What Guitar Did Gary Moore Use?
Gary Moore's guitar history spans several instruments and eras, but one guitar defines his sound more than any other: the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard originally owned by Peter Green.
Primary Guitar: 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Peter Green's Guitar)
Year: 1959
Finish: Originally Sunburst, heavily aged
Pickups: Original PAF humbuckers with reversed neck pickup magnet
This is the most historically significant guitar in Gary Moore's collection. The history:
- Originally made in 1959 as part of Gibson's most celebrated production year for the Les Paul
- Acquired by Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) — Green used it to record "Oh Well", "Black Magic Woman", "The Green Manalishi", and "Albatross"
- Peter Green sold it to Gary Moore in 1974 for £100
The reversed magnet: The neck pickup has a reversed magnet, which produces a partial phase cancellation when both pickups are selected simultaneously. This gives a unique "scooped" midrange character — nasal, thin, and distinctive — that is heard on the Peter Green tracks mentioned above and in Moore's clean/bluesy passages.
Moore used this guitar on virtually every recording from 1974 through to the end of his career, including all of Still Got the Blues (1990).
Era 1: Thin Lizzy / Hard Rock (1974–1982)
Primary: 1959 Les Paul Standard
Secondary: Various Gibson Les Paul Standards
During the Thin Lizzy years, Moore primarily used the Peter Green Les Paul alongside other late-1950s Les Paul Standards. The combination of vintage PAF pickups and loud Marshall amplification produced the aggressive, sustain-rich tone of his hard rock period.
Era 2: Blues (1990–2011)
Primary: 1959 Les Paul Standard (still)
Secondary: Fender Stratocaster (1993–2001)
For Still Got the Blues and the subsequent blues albums, Moore used the 1959 Les Paul as his primary instrument. The Soldano SLO-100 and JCM800 combination brought out the warmth and sustain of the PAF pickups in a way that defined his most celebrated recorded sound.
Stratocaster period: From approximately 1993–2001, Moore explored Fender Stratocasters for albums including After Hours and Blues for Greeny. He used a late-1950s/early-1960s Stratocaster for a cleaner, single-coil sound. However, the Les Paul remained his primary instrument.
The Vibrato Factor
Gary Moore's tone is inseparable from his vibrato technique — a slow, wide, controlled vibrato applied with deliberate timing. Regardless of which guitar he played, the vibrato adds an expressive, vocal quality that was uniquely his.
Physical component: Moore used the guitar's volume knob for swell effects and the whammy bar (on certain guitars) for controlled vibrato. Most of his expressive vibrato, however, comes from pure finger technique — bending the string sideways at a slow, consistent rate.
Budget Guitar Options
| Guitar | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s | £449 | Closest budget option; ProBucker pickups |
| Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s | £2,099 | Direct equivalent |
| Squier Classic Vibe 50s Stratocaster | £349 | For the Strat-era tone |
Pickup upgrade: Replacing the Epiphone's bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 (£65) or Gibson Burstbucker 1 improves the vintage PAF character significantly.
Why One Guitar Defined Two Legendary Tones
The fact that this single 1959 Les Paul produced both Peter Green's "Black Magic Woman" tone and Gary Moore's "Parisienne Walkways" tone — two of the most influential blues-rock guitar sounds in history from two different players decades apart — tells you something important: the reversed neck pickup's phase cancellation is a genuinely unique physical property of that specific instrument, not something replicated by chasing similar amp settings or a standard Les Paul. Both players' distinctive nasal, scooped midrange character when using both pickups together traces back to this one guitar's unusual wiring, present regardless of who's playing it or through what amp.
This is worth understanding because it separates what's genuinely replicable (Moore's vibrato technique, his amp settings, his general Les Paul-driven approach) from what effectively isn't without the actual guitar or a deliberately reversed-wired reproduction — most players chasing this tone should focus energy on the replicable parts rather than hunting for an exact phase-cancellation match.
Common Mistakes
Assuming any 1959 Les Paul reissue captures this specific tone. As explained above, the reversed neck pickup phase cancellation is a property of this one particular guitar's unusual wiring — a standard-wired '59 reissue, however accurate otherwise, won't reproduce that specific scooped, nasal quality when both pickups are combined.
Underweighting the Stratocaster period as a legitimate part of his sound. As the era section notes, Moore genuinely used Fender Stratocasters for several albums in the 1990s — treating his entire catalog as Les Paul-only misses a real stylistic shift during that specific period.
Focusing on the guitar while neglecting the vibrato technique. As the guide states directly, Moore's expressive vibrato — slow, wide, deliberately timed — is described as inseparable from his tone regardless of which guitar he's playing; gear alone won't replicate the emotional quality that technique provides.
Buying an expensive Gibson reissue before trying a pickup-upgraded Epiphone. As the budget options table shows, an Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s with a Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 pickup upgrade gets meaningfully close to the vintage PAF character at a small fraction of a genuine Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s price.
ToneStakr's Take
For players chasing this tone, prioritize developing the vibrato technique and getting a Les Paul-style guitar with genuinely PAF-voiced pickups (an Epiphone with an upgraded Seymour Duncan SH-1 is a sensible starting point) over hunting for an exact reversed-pickup replica — the specific phase-cancellation detail is a fascinating piece of guitar history, but it's a much smaller contributor to the overall sound than technique and general pickup character.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Les Paul did Gary Moore use?
A 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard — the same specific guitar originally owned by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, featuring a reversed neck pickup magnet that produces a distinctive partial phase cancellation when both pickups are selected together.
Did Gary Moore use a Stratocaster?
Yes — from roughly 1993 to 2001, Moore used Fender Stratocasters for several blues-focused albums, including After Hours and Blues for Greeny, seeking a cleaner, single-coil sound for that specific material. His primary instrument throughout his career overall remained the 1959 Les Paul.
What is the reversed neck pickup on the Peter Green Les Paul?
The neck pickup's magnet is installed in reverse orientation from a standard Les Paul. When both pickups are selected simultaneously, this produces partial phase cancellation — a scooped, hollow, nasal character heard on both early Fleetwood Mac recordings with Peter Green and Gary Moore's cleaner blues passages decades later.
Can I get a guitar with the same reversed-pickup wiring as Gary Moore's Les Paul?
Some boutique luthiers and pickup specialists can wire a guitar with an intentionally reversed pickup for this effect, but it's a genuinely niche modification most standard guitars and even most Les Paul reissues don't include — it's a much smaller priority than getting the general tone and technique right first.
How much does the specific guitar matter versus Gary Moore's playing technique?
Less than most players assume — Moore's wide, slow, deliberately-timed vibrato is described as inseparable from his sound regardless of instrument, meaning a solid Les Paul-style guitar with real practice on that specific vibrato technique will get you closer to his character than an exact gear match without the technique.
Is the Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s a good starting point for this tone?
Yes, particularly with the recommended Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 or Gibson Burstbucker 1 pickup upgrade in the bridge position — this combination captures much of the vintage PAF warmth central to Moore's tone at a fraction of the cost of a genuine Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s.