Billie Joe Armstrong: Gibson Partners with 5X GRAMMY Award-Winning Green Day Frontman To Create His Beloved Les Paul Junior Guitar

NASHVILLE,TN (March 21, 2023) Gibson, the iconic American instrument brand, has shaped sound across generations and genres of music, becoming one of the most relevant, played, and loved guitar brands around the world. Designed in collaboration with Green Day’s legendary guitarist, Billie Joe Armstrong, Gibson is proud to unveil the new Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior. The new Gibson Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior is available worldwide at authorized Gibson dealers and on www.gibson.com.

“The single cut 50’s Les Paul Jr has been the root of my guitar tone for over 20 years,” says Billie Joe Armstrong. “Ever since I bought ‘Floyd’ my 1956 Sunburst Jr, in the early 2000’s I have been addicted. It’s a simple, raw, and powerful guitar that has a sound that just can’t be beat! Plug it straight into any tube amp, crank it and it will roar!“

The new Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior is an exceptional guitar to rock out on, whether you play rock or punk. This guitar has everything players need for great tone with no frills to get in the way, including a mahogany neck with Billie Joe Armstrong SlimTaper profile, rosewood fretboard, Graph Tech nut, and Billie Joe’s signature on the truss rod cover. The mahogany body is equipped with a wraparound bridge/tailpiece and a P-90 DC Dogear pickup. The P-90 DC--Gibson’s latest hum-canceling pickup designed by Gibson master luthier Jim DeCola--features a modernized version of the Sidewinder dual-coil technology that was first developed by Seth Lover in 1958, delivering a hum-free P-90 with the most authentic P-90 tonality yet, retaining the classic sound of a single coil P-90 while eliminating the noise. The Gibson Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior is offered in Silver Mist and Vintage Ebony Gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finishes and a Custom Billie Joe Armstrong Protector hardshell case with a pink exterior, and a striking leopard-print interior is also included.

“The collaboration between Billie Joe and Gibson has been long standing, popular and successful,” says Jim DeCola, Master Luthier at Gibson. “Billie Joe has previously used our P-90 and P-100 pickups to great effect and for him to choose the P-90DC on his latest guitar is quite an honor. The P-90 DC continues the legacy which Seth Lover started by applying his ‘Sidewinder’ concept (coils rotated 90 degrees with a single row of pole screws) to a guitar pickup. It was introduced in the late 50’s on the Gibson EB 0 and EB 2 basses, and not applied to a guitar pickup at the time. Seth’s concept has now been reimagined and applied to a guitar pickup utilizing modern components and manufacturing methods to create a hum-canceling P-90 pickup with the most authentic P-90 tonality yet.”

Green Day has become one of rock’s sturdiest institutions, a band whose sound threads the three-chords-and-a-head-rush excitement that runs through everything from East bay punk, power pop, 60s garage and hard rock. The band, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, has released thirteen studio albums to date including the Diamond-selling Dookie, punk rock opera album turned Broadway musical American Idiot. Green Day brought their sold-out Hella Mega headline stadium run to the UK and Europe this past summer, as well as, headlining festivals including Innings, Shaky Knees, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Rock In Rio, Sea Hear Now, and Firefly. Green Day played Formula 1 Grand Prix’s in Austin and Singapore Grand Prix performing to their largest crowds in three years. Outside of Green Day, Billie Joe also fronts The Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Longshot, and The Coverups.

Explore the new Gibson Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior, HERE.

Above: Gibson Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior in Silver Mist and Vintage Ebony Gloss.

Above: the Gibson Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior pictured inside the Custom Billie Joe Armstrong hardshell case with leopard print lined interior.

Above: the Gibson Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior front headstock.

Above: Billie Joe Armstrong. Photo credit: Scott Nagelberg.

Green Day:

GREEN DAY.COM  | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE

Gibson:

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Epiphone:

EPIPHONE.COM | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE

Kramer:

KRAMERGUITARS.COM | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE

MESA/Boogie:

MESABOOGIE.COM | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

KRK:

KRKMUSIC.COM TWITTER INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE

Maestro:

MAESTROELECTRONICS.COM | @MAESTROELECTRONICS | GIBSON TV

 

About Green Day:

Berkley-formed, five-time Grammy Award-winning rock band Green Day is one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, with more than 70 million records sold worldwide and 10 billion cumulative audio/visual streams. Their breakout album Dookie, which sold over 10 million and achieved diamond status, is widely credited with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock, catapulting a career-long run of #1 hit singles. Green Day’s release of rock opera American Idiot captured the nation’s attention, selling more than 7 million copies in the U.S. alone, taking home the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album and lead to a critically acclaimed stage adaptation on Broadway. Released on February 7, 2020, Green Day’s thirteenth studio album Father Of All... (Reprise/Warner Records) debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Album Sales Chart, and #1 in both the U.K. and Australia. Pitchfork declared, “Green Day’s most fetching and youthful songs in ages. The trio sounds reinvigorated, more like hungry newcomers staking their claim.”

 

About Gibson:

Gibson, the leading iconic guitar brand, has shaped the sounds of generations of musicians and music lovers across genres for 130 years. Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Nashville, Gibson Brands has a legacy of world-class craftsmanship, legendary music partnerships, and progressive product evolution that is unrivaled among musical instrument companies. The Gibson Brands portfolio includes Gibson, the leading guitar brand, as well as many of the most beloved and recognizable music brands, including Epiphone, which has been on every stage since 1873, Kramer, the original MADE TO ROCK HARD guitar brand, MESA/Boogie, the home of tone, KRK, behind great music for over 30 years, and Maestro, the founder of effect pedals. Gibson Brands is dedicated to quality, innovation, and sound excellence so that music lovers for generations to come will continue to experience music shaped by Gibson Brands. Explore more at Gibson.comGibson App, and on Gibson TV, follow us on InstagramTwitter and Facebook, and visit us at the Gibson Garage.

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