History & Technical Info on Blue (Including Replicas & Backups)

[foxborohottub]

5 hours ago, Drink Coffee And Destroy said:

Question for you Bill @foxborohottub regarding two guitars; the Blue on the left with the black initials and the pink guitar on the left:

From doing research, I came to the conclusion that the Blue on the right was a Fender American Vintage Reissue Strat in Lake Placid Blue; can this be confirmed? Also, was the Pink Strat on the left a fully constructed guitar or was it built entirely from parts? I noted it only has the one humbucker in the bridge going to a single volume knob. Thank you!

Yup! The blue one on the left with black BJ was a later Fernandez ( i cut the extra bump off the headstock) it went to guitar heaven... the pink one was a custom shop guitar? if i remember correctly? We may have sold this one? Or it could be in the warehouse, it wasn't a favorite so i don't remember.  Fender used to give us lots of stuff, and still work closely with us these days even though BJ is a Gibson endorser. They made us a run of 15 “Revrad-o-Casters“ for us at the end of the last tour. 

[Hammie Stein]

20 minutes ago, foxborohottub said:

Yup! The blue one on the left with black BJ was a later Fernandez ( i cut the extra bump off the headstock) it went to guitar heaven... the pink one was a custom shop guitar? if i remember correctly? We may have sold this one? Or it could be in the warehouse, it wasn't a favorite so i don't remember.  Fender used to give us lots of stuff, and still work closely with us these days even though BJ is a Gibson endorser. They made us a run of 15 “Revrad-o-Casters“ for us at the end of the last tour. 

Very cool!

Any pictures of the Revrad-o-Casters at all?

 

[Drink Coffee And Destroy]

On 5/22/2020 at 7:23 PM, foxborohottub said:

Yup! The blue one on the left with black BJ was a later Fernandez ( i cut the extra bump off the headstock) it went to guitar heaven... the pink one was a custom shop guitar? if i remember correctly? We may have sold this one? Or it could be in the warehouse, it wasn't a favorite so i don't remember.  Fender used to give us lots of stuff, and still work closely with us these days even though BJ is a Gibson endorser. They made us a run of 15 “Revrad-o-Casters“ for us at the end of the last tour. 

Thank you Bill! I'll make sure to update the info at the beginning of this thread!

Edited August 24, 2020 by Drink Coffee And Destroy

[pacejunkie punk]

2 hours ago, Hammie Stein said:

Very cool!

Any pictures of the Revrad-o-Casters at all?

 

There were a whole bunch going around Christmas 2017 when they gifted them to their crew. More recently, Branden Steineckert of Rancid acquired one from Broken Guitars and he posted photos:

 

[Drink Coffee And Destroy]

Question for everyone in this thread; which of Billie's Strats (besides the original Blue) is your favorite, and why is it your favorite? @foxborohottub I'd be interested to know if you have one since you've worked on these guitars.

I'll start. My favorite has always been what most refer to as Blue 2:

This one is my favorite simply because it came across to me as more unique than the others. You didn't see many Strats with a left handed bridge (of course Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitars being the exception). Plus, the fact that BJ gravitated towards this Blue for the E standard songs more than the others means there must have been something about it that he liked, as I know he didn't care much for them at the time. My handle, Drink Coffee And Destroy, is from the Bouncing Souls who are one of my favorite bands, which I derived from the sticker on this guitar.

Edited May 25, 2020 by Drink Coffee And Destroy

[Little Boy Named Booze]

The exact same stickers of Blue are shipping! Can't wait to put them on my Blue!

[alfredenormal]

On 5/24/2020 at 3:07 PM, Drink Coffee And Destroy said:

Question for everyone in this thread; which of Billie's Strats (besides the original Blue) is your favorite, and why is it your favorite? @foxborohottub I'd be interested to know if you have one since you've worked on these guitars.

I'll start. My favorite has always been what most refer to as Blue 2:

This one is my favorite simply because it came across to me as more unique than the others. You didn't see many Strats with a left handed bridge (of course Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitars being the exception). Plus, the fact that BJ gravitated towards this Blue for the E standard songs more than the others means there must have been something about it that he liked, as I know he didn't care much for them at the time. My handle, Drink Coffee And Destroy, is from the Bouncing Souls who are one of my favorite bands, which I derived from the sticker on this guitar.

Actually, the heel of the neck on this guitar reads "Baby Blue" etched in pencil. This would be the heavy birdseye custom shop neck of mine.

