Over 100 pieces of studio-used and stage-played gear – including the Gretsch from the Back in the USA music video – are going up for sale… and one lucky fan can win a one-of-a-kind Les Paul Junior
(Image credit: Reverb)
Green Day are set to reopen the virtual doors to their official Reverb Shop, through which the band plan to sell nearly 100 pieces of music gear that has been used on tour and in the studio across the years.
Naturally, it is Billie Joe Armstrong’s own assortment of electric guitar offerings that will be of particular interest to six-string fans, with the frontman contributing a selection of notable instruments to the sale.
There will be, unsurprisingly, a handful of Gibson Les Paul Juniors included in the event, but there are two that stand out among the rest: a bright pink model that is actually a prototype BJA signature guitar, and a one-of-a-kind, custom relic’d version that can actually be won simply by signing up for store details.
Billie Joe Armstrong Gibson Les Paul Jr. prototype (Image credit: Reverb)
The former example, though, notably served as a test for Armstrong’s 2017 signature Gibson, and became the template for which the guitarist and his tech experimented with numerous hand cut pickguard shapes and pickup mounting options.
There is, as such, a fair few drill hotels scattered around the body of the single humbucker guitar, which also seems to be missing its two control knob tops.
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Gibson BJA LP Jr. Prototype(Image credit: Reverb)
1956 Gibson Les Paul Jr.(Image credit: Reverb)
The preview list also plays host to another Les Paul Jr., this time in the form of a vintage 1956 sunburst model that, according to Reverb, was purchased in 2017 during Green Day’s Revolution Radio tour and became Armstrong’s hotel and bus practice guitar.
Two final Gibsons make the store preview, including a heavily played, stage-used ES-335 that was built-to-order for the frontman specially for the 21st Century Breakdown tour, and a Sonex 180 Deluxe.
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Gretsch Electromatic(Image credit: Reverb)
Gibson ES-335(Image credit: Reverb)
Gibsons aside, Armstrong’s personal Fender Bullet Deluxe – another one of his practice strummers during various US and European tours – and a heavily customized Gretsch Electromatic that can be seen in the music video for Back in the USA are also set to be listed.
This is only an early preview, remember, so more guitars will be added to that list when the store eventually goes live next week. A Hiwatt cab has also been teased, so it’s safe to assume some amps and pedals will be thrown in the mix, too.
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Gibson Sonex 180 Deluxe(Image credit: Reverb)
Fender Bullet Deluxe(Image credit: Reverb)
The Green Day Reverb Shop will go live on October 18 and, as mentioned above, those who sign up for more information are in with a chance of winning that relic’d BJA Les Paul Jr.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
