The Les Paul Greeny Standard is now available

[Andy Eagle]

Not my favorite looking lemon burst. I'll play one if I see one in a store, other than that...meh.



Really?

I find that surprising considering how many people love Peter Green's music. What was so bad about it? FWIW, I don't know if I've ever played a murphy lab. I have played R7s-R0s, but I don't think any were ML. One R7 was relic'd, so maybe it was....I don't remember. I was demoing an amp and that's the LP the store let me use.



Wasn't the original a magnet flip? Isn't that somehow different? I honestly don't know. But, why does it need 4-conductors just to do a polarity flip? Am I missing something about what it does?

Anyway....I don't know why, but I've disliked every 4-conductor humbucker I've ever played.

Peter Green's music has absolutely nothing to do with whether it is a good instrument or not. When I played it it was after the major neck repair which involved a new truss rod if I remember correctly and this may well have changed how it sounded. It was a pretty ordinary/dull sounding Les Paul.
4 conductor wiring make no difference to the tone of the pickup at all.
Yes the original was a magnet flip but wiring it out of phase sounds the same IME. it just flips the polarity between the two pickups on together. You can try rotating the pickup 180 degrees but this is very hard to hear.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Magnet was flipped and the pickup itself was rotated 180° to put the slugs coil under the 24th fret harmonic. Just flipping the magnet alone makes zero difference compared to flipping the polarity with a switch.

The slugs coils supposedly has a more efficient magnetic circuit than the screws coil, probably due to the slugs being a bit thicker than the screws and bumping its inductance up a bit.

The screws coil is adjustable, though, and with the combination of raising the pole pieces and backing off the pickup, the coils can be balanced or even out of balance in the screws coil's favor.

Most of the mojo that puts the Greenie set-up over the regular out-of-phase via wiring change is, IMHO, the slugs coil being closer to the neck, as it puts the slightly more sensitive coil there instead of about where the 26th/27th fret would be.

Magnetic attraction follows the inverse square law, so when distances are relatively small, relatively small changes in distance make fairly big changes in the result....

Depends which way you flip the magnet. It is definitely out of phase and I would defy you to record two clips one with the pick up rotated and the other not (set at the exact same hight) and tell the difference.

 

[Andy Eagle]

I have personal knowledge of the original too. I know the guy who actually got it from Gary and one of the (many) repair people who worked on it when Gary had it.

Thing to remember - it’s a very different guitar from when Peter Green owned it, headstock had been broken at least twice, numerous refrets, pickups in and out etc. (I know more but not for public).

Gary was notoriously impatient and also tight. (English saying meaning didn’t like spending money) so any repair work was done for the lowest price in the quickest time.

I’ve played a lot of old Les Pauls, but never this one. The two people I know that have echo the sentiments on here, an utter disappointment.

And I agree - the Murphy Labs are stunning.

I did All of Phil's repair work when he was in England.
And Gary, I refused to do stuff for after I knew what he was like. If you know these people Graham ended up doing a bit of his stuff ( Charvel days.)
Don't start me on the Red one and the white Soloist.

 

[Andy Eagle]

I’m curious about folks’ experience with the original as well. Wondering what they didn’t like about it.

If someone lent you a mid seventies LP that was pretty battered and sounded totally ordinary and played only acceptably then you would have the measure of it.

 

[Habuman]

I did All of Phil's repair work when he was in England.
And Gary, I refused to do stuff for after I knew what he was like. If you know these people Graham ended up doing a bit of his stuff ( Charvel days.)
Don't start me on the Red one and the white Soloist.

“All of Phil’s repair work”

Was that Phil Lynott? If so, very nice. Thin Lizzy is my all time favorite.

 

[Andy Eagle]

“All of Phil’s repair work”

Was that Phil Lynott? If so, very nice. Thin Lizzy is my all time favorite.

Sorry no, I mean the guy that got the guitar from Gary.

 

[nathan_393]

If someone lent you a mid seventies LP that was pretty battered and sounded totally ordinary and played only acceptably then you would have the measure of it.

This is actually extraordinarily helpful on understanding how it feels. Thanks!

