Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Unleashes Signature Guitar & Marshall Amp

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has unveiled new signature gear, turning two foundational elements of his iconic sound into widely available products. The releases include a limited-edition Radiant Red Epiphone Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior guitar and his first-ever artist signature amplifier with Marshall, named the 1959BJA Artist Signature. Both pieces of equipment pay homage to the stripped-down, high-impact guitar tone that has characterized Green Day's music for decades, spanning from their 1994 breakthrough album, Dookie, to their current stadium-filling era.

The new Epiphone Les Paul Junior features a striking bright red finish, reminiscent of Armstrong’s personal instrument. It maintains a deliberately simple yet effective setup, featuring a single P-90 PRO pickup, master volume and tone controls, and a Lightning Bar wraparound bridge. This no-frills design aligns perfectly with Armstrong's long-standing punk rock ethos. Additional touches include a reproduction of his signature on the back of the headstock and a custom black hardshell case with a distinctive leopard-print interior.

Armstrong's new Marshall amplifier is a significant release, marking the company's first artist signature model in 14 years. The baby-blue 1959BJA Artist Signature amplifier is built upon Marshall’s handwired 1959HW platform and incorporates a custom “Dookie Mod.” This modification is inspired by the unique guitar tone Armstrong developed with producer Rob Cavallo during the creation of Dookie. The amplifier’s baby-blue covering is also a direct tribute to “Blue,” Armstrong’s heavily stickered Fernandes guitar, which became one of his most recognizable instruments during Green Day's formative years. Armstrong expressed his excitement in a statement, saying, “I’m so overjoyed to have my own signature Marshall amp. These amps have been a part of my musical life, from my heroes down to little old me. Turn it the f— up!”

This gear announcement comes amidst a particularly busy period for Green Day. Earlier in the month, the band revealed the soundtrack for their upcoming coming-of-age comedy, Nimrods, scheduled for release on July 31. This 22-track compilation will feature career-spanning favorites, four previously unreleased live recordings from the Hollywood Palladium, and a new song titled “I’m Never Gonna R.I.P.” Furthermore, Armstrong has been actively performing with his covers band, The Coverups. Recent shows have seen him joined by Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson for a rendition of David Bowie’s “All The Young Dudes,” and the group also covered Nirvana’s “Drain You,” which Armstrong dedicated to the late L7 bassist Jennifer Finch. Green Day's most recent studio album, Saviors, was released in January 2024, continuing the band’s consistent presence on the Billboard charts, following a rich catalog that includes seminal albums like Dookie, American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown, and Revolution Radio.