There are some guitars that have made an indelible mark in the history of Rock music, and one of these is most certainly “Greeny”, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard that, in the hands of British Blues maestro Peter Green, shaped the unmistakable early sound of Fleetwood Mac and later spent more than 30 years as the weapon of choice for none other than Gary Moore, who played it throughout his tenure with Thin Lizzy and later during his successful solo career. Greeny is now back in the limelight and adding another chapter to its already stellar history thanks to its new owner, Metallica guitar icon Kirk Hammett, and in tribute to this universally revered guitar, Epiphone and the Gibson Custom Shop now proudly present the Kirk Hammett Greeny 1959 Les Paul Standard, a modern interpretation that sticks closely to the specifications of the original but comes with both a custom-fit case and a much more affordable price tag.
In terms of basic design, the Epiphone Kirk Hammett Greeny 1959 Les Paul Standard is not too different from a regular Les Paul and has the same combination of a solid mahogany body and carved maple top, the latter adorned with a striking flamed maple veneer. The set neck in turn is made from mahogany and features a 22-fret laurel fingerboard with the classic "crown" inlays found on other Les Paul Standards. This model does however differ in terms of its neck profile and particularly its "Greenybucker" pickups (developed in collaboration with Kirk Hammett himself). Each one features an AlNiCo-2 magnet, which in the neck pickup is wound in reverse polarity to replicate the original's distinctive nasal "out-of-phase" tone with the selector switch in the middle position. The guitar also features high-quality circuitry and Mallory tone capacitors, and unusually for an Epiphone comes with a Gibson-style "Open Book" headstock adorned with a set of Grover Rotomatic machine heads.
It goes without saying that not everyone has the spare cash lying around to buy a US-made Greeny Les Paul from the Gibson Custom Shop, so the Epiphone Kirk Hammett Greeny is obviously a very interesting alternative. At the heart of the original Greeny's sound is its neck pickup, which Peter Green inserted facing backwards and which also features a reverse-wound magnet. In addition to the conventional range of Les Paul sounds, this pickup thus also delivers a nasal, out-of-phase tone when both pickups are active. A "Greeny" would not be complete without this unique sound, which is why Epiphone has taken no chances and equipped the Kirk Hammett Greeny with a set of Gibson's US-made, hand-wired "Greenybucker" pickups, which give players the full range of dynamic clean, crunch, and overdrive sounds that come extremely close to the sound of the legendary original.
Today, Epiphone is known only as the Asian budget offshoot of Gibson. Yet both companies were once independent, equal, and also bitter rivals. The roots of Epiphone go back to the 1870s and to Anastasios Stathopoulo, a Greek instrument maker, who emigrated to America in 1903 with his son Epaminondas (“Epi” for short). Epi changed the name of the firm to the "Epiphone Banjo Company" after taking over the family business in 1928. During this year, Epiphone also began to manufacture guitars, which rapidly came to dominate their sales. In 1957, Epiphone was taken over by C.M.I., which already included Gibson, but continued as a separate brand until 1970, when manufacturing was outsourced to Asia. Well-known Epiphone models include the Casino, played by the Beatles, and the Sheraton, John Lee Hooker's instrument of choice.
The variety of musical styles in which the original "Greeny" Les Paul has already carved a niche for itself is a testament to the instrument's immense versatility: From "Albatross" (Fleetwood Mac's first number 1 single) and "Still Got The Blues" (probably Gary Moore's most famous song), through to modern Metal in the hands of new owner Kirk Hammett, Greeny has done it all, and this potential has been distilled into Epiphone's interpretation of the legendary instrument. Alongside an authentic replication of its legendary sound, the Epiphone Greeny also comes very close to the look of the original thanks to its headstock, which for the first time ever at Epiphone features Gibson's "Open Book" design, and the guitar comes in a vintage-style hardshell case with pink plush lining and custom artwork on the lid.