Billie Joe Armstrong’s Custom Telecaster (Backup for “Blue”)

This guitar is a custom-made Telecaster built by Billie’s guitar tech to serve as a direct backup for “Blue.” The idea was simple – have something that could take the place of Blue in case of a problem on stage, get close enough to the tone, and be sturdy enough to hand over to a fan without much thought.

Specs

The guitar has a black Telecaster body with a flat-mount bridge and a single Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 humbucker in the bridge position, mounted at an angle just like on Blue. The wiring is stripped down to a single volume control, and the pickguard is an aftermarket WD unit. In some cases, the guards are custom-cut or swapped out, but the basic setup stays the same across all of them.

Billie has had a number of these built over the years, and they have been a constant presence as Blue’s backup. They show up in live photos from the early 2010s onward, usually waiting in the rack or making a brief appearance mid-set. It’s not unusual for one to end up in the hands of a fan after a show, which explains why there are so many floating around, but very few that stayed with him long-term.

While all of them share the same core features, the exact guitars change over time – which means a Tele in this style doesn’t automatically mean it saw stage use with Billie unless there’s solid provenance.