How to Sound Like Peter Green — Gear, Settings, and Tone Guide

Peter Green is the forgotten genius of British blues. Eric Clapton called him "the one that made me curl my toes." His tone is unlike anyone else's — a hollow, nasal, singing quality that comes partly from a famous wiring accident and partly from a playing touch of extraordinary delicacy and restraint.

This guide explains the guitar, the wiring anomaly, the amplifiers, and the technique that made Peter Green one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century.

The Guitar: The "Greeny" Les Paul

Peter Green played a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard known as "Greeny." The guitar was purchased new around 1966 from Selmer's music shop in London. It had a specific anomaly: the neck pickup was mis-wired, or installed with the magnet reversed (accounts differ), causing it to have reversed polarity compared to the bridge pickup.

What does reversed pickup polarity mean?

In a normal Les Paul, both pickups have the same polarity. When you engage the middle position (both pickups on), they combine in-phase and the sound is full, warm, and slightly louder.

On Greeny, because the neck pickup had reversed polarity relative to the bridge, combining both pickups created partial phase cancellation. The midrange frequencies cancelled each other, leaving a nasal, hollow, thin sound with strong upper harmonics and a peculiar singing quality.

This is the sound of "The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)" — the most famous example of Green's out-of-phase tone.

The guitar was later sold to Gary Moore (see: How to Sound Like Gary Moore) and then to Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who purchased it in 2002 for approximately $2 million.

The Gibson Les Paul Peter Green Signature

Gibson produced a Peter Green Signature Les Paul that replicates the reversed-polarity pickup wiring. This is the only production guitar that has the correct anomaly built in. It is sold through the Gibson Custom Shop at approximately £4,000–£5,000.

How to recreate the out-of-phase sound on a standard Les Paul

You can replicate the reversed-polarity effect on any humbucker-equipped guitar with two pickups:

1. Reverse the phase of the neck pickup yourself. This requires opening the pickup cavity and reversing the hot and ground connections on the neck pickup. This is a 15-minute job for anyone with basic soldering skills. The effect is permanent but easily reversed.

2. Use an out-of-phase push-pull pot. A coil-tap or phase-switching push-pull pot on the volume or tone control can switch the neck pickup phase without permanent modification. A guitar technician can install this for £50–£80.

3. Use an active phase-switching pedal. The Boss PS-6 Harmonist has a phase-reversal setting. Less authentic, but avoids modifying the guitar.

Budget path: Get any Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul with two humbuckers, reverse the neck pickup phase (DIY or by a tech), and you have the core circuit.

The Amplifiers

Peter Green's early recordings (particularly with Fleetwood Mac 1967–1968) used a Selmer Treble 'N Bass 50 amplifier — a British amp of the period, largely forgotten now, that produced a clean-to-lightly-overdriven tone without the aggressive character of a Marshall.

For the later material ("Oh Well," "The Green Manalishi"), he had moved to Marshall amplifiers — the Super Lead 100W, run moderately loud.

Selmer Treble 'N Bass 50

This is a 50-watt British valve amplifier from the mid-1960s. It has a smooth, refined quality — less aggressive than a Marshall, with a clean-to-natural-breakup character. Original Selmers are rare and expensive (£500–£1,500 used).

Modern alternatives with the same clean-British-amp quality:

• Vox AC15 (£450–£500): Similar EL84-based circuit, chiming clean tone, natural breakup at moderate volumes. This is the closest accessible alternative to the Selmer character.
• Vox AC30 (£700–£800): More headroom, pairs well with a slightly louder setting
• Matchless DC30 (£2,500+): Boutique but the closest in character to the Selmer's refined warmth

Marshall Super Lead 100W

For the 1969–1970 material, the heavier Fleetwood Mac sound came from Marshall. Settings were relatively moderate — not the screaming-high-gain approach of later British rock, but a warm, sustaining overdrive at moderate volume levels.

The Tone: Beyond the Guitar

What made Peter Green distinctive was not primarily the out-of-phase sound — it was his touch. He played with minimal picking attack, allowing notes to bloom gradually. His vibrato was slow, wide, and deeply expressive. His phrasing contained enormous space.

Key technique elements:

Light picking attack: Green let the pickup and amp do the work. He did not dig in hard with the pick. The result is a tone that is warm and even — no harsh transients, no aggressive pick attack. This is counterintuitive for players trained in rock guitar, where pick attack provides definition.

Slow, wide vibrato: His vibrato on bent notes is extended and slow — a full semitone width, sustained for longer than most players would attempt. Listen to "Albatross" and "Black Magic Woman" (the studio Fleetwood Mac version). The vibrato carries the melody like a vocalist's sustain.

Space: Green did not fill every bar. The open space in his solos — rests, held notes, silences — is as important as the notes he plays. This is a blues discipline.

Key Recordings to Study

• "Black Magic Woman" (1968): The melodic restraint and space are the lesson. Listen to how few notes he uses.
• "Albatross" (1968): The guitar instrumental that reached number one in the UK. A masterclass in tone and space.
• "Oh Well Part 1" (1969): More aggressive — Marshall amp, forward pick attack — but the phrasing is still controlled.
• "The Green Manalishi" (1970): The out-of-phase tone at its most extreme. Both pickups combined, the nasal quality fully present.
• "Need Your Love So Bad" (1968): Slow blues with vibrato that exemplifies his emotional approach.

Complete Budget Builds

Under £500 — Core Tone

• Guitar: Epiphone Les Paul Standard (£300) + DIY pickup phase reversal (£0 or £50 tech fee)
• Amp: Vox AC15C1 (£450) or Fender Blues Junior (£380)
• No pedals needed: The out-of-phase selector plus a warm amp is the setup
• Focus: Practice the light picking touch and slow vibrato

£500–£1,500 — Closer to Original

• Guitar: Gibson Les Paul Standard or Studio with phase mod (£800–£1,000)
• Amp: Vox AC30 (£700) or Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb (£850)
• Result: Very convincing Green territory

£2,000+ — Authentic Build

• Guitar: Gibson Custom Peter Green Les Paul Signature (£4,000) — has the correct out-of-phase wiring
• Amp: Matchless DC30 (£2,500) or Marshall 1959 Super Lead reissue (£2,500)
• Result: The exact setup Green used

Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

What was special about Peter Green's Les Paul? The 1959 Les Paul "Greeny" had a mis-wired neck pickup with reversed polarity, creating partial phase cancellation when both pickups are combined. This produces the nasal, hollow out-of-phase sound.

Can I replicate the out-of-phase sound without buying his guitar? Yes. Reverse the phase of the neck pickup on any Les Paul — this is a simple modification any guitar technician can do for £50–£80.

What amplifier did Peter Green use? Early Fleetwood Mac: Selmer Treble 'N Bass 50. Later: Marshall Super Lead 100W. The Vox AC30 is the best modern alternative for his early tone.

Why does Peter Green's tone sound so different? Two reasons: the out-of-phase pickup wiring creates a distinctive nasal quality, and his extremely light picking touch and slow vibrato produce a smooth, rounded note envelope unlike most rock guitarists.

Did Peter Green use pedals? Very rarely. The tone was guitar → amp, with the pickup selector doing the work of creating tonal variety.