The Epiphone Greeny Les Paul is coming very soon and apparently, it has a list price of $1499.
UPDATE 21/11/23
As we said a few weeks ago, the Epiphone Kirk Hammett Greeny 1959 Les Paul Standard is officially out today and available to order from select dealers.
It is available now on Thomann
The Guitar’s Story
“Greeny” is a legendary guitar with a history rich in mystery and musical prowess. This original Les Paul™ Standard is renowned for its exceptional sound, as distinctive as the instrument itself. Initially, in the hands of Peter Green, it became a staple during his era with Fleetwood Mac and was later passed to Gary Moore, who played it for thirty years, including his time with Thin Lizzy and as a solo artist. Currently, Kirk Hammett is the proud owner of Greeny, marking its journey through three iconic guitarists. Its unique sound character is partially due to the out-of-phase position of the middle switch, a result of the neck pickup’s reverse magnetic polarity.
The Epiphone Kirk Hammett “Greeny” Les Paul Standard is a joint creation of Epiphone and the Gibson Custom Shop. Inspired by Kirk’s original legendary guitar, this model offers musicians globally a chance to experience a piece of “Greeny’s” enchantment. It’s equipped with top-tier features like Gibson USA Greenybucker pickups, with the neck pickup reverse mounted and fitted with a reverse polarity magnet. Other high-quality components include a Switchcraft pickup selector, a 1/4″ output jack, CTS potentiometers, Mallory™ capacitors, and Grover Rotomatic tuners with spade-style buttons on a classic Gibson-style “open book” headstock. It also comes with a vintage-style brown and pink hardshell case.
Epiphone Greeny Les Paul
The Epiphone Greeny Les Paul was always coming, ever since Metallica’s Kirk Hammett released a Gibson USA and Custom Shop version of the original.
It looks as though the new Epiphone Kirk Hammett Greeny will be out on 21 November 2023 and priced at $1499.
Peter Green, Gary Moore, Hammett
Kirk now owns the original Gibson ’59 Les Paul Standard, which was once owned by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac. The guitar was sold by Peter Green to Gary Moore, who used it for a number of years, notably on the Still Got The Blues, and Blues For Greeny albums.
Epiphone Hammett Signatures
Kirk has only just had a new Epiphone 1979 Flying V signature model announced this week. That one is based on the original Gibson guitar he used in the early days of Metallica.
Cesar Confirmed…
Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian has also stated that an Epiphone model was in the works.
A lucky guitar buyer in the US has managed to pick up an Epiphone Greeny Les Paul ahead of the official release date. As an Epiphone dealer ‘accidentally’ sold one before the official release date.
What’s Different?
This Epiphone version of the iconic Greeny comes with a set of the Greeny humbucking pickups as standard. In the images they look like the US Gibson models, so that’s a nice upgrade. We are guessing that they will be out of phase and use Mallory capacitors and CTS potentiometers for the wiring.
Headstock Shape
It also appears to have the classic ‘open book’ headstock shape, rather than the standard Epiphone Kalamazoo shape.
Flame Maple
Elsewhere, there is a flame maple top (possibly a veneer) and what looks like a standard mahogany body and neck. We are guessing that it will either be a rosewood or an Indian Laurel fretboard and maybe a Graph Tech nut.
Hardware
The hardware looks like an Epiphone Locktone bridge and matching stop tailpiece, plus a set of Grover Rotomatic tuners. Plus, a set of mismatched control knobs, with Reflector knobs and standard Bell knobs, just like the original guitars. There is also a blank Poker Chip for the three-way toggle switch.
Guitar Bomb Verdict
It looks nice, but we aren’t sure it is $1499-nice! It is after all a fairly standard Epiphone Les Paul with some nice pickups and a few cosmetic differences. However, it does come with a hard case.
MSRP – $1499
More Information
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