Three Legendary Guitarists, One Legendary Guitar (gibson les paul classic)

The story of “Greeny” is shrouded in mystery, but few guitars are as illustrious. Greeny is one of the most iconic original Les Paul Standards ever made, with a unique sound as recognizable as the guitar itself. Previously owned by Peter Green, it was used throughout his time with Fleetwood Mac and later sold to Gary Moore, who used it for three decades with Thin Lizzy and as a solo artist. Now owned by Kirk Hammett, Greeny has passed through the hands of three legendary guitarists. Its distinctive sound is partly from the out-of-phase middle switch position due to the neck pickup’s reversed magnetic polarity. The Kirk Hammett “Greeny” Les Paul Standard was inspired by this legendary guitar and gives players around the world the opportunity to experience some of the magic of “Greeny” for themselves. An Original Series hardshell case is included. gibson les paul classic

As before, though, there are a lot of sharp edges, especially to the top edge of the body binding, and you can feel a slight line on the edge of the neck where it meets the binding, the same on the body. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it does give a rather unfinished feel to a $3k guitar – and with everything else being so ship-shape, we can’t help but ask why?

Plugged in, Greeny is noticeably hotter than our reference Les Paul Classic with its retrofitted Burstbucker 1 and 2 – a little thicker, creamier, less polite. With both volumes full up, it sounds more Gary Moore than Peter Green, and when we select both pickups the sound drops in volume with its expected out-of-phase nasally, thinner voice.

However, reducing either of the volumes a little creates a slightly out-of-phase sound that’s a lot more useful for most: fuller but still with a little honk. Unlike the current Les Paul Classic, which has a pull-switch to engage a conventional out-of-phase sound if you want it, the magnet flip here means you don’t have a choice.