[alfredenormal]

On 3/13/2020 at 5:26 PM, foxborohottub said:

 

that guitar still exists. all the others were destroyed or turned into other guitars

 

-Bill

Hey Bill, this is the neck I was talking about. Looks like it used to be on your guitar. You don't remember the origin of this neck? https://imgur.com/a/75hFbEs

 

Edited June 24, 2020 by alfredenormal

[Little Boy Named Booze]

Not over yet but I'm so happy

v1:

 

v2:

 

[Lenny]

On 5/22/2020 at 7:05 PM, pacejunkie punk said:

There were a whole bunch going around Christmas 2017 when they gifted them to their crew. More recently, Branden Steineckert of Rancid acquired one from Broken Guitars and he posted photos:

 

Thanks for posting that. Wanna chime in that Branden is an amazing guy and a huge Green Day fan. Branden and I used to talk alot especially about Green Day. 

Billie also gave him a Les Paul Junior. 

On 5/22/2020 at 4:23 PM, foxborohottub said:

Yup! The blue one on the left with black BJ was a later Fernandez ( i cut the extra bump off the headstock) it went to guitar heaven... the pink one was a custom shop guitar? if i remember correctly? We may have sold this one? Or it could be in the warehouse, it wasn't a favorite so i don't remember.  Fender used to give us lots of stuff, and still work closely with us these days even though BJ is a Gibson endorser. They made us a run of 15 “Revrad-o-Casters“ for us at the end of the last tour. 

Bill is it really you?

On 8/18/2020 at 9:43 AM, Little Boy Named Booze said:

Not over yet but I'm so happy

v1:

 

v2:

 

Is that a Fender? 

[Little Boy Named Booze]

1 hour ago, Sheenius said:

Is that a Fender? 

Yes Fender Strato 

[Lenny]

3 hours ago, Little Boy Named Booze said:

Yes Fender Strato 

Made in USA?

[Little Boy Named Booze]

59 minutes ago, Sheenius said:

Made in USA?

Yup!

I paid it $1,800 in 2015.

[Lenny]

3 hours ago, Little Boy Named Booze said:

Yup!

I paid it $1,800 in 2015.

Nice that's awesome! My best 2 guitars right now are my '91 Rickenbacker 620 and my 2017 Musicman Stingray Bass

[Maddie86]

I saw this on Reverb last night and thought it was pretty cool, even if the price is a bit high... https://reverb.com/item/35326932-fernandes-rst-1981-daphnie-blue?bk=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqdGkiOiJmOTU2ZmJmMi1mY2ZkLTQwNTQtOGI0ZC04YjJlZjFmYjc3YzciLCJpYXQiOjE1OTgxMDI2MTEsInVzZXJfaWQiOiIiLCJzZXNzaW9uX2lkIjoiYTE5MzFjYWEtNGI1My00ZjYyLTk5MzEtOTg4NGI5NDJkYzlmIiwiY29va2llX2lkIjoiNDM3NWEyYTYtMDY5NS00YzRmLWFkMWUtNDdlODZiNTYxMWJmIiwicHJvZHVjdF9pZCI6IjM1MzI2OTMyIiwic291cmNlIjoiTk9ORSJ9.eL2GX7w7bXIP6uxtPv19xmCGIBaj5ziZuRd6j-M8ldg

 

Also, anyone know where I can get sticker replicas for the nimrod era? The BJ guitars site says they don't sell just the stickers. I bought a guitar from someone on Facebook yesterday and it's actually the first guitar I ever owned, I got it as an elementary school graduation present in 98, about a month after I saw green day on the nimrod tour. I thought it was so cool that I had the chance to buy it back after selling it in 2000, so I was thinking about making it look like Blue did back in 97/98

[Donald Chump]

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/595594999/billie-joe-1996-version-guitar-stickers?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_ca_en_ca_b-books_movies_and_music-music-musical_instruments-stringed_instruments-guitars&utm_custom1=86c4a7d9-9c8b-43a9-8390-3cf95146e0ce&utm_content=go_319629045_56784433828_230547675240_pla-316238738805_m__595594999enca&utm_custom2=319629045&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhIP6BRCMARIsALu9Lfn_nNjm91zFsY9XrNMJ8IT2x1hYPlZdHz2dsTKP0RV-yNLYi4CIzRAaAtQZEALw_wcB

I know it's not the version your looking for, just google BJ guitar stickers. You can always buy his whole sticker collection and just make the Nimrod version yourself.

