Jason Momoa has become the proud owner of the last available Gibson Custom Shop Collector’s Edition Kirk Hammett “Greeny” 1959 Les Paul Standard.
The actor and self-confessed guitar nerd posted an enthusiastic update on Instagram, stating, “Love you [Cesar] Gueikian and Gibson Custom for saving me the last Greeny. Kirk Hammett, i’m so stoked. Metallica fo life. All my aloha”.
Momoa gets to add the Greeny to a collection that already includes a Master Built Fender Custom Shop replica of Buddy Guy’s polka dot Strat, a Bigsby-equipped Les Paul Goldtop and a Fender Custom Shop P-Bass.
The Hammett “Greeny” Les Paul is a detailed reproduction of Peter Green’s iconic ’59 Burst – the guitar previously owned by the Fleetwood Mac guitarist, before it passed into the hands of Gary Moore and, more recently, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett.
The latter was heavily involved in the Custom Shop process, offering full access to the original instrument for scans and imaging, in order to fully document the build, finish, wear and tone of the instrument.
The model was limited to a production run of just 50 instruments and saw no corners cut. As such, the reissues include a wealth of hard-to-source, period-correct components and tone woods, including Brazilian rosewood fretboards, Bumblebee capacitors and custom Greeny pickups (not forgetting the reverse-mounted neck humbucker that leant the original its distinctive out-of-phase tone).
Indeed, Gibson’s Custom Shop build was so exclusive that no prices were shared and instead interested parties were invited to get in touch directly with the Gibson Garage store to enquire about availability.
Online speculation has seen quotes in the region of $50,000, which if true, would represent a good investment, given the two current listings on Reverb already have asking prices of $85,000.
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