The most famous Les Paul in blues-rock — Green → Gary Moore → Kirk Hammett
Peter Green with a Gibson Les Paul (his signature model). Gibson promotional photo
“Greeny” is the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard that Peter Green played through his Bluesbreakers and Fleetwood Mac years. Its neck pickup was reversed, giving a distinctive out-of-phase tone. Green sold it to Gary Moore, and in 2014 it passed to Metallica's Kirk Hammett.
Few guitars have a lineage like this one. “Greeny” is a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard that Peter Green acquired around 1964–65 and played through his time in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and the original Fleetwood Mac — the instrument behind “Albatross,” “Oh Well” and “The Green Manalishi.”
Its magic is an accident. Chasing Eric Clapton's sound, Green had the neck pickup removed; when it went back in, it was installed the wrong way round. The result was a magnetically out-of-phase pair of pickups — thin, nasal and vocal in the middle switch position. Kirk Hammett has described it as sounding like “a Strat through a 100-watt Marshall stack.”
In the early 1970s Green sold the guitar to Gary Moore, who made it his own for decades. In 2014 it passed to Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who still plays it live and in the studio — and whose signature Gibson and Epiphone “Greeny” models have since put the tone in reach of everyone.
Who owns Greeny now?
Kirk Hammett of Metallica has owned Greeny since 2014.
How much did Kirk Hammett pay for Greeny?
Hammett has said he paid “quite a bit less than $1 million,” buying it when the seller needed cash.
Why does Greeny sound different?
Its neck pickup was reinstalled with reversed magnetic polarity, making the two pickups out of phase — a thin, honky middle-position tone now known as the “Peter Green mod.”
Sources: Greeny (guitar), Wikipedia · MusicRadar — Kirk Hammett on Greeny · GuitarPlayer — the Les Paul lineage