 

[marsonic]

Peter Green's music has absolutely nothing to do with whether it is a good instrument or not. When I played it it was after the major neck repair which involved a new truss rod if I remember correctly and this may well have changed how it sounded. It was a pretty ordinary/dull sounding Les Paul.
4 conductor wiring make no difference to the tone of the pickup at all.
Yes the original was a magnet flip but wiring it out of phase sounds the same IME. it just flips the polarity between the two pickups on together. You can try rotating the pickup 180 degrees but this is very hard to hear.

Yes, I know that 4 wires shouldn't matter. I've also never owned both a 2-conductor and 4-conductor version of the same pickup, so it's probably a coincidence.

FWIW, the description for it mention a magnet flip, not wired backwards.

Also....if all the repairs might be responsible for it being so bad, maybe the new ones could be good? Whatever. I'm not a collector...so that one is kind of just a lemon burst that doesn't look great in pictures to me.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Yes, I know that 4 wires shouldn't matter. I've also never owned both a 2-conductor and 4-conductor version of the same pickup, so it's probably a coincidence.

FWIW, the description for it mention a magnet flip, not wired backwards.

Also....if all the repairs might be responsible for it being so bad, maybe the new ones could be good? Whatever. I'm not a collector...so that one is kind of just a lemon burst that doesn't look great in pictures to me.

I know but there is no practical difference other than it allows standard 2 conductor wire.
The R9 versions are good. The standard is a standard with all the variations that brings.

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

Depends which way you flip the magnet. It is definitely out of phase

Never claimed it wasn't out of phase, just that the only bit of difference between a standard pickup with the OOP switch and the Greenie set-up was the rotated neck pickup and the difference in how that "hears" the strings.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Never claimed it wasn't out of phase, just that the only bit of difference between a standard pickup with the OOP switch and the Greenie set-up was the rotated neck pickup and the difference in how that "hears" the strings.

Sorry misunderstood you.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Depends which way you flip the magnet. It is definitely out of phase and I would defy you to record two clips one with the pick up rotated and the other not (set at the exact same hight) and tell the difference.

No need to record anything! Kirk displays it here in all it’s glorious out of phase “Strat-like” tone!

 

[rcm78]

The pics I've seen of these on different retailers sites has been all over the map. Lots of mismatched tops and darker tints than the original. It also appears to be a satin finish. Eh...

 

[Andy Eagle]

No need to record anything! Kirk displays it here in all it’s glorious out of phase “Strat-like” tone!

Damn he missed me out of the list of who played it!

 

[marsonic]

The pics I've seen of these on different retailers sites has been all over the map. Lots of mismatched tops and darker tints than the original. It also appears to be a satin finish. Eh...

I really hate the satin finish Gibson has been doing.

 

[brianv4]

No need to record anything! Kirk displays it here in all it’s glorious out of phase “Strat-like” tone!

I caught this interview on Stern too. Love when James says "I rejected it" . They're on Kimmel all week too but Greenie has made an appearance yet.

 

[nathan_393]

I really hate the satin finish Gibson has been doing.

I had a Les Paul Tribute (2017 model) with a satin neck and back and it felt great. That said, the finish was crazy thin. Within a week, it looked decades old.

 

[marsonic]

I had a Les Paul Tribute (2017 model) with a satin neck and back and it felt great. That said, the finish was crazy thin. Within a week, it looked decades old.

I don't think it would bother me on the back....but glossy necks also don't bother me.

It's the fronts that look wrong.

I guess you could polish them and maybe the couple hundred bucks you tend to save is worth it to some people. But, idk...I just don't get it.

 

[BBN]

Since it's the Kirk model, does it have a built in wah?

 

[nathan_393]

I don't think it would bother me on the back....but glossy necks also don't bother me.

It's the fronts that look wrong.

I guess you could polish them and maybe the couple hundred bucks you tend to save is worth it to some people. But, idk...I just don't get it.

I also dislike satin fronts, particularly on Les Pauls. I've seen a few folks make their satin finishes glossy, but they still somehow look wrong. Maybe the tops they use on those cheaper guitars are cheaper as well. If it's not a nice AAA top, I usually prefer a gold top, or at least a single colour.

If the Greeny has a satin top, that would be enough to turn me off too. I'd rather get a glossy lemon burst on another instrument and put in aftermarket Peter Green pickups.