Epiphone Kirk Hammett "Greeny" B-Stock

In terms of basic design, the Epiphone Kirk Hammett Greeny 1959 Les Paul Standard is not too different from a regular Les Paul and has the same combination of a solid mahogany body and carved maple top, the latter adorned with a striking flamed maple veneer. The set neck in turn is made from mahogany and features a 22-fret laurel fingerboard with the classic "crown" inlays found on other Les Paul Standards. This model does however differ in terms of its neck profile and particularly its "Greenybucker" pickups (developed in collaboration with Kirk Hammett himself). Each one features an AlNiCo-2 magnet, which in the neck pickup is wound in reverse polarity to replicate the original's distinctive nasal "out-of-phase" tone with the selector switch in the middle position. The guitar also features high-quality circuitry and Mallory tone capacitors, and unusually for an Epiphone comes with a Gibson-style "Open Book" headstock adorned with a set of Grover Rotomatic machine heads.

Today, Epiphone is known only as the Asian budget offshoot of Gibson. Yet both companies were once independent, equal, and also bitter rivals. The roots of Epiphone go back to the 1870s and to Anastasios Stathopoulo, a Greek instrument maker, who emigrated to America in 1903 with his son Epaminondas (“Epi” for short). Epi changed the name of the firm to the "Epiphone Banjo Company" after taking over the family business in 1928. During this year, Epiphone also began to manufacture guitars, which rapidly came to dominate their sales. In 1957, Epiphone was taken over by C.M.I., which already included Gibson, but continued as a separate brand until 1970, when manufacturing was outsourced to Asia. Well-known Epiphone models include the Casino, played by the Beatles, and the Sheraton, John Lee Hooker's instrument of choice.