Billie Joe Armstrong has turned two pillars of his Green Day sound into new signature gear. The frontman has announced a limited-edition Radiant Red Epiphone Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior, along with his first artist signature amplifier with Marshall, the 1959BJA Artist Signature.
Both releases nod to the stripped-down, high-impact guitar tone Armstrong has used across decades of Green Day songs, from the band’s 1994 breakthrough Dookie through its more recent stadium-scale era.
The new Epiphone model features a bright red finish, similar to Armstrong’s Les Paul Junior, while maintaining a deliberately simple setup. The guitar features a single P-90 PRO pickup, master volume and tone controls, and a Lightning Bar wraparound bridge — a no-frills build in line with Armstrong’s long-running punk approach.
The guitar also includes a reproduction of Armstrong’s signature on the back of the headstock and comes with a custom black hardshell case with a leopard-print interior.
Armstrong’s new Marshall amp, meanwhile, marks the company’s first artist signature model in 14 years. The baby-blue 1959BJA Artist Signature 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 Dookie.
The amp’s look also reaches back into Armstrong’s own mythology. Its baby-blue covering is a tribute to “Blue,” the heavily stickered Fernandes guitar that became one of his 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 f— up!”
The gear news arrives during another busy stretch for Green Day. Earlier this month, the band announced the soundtrack to its upcoming coming-of-age comedy Nimrods, due July 31. The 22-track set includes career-spanning favorites, four previously unreleased live recordings from the Hollywood Palladium and a new song, “I’m Never Gonna R.I.P.”
Armstrong has also been back onstage with his covers band, The Coverups. At recent shows, he was joined by Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson for David Bowie’s “All The Young Dudes,” and the group also covered Nirvana’s “Drain You,” which Armstrong dedicated to late L7 bassist Jennifer Finch.
Green Day released its most recent studio album, Saviors, in January 2024. The album continued the band’s long-running Billboard presence following a catalog that includes Dookie, American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown and Revolution Radio.
