition. The pictures are the description. There are very minor handling marks on body, and slight buckle rash. This is a 56 year old beauty survivor, that should be in a rock in roll museum somewhere. This has the original luggage case as well. This item is sold as is with no refunds or warranties. Please see my feedback and bid with confidence. This is from my personal collection. I only collect the best. This ships Fed Ex ground. Payment through PayPal. Thank you for your interest in my auction. This is a USA SALE ONLY!

#Murph #MurphGuitars #WWII

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Larry Holley Passes Away

Larry Holley talking about his brother Buddy Holly


Larry Holley, Buddy Holly’s oldest brother and last surviving sibling passed away on Thursday at age 96.

In His Own Words

In this Voices of History video, Larry Holley speaks from his home in Lubbock, Texas, about his brother Buddy Holly.


Rest In Peace, Larry Holley. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Holley Family.

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Orpheus 12-String Electric Guitar

1970s Orpheus 12-String Electric Guitar


Orpheus – a little known brand of guitars

Over the years, the Orpheus brand is a name has been used on several lines of guitars in different parts of the world: from Bulgaria to the former Soviet Union, to the United States and Japan.
Through research, we found that in the late 1960s through mid-1970s, Coast Wholesale Music Company of California imported a line of electric guitars made in Japan under the Orpheus name. It is suspected, but not proven, that these electric guitars could have been made in the highly respected Matsumoku factory of Japan.

Luckily, we found this Orpheus 12-string hollow body electric back in May 2019 at Centaur Guitar in Portland, Oregon (BTW: The guys at Centaur really know their stuff when it comes to 1970s made in Japan guitars, so give them a call or stop by). Since I already owned a mid-1970’s Univox Coily, I recognized that the build and the pickups were very similar. The body, the neck, the triple edge binding, the cherry burst finish, and the pickups all resembled other guitars we’d seen from Matsumoku.

Built by Matsumoku Industrial of Japan (we think, we’re not sure!) and imported to the U.S. by Coast Wholesale Music Company of California, this 12-string semi-acoustic hollow body electric from the 1970’s is a rare bird.

Ultra-thin cutaway electric guitars from an old Coast Wholesale Music Company catalog.

What do you think? Leave your comments below, thanks!

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Hashtags: #Orpheus #MIJ #Matsumoku #Tesico #Lawsuit #Guitar

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1979 Guyatone EX1 Guitar Amp


Very rare guitar amp from Japan maker Guyatone

This 1979 Guyatone EX1 amp is very rarely seen outside of Japan. It was most likely built and sold for the domestic market only. I found this one in a used music store in Portland, Oregon and suspect maybe a U.S. service man or woman brought this amp over from Japan.

The EX1 is an analog,  single channel, solid-state amp with 20 watts of power, a 12-inch speaker, overdrive and reverb. Gain and volume controls, high and low EQ, reverb depth. Normal and overdrive inputs, headphone jack, pilot light.

I had this one serviced by Audio Synapse in Portland, and had a new reverb tank installed, as the original was ineffective.

This amp is bright sounding to begin with, and the 12-inch speaker by Tokyo Sound Co. only makes it brighter. I replaced the original with a Peavey Neo and that added a lot of lower end.

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1950 Fender Pro Amp and Buddy Holly

1950 Fender Pro Amp


Fender guitar amp made famous by a pioneer of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Stumbled onto this vintage listing at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar, a 1950 Fender Pro Amp similar to the amp used by Buddy Holly to record his hits such as That’ll Be The Day and Peggy Sue.

1950 Fender Pro Amp TV Front
Photo courtesy Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar

For more excellent photos and full detail, here is the link to the listing:
1950 Fender Pro TV Front Tweed Vintage Tube Guitar Amplifier

After failing to chart a hit with the recordings he made with Decca Records in 1956, Buddy Holly and his band The Crickets drove 90 miles east of their home town Lubbock, Texas to record at the Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico. Working with Norman Petty as his producer and engineer, Holly had the freedom to play and record his songs the way he intended them to sound, which ultimately had a lasting impact on rock ‘n’ roll.

Buddy Holly & The Crickets on stage
Left to Right: Niki Sullivan, Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, Joe B. Maudlin. Photo source unknown

Ironically, the same Fender amp that Holly used in Clovis to record his hits remains there to this day. The grill cloth is a different color, but here’s a photo of Buddy Holly’s amp, currently on display at Norman Petty Recording Studios in Clovis, humbly being played by yours truly while visiting in 2016. 😎

A. Byron Balogh playing Buddy Holly's amp in the Norman Petty Recording Studio, Clovis, New Mexico

Hashtags: #BuddyHolly #Clovis #FenderTweedProAmp #NormanPetty

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Rare 1966 Murph Squire II-T on eBay


The Almost Famous Saga Continues

A rare 1966 Murph electric guitar surprisingly shows up on eBay, but that’s only part of the #AlmostFamous story. Read on…

1966 Murph Squire II-T

Photo courtesy eBay seller edselcandide
Photo courtesy eBay seller edselcandide

From the Listing

“Up for auction is a rare Murph Squire II-T made in 1966. These were produced between mid-1965 and around March or April of 1967 by Murphy Music Industries located at 1817 First Street in San Fernando, California. The company was owned by Patrick Murphy (1920-2009) who was born in Illinois, raised in Detroit, and settled his wife and 5 kids in California following World War II.”

Link to Auction

RARE Vintage 1966 Murph Squire II-T Solidbody Electric Guitar USA

Sold for $1,251.00

The Saga Continues

Continuing the saga of how a WWII Navy fighter pilot-turned-entrepreneur to design and build his own brand of electric guitars in the 1960s. Guitar player and author of the book series Guitar Stories, Michael Wright tells the unique story of Patrick Murphy and Murph Guitars. The story is told here by Michael Wright in Vintage Guitar Magazine.

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The Real Buddy Holly Story by Sonny Curtis

Sonny Curtis singing the Real Buddy Holly Story

Sonny Curtis

Here is Sonny Curtis playing his guitar and singing a special song he wrote as a tribute to his childhood friend, Buddy Holly, called The Real Buddy Holly Story.

He wrote the early rocker Rockin’ Around with Ollie Vee and later wrote the famous theme for The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He basically grew up with Buddy Holly and the Crickets. He travelled to Nashville in 1956 and played lead guitar on Buddy’s Decca recordings made at Owen Bradley’s Barn (aka the Quonset Hut). Later, Sonny became a permanent member of The Crickets after Buddy’s passing.

Here he is playing and singing a song he penned called The Real Buddy Holly Story.


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