 

I found the version you're looking for...

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/581781198/billie-joe-1997-1998-version-guitar?ref=related-5&frs=1

Edited August 22, 2020 by Donald Chump

[Drink Coffee And Destroy]

18 hours ago, Maddie86 said:

I saw this on Reverb last night

This guitar is listed by a friend of mine. I got to know him last year through a mutual friend and I’ve helped him with a few things for it. He’s been asked by multiple people (even Hans!) if he was selling it as it is Billie’s guitar to spec (obviously in much better condition). 
 

Also, there is someone in the UK who makes fantastic Blue replicas from all eras of the band, including Nimrod! https://www.ebay.com/itm/124303736247

Edited August 23, 2020 by Drink Coffee And Destroy

[Drink Coffee And Destroy]

On 8/18/2020 at 12:43 PM, Little Boy Named Booze said:

v2 [guitar]

 

v2:

v2:

Replica is looking great! Any plans to put the Seymour Duncan in the bridge? Also, is that a Fender Classic 50's Surf Green Strat you're using as the base guitar?

Edited August 23, 2020 by Drink Coffee And Destroy

[Little Boy Named Booze]

40 minutes ago, Drink Coffee And Destroy said:

Replica is looking great! Any plans to put the Seymour Duncan in the bridge? Also, is that a Fender Classic 50's Surf Green Strat you're using as the base guitar?

Thanks! Right now I'm taking a break with this guitar. I've spent a lot of money so the SD bridge will wait

and yes it's a Fender Classic 50's Surf Green Strat.

[Drink Coffee And Destroy]

On 8/23/2020 at 4:36 PM, Little Boy Named Booze said:

Thanks! Right now I'm taking a break with this guitar. I've spent a lot of money so the SD bridge will wait

and yes it's a Fender Classic 50's Surf Green Strat.

Awesome! The Classic Series Fenders are great instruments!

Yeah I know what you mean, it gets expensive quick. I have two pickups I'm waiting to use, but every shop near me is backed up with repair orders.

I'm still debating if I want to make a replica guitar, its been on my backburner of ideas for awhile. I'm split between the Blue from the nimrod days in its current condition that Bill showed us or the '93 Black Fender. I always dug his more obscure guitars alongside original Blue of course.

Edited September 1, 2020 by Drink Coffee And Destroy

[Drink Coffee And Destroy]

I have Bill's original response regarding the neck from one of the nimrod tour Blue guitars. It appears he edited his original post and I somehow saved the original email notification saying what he remembers. I took out the name of the person he replied to as well. He said:

"Sorry **** I do not recognize your neck. That guitar is still intact and now belongs to a friend of ours. that picture I posted is current. over the years on tours there were dozens of Blue back up guitars that were put together, broken, rebuilt and given away. Only a few were blue replicas. Who did you get that neck from?"

Given the gearhead I am, this proves my theory to some extent. I believe the Blue guitar he showed us swapped necks during tour. In later photos and videos (such as Hyde Park '98), you can see it has a Fender neck with a vintage tint thats also seen in the photo he posted (which apparently dates to 2017). Prior to that it has the Fender custom neck we’re all familiar with.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Drink Coffee And Destroy

[Maddie86]

My project is complete!

 

[alfredenormal]

On 3/13/2020 at 5:26 PM, foxborohottub said:

 

that guitar still exists. all the others were destroyed or turned into other guitars

 

-Bill

Timmy Chunks just confirmed to me that he built this guitar, and it did originally have the knot-holed Fender-aged neck that I own. That clean looking maple neck in your photo is the second neck to be placed on that body, Bill. Frankenstein facts! Happy new year!

 

-Lee

[Flashback]

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/story_of_cheap_guitar_that_launched_green_day_frontman_billie_joe_armstrongs_career-102803?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3j1E6LT0VlfCX0KtrTqN5Cjdda_pIfqZ9rtveJ3987b4YbYzF0DaUUl-E
 

interesting article about Blue!

[Slave To The Network]

I've always loved Billie's bond with Blue. It's part of what keeps his roots etched into his heart and makes his music so special. He's put so much into that guitar and it's carried him so far. It's so exciting to see him play it during shows and reinforce that connection he's had with it since before he was even in a band.