Gibson Murphy Lab Kirk Hammett “Greeny” 1959 Les Paul Standard – Greeny Burst, Aged

Three Legendary Guitarists, One Legendary Guitar

Truly, there are few instruments in music history as legendary as Greeny, a 1959 Les Paul that has basically exclusively been owned and played by some of the biggest names in rock and roll. First, it helped Peter Green put a British spin on the blues for years with Fleetwood Mac. Then, Peter Green sold it to Gary Moore, who used it to rock every jukebox in the world with Thin Lizzy. Finally, it made its way to Metallica's resident super-shredder Kirk Hammett, who purchased it a few years ago and has been playing shows with it (it ain't a museum piece!) ever since.

If Greeny could talk, it would definitely have some stories to tell! Now, our friends at the Gibson Murphy Lab have made it possible for you to be a part of the Greeny story by producing an exacting reissue of the original, and they are truly breathtaking wooden tone stallions! The artisans at the Murphy Lab age each Greeny to mimic the wear patter of the original, and they even reversed the neck pickups magnetic polarity so you can cop that out-of-phase tone that graced so many iconic records over the years.

It's provides a truly wonderful vintage-style playing experience, and we have no doubt it will inspire some lucky Gibson aficionado to plug in, turn up, and rock out!

The Marvels of the Murphy Lab

There are 7.764 billion people on this beautiful ball of water and dirt that we call home, and hardly any of them know Gibson guitars better than Tom Murphy. Tom is a legend in the world of guitars, and instruments bearing his name have acquired a deservedly sterling reputation due to their outstanding tone, jaw-dropping looks, and stunning vintage accuracy. But, he wasn't always a rockstar of lutherie. In fact, he worked as a professional touring musician for many years, and during that time he became intimately acquainted with vintage guitars: how they sound, how they feel, and how they look. After deciding to stop touring, Tom got a job as a finish specialist at Gibson and eventually became a project manager in charge of the first reissues of the 1959 Les Paul standard.

For a while, Tom also gained valuable experience working as a luthier to the stars, and his client list included luminaries like Jimmy Page, Dickey Betts, Joe Perry, Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, and Gary Rossington (fun fact: he brought Peter Frampton's iconic Les Paul Custom back from the dead after it had been resting in pieces in the debris of a crashed cargo plane for three decades!).

Now, things have come full circle, and our friends at Gibson have handed Tom the keys to a brand-new institution of sonic savagery within the Gibson Custom Shop: the Murphy Lab. Tom and his team of skilled craftspeople have one mission, and one mission only: to create the most ridiculously awesome recreations of vintage Gibson guitars that the world has ever seen.

Step Into the Lab

Murphy Lab is aptly named because it is basically the musical equivalent of what happens when you give a mad scientist a laboratory fully stocked with warp drives and flux capacitors. With a plethora of resources behind them, Tom and his team have been able to create guitars that are essentially carbon copies of vintage Gibsons. They look, feel, and sound so close to the originals that it's downright scary.

How do Tom and his team achieve such unparalleled vintage accuracy? Well, first off, Tom has discovered a brand-new formula for nitrocellulose lacquer that mimics the properties of 1950s and ‘60s finishes to a T. Thanks to this thinner finish, Murphy Lab guitars look like authentic vintage pieces. They don’t just look the part--they are the real McCoy!

Of course, the heart of the Murphy Lab is the aging process. Part of what made Tom a legend was his ability to replicate the natural wear and tear found on distressed vintage instruments by hand-aging brand-new instruments. With his practiced eye and skilled hands, Tom artfully mimicked the finish and feel of old guitars, and he has imparted his skills to the talented team at the Murphy Lab.

Though Tom may not age each and every guitar himself, he has done a bang-up job of teaching his team the Way of Murphy, and they do a marvelous job of replicating his masterful work. As a result, each guitar looks like it came out of a time machine and feels like your favorite worn-in pair of blue jeans.