Gibson Launches New Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior

“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!“

Green Day was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 and has released thirteen studio albums to date including the Diamond-selling Dookie, and the 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.

“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.”