Gibson has built Kirk Hammett a replica of his “Greeny” 1959 Les Paul Standard
Could a Custom Shop release of the guitar made famous by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green be in the works?
Kirk Hammett has gone on record numerous times about his love for Greeny, his 1959 Les Paul ‘burst electric guitar that was famously owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, and later Gary Moore.
Now, apparently, that one-of-a-kind LP has a twin. Hammett recently posted a photo on his official Instagram page of a second “Greeny,” this one a new recreation custom-made for the guitarist by Gibson. The guitar clearly features the same reversed neck pickup configuration – for that classic middle-position Greeny tone – and also some different wear patterns.
The post has led to speculation that a Gibson Custom Shop reissue of the famed ’59 'burst might be in the offing.
A photo posted by @kirkhammett on Sep 20, 2020 at 2:15pm PDT
Back in February, Hammett and Greeny were on hand at the Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac tribute concert at the London Palladium, where the Metallica guitarist ripped through Fleetwood Mac’s The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown).
“It was a homecoming for Greeny," he told Guitar World, "and I felt like I was just along for the ride. The guitar was driving, and I was there observing the scenery as it went by.”
A month prior, Hammett also had the opportunity to meet Peter Green and brought the guitar along.
“That was kinda funny,” he recalled. “I showed [Peter] Greeny and he said, 'That’s not my guitar. My guitar had a lot more red in it.'
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“But he was willing to hold Greeny and take pictures with me and Greeny, and that was significant for me because it was the first time he had come into contact with that guitar since the early '70s.
"It was another full-circle experience. Greeny left him for almost 50 years and gained all this notoriety being involved in all this classic music. And then when I came over, Greeny came back into the hands of Peter Green [if just for a moment]. It was really touching."
While Gibson has never produced an official run of Peter Green replica models, the company has offered a Gary Moore Les Paul Standard, which boasted some Greeny features, including the reverse-mounted neck pickup.
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Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
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