Green Day never used a guitar tuner until "Dookie," says Billie Joe Armstrong

ABC/Heidi GutmanIf you’ve ever tried to play songs from Green Day‘s early material yourself but could never find the right sound, that may be because Billie Joe Armstrong and company never used guitar tuners until their 1994 album Dookie.

Responding to an Instagram comment pointing out that Armstrong voice sounded lower in 1992 than it does nowadays, the musician replied, “Funny story. We never used guitar tuners until Dookie.”

Apparently, before using tuners, Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt “always tuned to each other.”

“We didn’t realize until later we were tuned down a half step to whole step down,” Armstrong says. “We accidentally had to tune down until [1997’s] Nimrod.”

So there you have it, aspiring punk musicians: Tuners are not required for global success.

In other Green Day happenings, the punk trio is releasing a new book called Last of the American Girls, based on the band’s 21st Century Breakdown single of the same name, on October 29.

Green Day never used a guitar tuner until “Dookie,” says Billie Joe Armstrong

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