Collector's Choice!
Some would call it Greeny....
by Chris Swope

Introducing the debut model of the "Collector's Choice" series from Gibson Custom. "Collector's Choice" is a new program from Gibson Custom Division that will be mining the vaults of worlds most notable guitar collectors to replicate some of the greatest individual guitars ever created.

The first in the series is a Custom Shop recreation of one of the most famed bursts in history.  It carries a double Guitar Hero connection in that it first came to prominence in the hands of the almighty Peter Green (the man who replaced Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and founded the original Fleetwood Mac) and later by rock/blues giant Gary Moore. 

This magical Les Paul's pickups are out of phase with each other when in the center position, apparently the result of a well intentioned but inexperienced repairman working on the neck pickup.  This sonic result became huge part of Peter's signature sound.  The original Fleetwood Mac was an enormously successful act, but at the height of their popularity, Peter Green walked away from it all. Scarred by bad LSD trips and hippie idealism, Green had wanted the band to give all of their money to charity.  The thought was not shared by all in the band. 

Here is a song that showcases the out of phase setting. 

Great playing on one of Peter's most famous compositions: 

Enter Gary Moore.  A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Moore was a Peter Green devotee/disciple from the moment he saw Peter playing with Mayall's Blues Breakers. Peter was a mentor to Gary and, after leaving Fleetwood Mac, loaned the guitar to Gary initially.  Later, it would fall under his ownership.  Gary used it in heavy rotation for many years, my favorite era being when he played with arguably the greatest Irish Rock band of all-time, Thin Lizzy.

One thing that I find very special about this guitar is that both Peter and Gary, (at least while Gary was in Thin Lizzy), were not the only lead guitarists in their groups.  Both shared the limelight with extremely talented guitarsts and this guitar was employed in fantastic musical conversations with other musicians.  In Peter's case, Danny Kirwan was a remarkably talented player, pushing Peter to new levels of creativity.  And Thin Lizzy's dual guitar attack is absolutely stunning as seen here with Scott Gorham in this live clip.  You'll notice Gary has flipped the neck pickup around back to its traditional polepiece at neck orientation. Both Scott and Gary burn on this one. Check out Gary at 4:22. Holy smokes!

Here is a nice musical conversation! 

I love you tube!

Call Chris or Scott at 1-800-343-9795 to learn more about this Les Paul!