Billie Joe Armstrong’s Rickenbacker 360

Billie Joe Armstrong started using his Rickenbacker 360 around 2013, and it quickly became a regular part of his live setup. The guitar is mostly stock, featuring two “Hi-Gain” single-coil pickups, but Billie had all of the controls removed except for the main volume knob. At first, he simply covered the leftover holes with black tape, but in later years, a custom pickguard was made to cover them more cleanly.

In the studio, he confirmed using a Rickenbacker 360 through a Divided By 13 head on various parts during the Revolution Radio period, describing it as punchy and name-checking players like Peter Case and Peter Buck as references

Another underlying thing on a lot of parts is a Rickenbacker 360—like the ones Peter Case and Peter Buck use—through a Divided By 13 head. Those guitars are so punchy. I was going for something that was in between Paul Weller, Steve Jones, and Johnny Thunders, while still trying to find my own sound.

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong on Making Revolution Radio and Inspiring a Generation of Guitarists