USA pickups, a long neck tenon, and the iconic “open book” headstock all feature
Following numerous teaser posts on social media, one of the guitar industry’s worst-kept secrets has finally been announced in the shape of the Epiphone Kirk Hammett “Greeny” 1959 Les Paul Standard. Developed in close collaboration with the Gibson Custom Shop, the Epiphone version follows in the footsteps of the recent Gibson Custom and Gibson USA “Greeny” models and is the most accessible recreation of this legendary instrument to date.
Featuring Gibson USA Greenybucker pickups, premium components, and a Gibson-style open book headstock—a first for Epiphone in the modern era—this is an Epiphone Les Paul™ like no other. “Kirk worked with us every step of the way to ensure this model has the same sound and feel as his legendary original guitar,” says Mat Koehler, Vice President of Product at Gibson Brands.
“It was extremely important for him that we get it right. I know that we’ve done him proud because he couldn’t—and still can’t—stop playing the prototype. Our Epiphone and Gibson Custom Shop teams are continually collaborating and elevating materials and ideas, and our forthcoming Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop-level Epiphone models will also feature the Gibson open book headstock shape. This version of ‘Greeny’ is undeniable, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring it to market.”
With Gibson USA Greenybuckers ensuring that the guitar captures the distinctive out-of-phase middle-position tone of the original instrument, the Epiphone Kirk Hammett “Greeny” 1959 Les Paul Standard comes complete with a whole host of superior features. A comfortable vintage-style, one-piece mahogany neck with a long tenon brings extra sustain to the game, while the guitar also features CTS® potentiometers, Mallory™ capacitors, and ultra-reliable Grover® Rotomatic® tuners. To complete the package, a vintage-style brown and pink hardshell case is provided, ensuring this masterpiece is as well protected as it is sonically authentic.
Made famous by its legendary owners Peter Green, Gary Moore, and now Kirk Hammett, “Greeny” needs little introduction. One of the most iconic 1959 Les Paul Standards ever made, it was used to almost supernatural effect by Peter Green in the early days of Fleetwood Mac before being sold to Gary Moore, who played it for three decades with Thin Lizzy and as a solo artist. Anyone who has seen Metallica live over the past few years will have heard “Greeny” in all its glory. Indeed—Hammett rarely lets it out of his sight. “Where I sleep, it’s literally ten feet from me,” he told Howard Stern earlier in 2023. “I keep it where I am and play it onstage, too.”
As if three celebrity owners weren’t enough, over the years, “Greeny” has also been played by a laundry list of A-list guitarists. “Greeny has its own fanbase, it’s amazing,” Hammett told MusicRadar.com. “Lots of people have played that guitar. Jimi Hendrix has played that guitar, Rory Gallagher, Jeff Beck, George Harrison… I mean, the list goes on and on and on.”
Kirk Hammett’s most famous Gibson in the early days of Metallica was his 1979 Flying V™—recently replicated by Gibson Custom and Epiphone—but he was bitten by the Les Paul bug in the late 1980s. “Once I started getting some disposable income, I started eyeballing Les Pauls,” he told us in a recent interview. “It wasn’t until like 1988 or ’89 that I got my first black Les Paul Custom, and I loved it. You can see it in the documentary on the making of The Black Album [A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica].”
Indeed, it was Black Album producer Bob Rock who was instrumental in introducing Hammett to the considerable charms of these legendary guitars. “Bob Rock kind of opened my eyes up to 50s Standards,” says Hammett. “He gave me the whole spiel about how rare they are, how unique they sound, how they all have a different character and their own unique voice. And he told me about PAF pickups. Around the time of Load [1996] and Reload [1997], I started getting into the PAF pickup. At that point, I think I bought my first 50s Standard and, from there, started getting more and more Standards. Now they’re one of my favorite guitars.”
