Billie Joe Armstrong has announced two new pieces of signature gear: a limited-edition Epiphone guitar and his first artist signature amplifier with Marshall.
The guitar is the Radiant Red Epiphone Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior. It features a bright red finish, a single P-90 PRO pickup, master volume and tone controls, and a Lightning Bar wraparound bridge. The build is deliberately simple, consistent with Armstrong's long-running punk approach. The back of the headstock carries a reproduction of his signature, and the guitar ships in a custom black hardshell case with a leopard-print interior.
The amplifier is the Marshall 1959BJA Artist Signature. According to Billboard, it marks Marshall's first artist signature model in 14 years. The amp is based on Marshall's handwired 1959HW platform and includes a custom "Dookie Mod," inspired by the guitar tone Armstrong developed with producer Rob Cavallo during the making of Green Day's 1994 breakthrough album Dookie.
The amp's baby-blue covering is a tribute to "Blue," the heavily stickered Fernandes guitar that became one of Armstrong's most recognizable instruments during Green Day's early years.
"I'm so overjoyed to have my own signature Marshall amp," Armstrong said in a statement. "These amps have been a part of my musical life, from my heroes down to little old me. Turn it the fâ up!"
Both releases connect to the stripped-down guitar tone Armstrong has used across decades of Green Day material, from Dookie through the band's most recent stadium era.
The gear announcement comes during a busy stretch for Armstrong and Green Day. The band recently announced the soundtrack to its upcoming coming-of-age comedy Nimrods, due July 31. The 22-track set includes career-spanning songs, four previously unreleased live recordings from the Hollywood Palladium, and a new song called "I'm Never Gonna R.I.P."
Armstrong has also been performing with his covers band, The Coverups. At recent shows, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson joined him for David Bowie's "All The Young Dudes." The group also covered Nirvana's "Drain You," which Armstrong dedicated to late L7 bassist Jennifer Finch.
Green Day's most recent studio album, Saviors, was released in January 2024.
