Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you’ve heard of Kirk Hammett and his beloved guitar sidekick, Greeny.

Speaking about his relationship with the legendary Les Paul in a new interview, the Metallica guitarist shares how acquiring the guitar has “changed” him and his playing for the better.

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Known for its storied history and equally iconic sound, Greeny was originally owned by Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green. The guitar was then sold to Gary Moore, who used it for three decades with Thin Lizzy and as a solo artist, before it eventually found its way to Hammett.

“It’s interesting because people say a lot of things have changed about me since I got that guitar,” Hammett says in a new interview with American Songwriter. “My playing has changed, my attitude has changed, my tone has changed, my approach has changed. All those things have changed over the last five or six years because of this guitar. I’m really happy about it.”

“Whenever I have to work on music or compose or answer a musical question, Greeny allows me to connect to something inside me or something from somewhere else. I’m able to find divine inspiration from Greeny nine times out of 10. I use it as a pipeline or a spout to get creative energy to play with and manipulate. I’m so thankful for it.”

Despite his affections for the six-string, Hammett explains that he views Greeny not so much as his own personal instrument, but as a “guitar for the people”.

“To me, it doesn’t even feel like my guitar,” says the musician. “It feels like a guitar for the people. I’m just wielding it. My good friend Whit Crane [vocalist for Ugly Kid Joe], from a band I play in called The Wedding Band, one day we were just sitting around at a rehearsal. He was sitting across from me, and he said, ‘You know what, Kirk? That guitar is your Excalibur. Think about it. You’re the one that it chose. All these people could have had it. But that guitar chose you. And now you’re wielding it and look what it does for you.’”

“I can’t think of a better analogy,” Hammett continues. “And I want all the other Greenys to be Excaliburs for all the other guitarists out there. There’s just something else happening when I play that guitar. And I’m not the only participant. When I strap on that guitar, people in the room feel it. I do my best just to get out of its way, bro.”

Kirk Hammett collaborated with Epiphone last year on an affordable faithful recreation of his 1959 Les Paul, Greeny. It arrived with high price tag for an Epiphone – at least at the time – $1,499.