Billie Joe Armstrong LP Junior
Gibson is proud to introduce the Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior. Designed in close cooperation with Billie Joe, the signature guitar is modeled closely after “Floyd,” Billie Joe’s original 1956 Les Paul Junior. With a mahogany body and neck and nickel hardware, the Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior combines the best features of a vintage Junior with some modern twists. With a new special design stacked double-coil H-90 and a vintage style non-compensated wraparound tailpiece, the Billie Joe Armstrong is a ferocious, resonant rock ’n’ roll guitar, truly worthy of Billie Joe’s name.
Finishes
Hot Points
The Gibson Logo
Some of the greatest guitars in the world have carried the name Gibson. The list is impressive—the Les Paul, the ES-335, the Explorer, the Flying V, the SG, and now the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior. The name “Gibson” on a headstock represents more than a century of originality and excellence. The classic logo is silk-screened onto the face of the mahogany headstock, with a thin coat of lacquer finishing the process. It is the most recognizable logo in all of music. There is simply no equal.
Angled Headstock
Gibson’s angled headstock is another of its simple, traditional innovations. Like many Gibson guitars, the headstock on the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior is carefully angled at 17 degrees. This increases pressure on the strings and helps them stay in place at the nut. The increase in string pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the nut and the tuners, which means enhanced tone and more sustain. Additionally, no Gibson headstock is “glued-on.” To the contrary, Every Gibson headstock is carved out of the same piece of mahogany as the neck then fitted with Gibson’s traditional wing blocks. It is a process that takes craftsmanship, time, and effort, but the rewards are certainly worth the hard work.
Adjustable Truss Rod
Before the 1920s, the truss rod was basically used to strengthen and stabilize the neck of any guitar. True to its heritage, Gibson revolutionized the guitar by making it adjustable, allowing guitars to be set up using a variety of string gauges, as well as string heights. This simple innovation afforded every guitar a limitless range of set-up options, and the ability to easily accommodate any style of playing. And by placing it at the base of the headstock, the adjustable nut is easily accessible, even while the strings are still on the guitar. It is one of Gibson’s most functional and enduring discoveries.
’60s Slim-Taper Neck Profile
No guitar neck profiles are more distinguishable than the neck profiles employed on the Gibson models of today. The ’60s neck profile on the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior is the more modern, slim-tapered neck most commonly associated with the Les Paul and SG models of the early 1960s. As with all Gibson necks, it is machined in Gibson’s rough mill using wood shapers to make the initial cuts. Once the rosewood fingerboard gets glued on, the rest—including the final sanding—is done by hand. That means there are no two necks with the exact same dimensions. So while it still has the basic characteristics of the ’60s slim-taper profile, each neck will be slightly different, with a distinct but traditional feel.
22-Fret Rosewood Fingerboard
Ebony and rosewood has always graced the fingerboards of the world’s finest stringed instruments, including many of today’s Gibsons. The fingerboards on the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Juniors are constructed from the highest grade ebony and rosewood on the planet, and are personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts before it enters the factories. The resilience of these dense and durable woods make the fingerboards extremely balanced and stable, giving each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. The 12-inch radius of the fingerboard provides smooth note bending capabilities and eliminates “dead” or “choked out” notes, common occurrences on fingerboards with lesser radiuses. Rosewood fingerboards are available with the Vintage Sunburst and Ebony finishes, and ebony fingerboards are available with the Classic White finish.
Nickel and Silver Alloy Fret Wire
The fret wire on the Gibson models is a combination nickel and silver alloy (approximately 80 percent nickel and 20 percent silver) specifically designed for long life and superior wear. Gibson’s traditional “medium/jumbo” fret wire is first shaped by hand, then cut to an exact 12-inch radius. After hand pressing it into the fingerboard, a machine press finishes the job to eliminate the gap between the bottom of the fret wire and the fingerboard.
Classic Dot Inlays
The classic dot inlay is one of the most distinguishable features of many traditional Gibson models, including the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior. A figured, swirl acrylic gives these inlays that classic “pearl” look. They are inserted into the fingerboard using a process that eliminates gaps and doesn’t require the use of fillers.
One-piece, Solid Mahogany Body and Set-Neck Construction
Two of the most central features of the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior are its one-piece, solid mahogany body, and its set-neck construction, or glued neck joint. Like the majority of Gibson’s classic guitars, the neck of the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior is set into the body’s neck cavity using glue, which ensures a “wood-to-wood” contact, no air space in the neck cavity, and maximum contact between the neck and the body, thus allowing the neck and body to function as a single unit. The result? Better tone, better sustain, and no loose or misaligned necks. As with all Gibson woods, the regimen involved in selecting the right body wood and the formula to dry it out is extensive. First, the wood is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts before it enters the Gibson factories. These onsite inspectors also ensure that the plain maple comes from corporations adhering to the forest-saving standards of the Rainforest Alliance, of which Gibson is a proud member and sponsor. Inside the Gibson factories, humidity is maintained at 45 percent, and the temperature at 70 degrees. This ensures all woods are dried to a level of “equilibrium,” where the moisture content does not change during the manufacturing process. This guarantees tight-fitting joints and no expansion, and controls the shrinkage and warping of the woods, in addition to reducing the weight. It also improves the woods’ machinability and finishing properties, and adherence to glue. Consistent moisture content means that a Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior will respond evenly to temperature and humidity changes long after it leaves the factory.
Special H-90 Pickup
Gibson’s H-90 stacked double coil pickup is the result of a close collaboration with Billie Joe Armstrong. It offers the snarl and punch of a classic, vintage P-90, but with none of the 60-cycle hum that usually plagues traditional singlecoil pickups. This was accomplished by simply taking two singlecoils and stacking them on top of each other, resulting in the hum cancellation effect that occurs in a regular humbucker. With a few adjustments, Gibson’s engineers were then able to secure the vintage sonic characteristics of the singlecoil, making the H-90 another example of Gibson’s drive to stay one step ahead.
Wraparound Tailpiece
A classic piece of hardware, the non-compensated wraparound bridge/tailpiece on the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior offers a simplicity and functionality that is hard to match. It provides a firm seating for the strings, and allows the player to adjust intonation and string height as needed. It also yields a great union between the strings and body, which results in excellent tone and sustain.
Nitrocellulose Finish
Applying a satin nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson guitar—including the Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior—is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. A properly applied nitro finish requires extensive man hours, several evenly applied coats, and an exorbitant amount of drying time. But this fact has never swayed Gibson into changing this time-tested method, employed ever since the first guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish dries to a much thinner coat than a polyurethane finish, which means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. A nitro finish is also a softer finish, which makes it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can’t do the same on a poly finish. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous in nature, and actually gets thinner over time. It does not “seal” wood in an airtight shell—as a poly finish does—and allows the wood to breathe and age properly.
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