Billy Corgan

One of Billy Corgan's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness era guitars is a blue 1974 Fender Stratocaster, fitted with Billy Corgan DiMarzio pickups. "It's got a heavier weight to it than most Strats that I like. Generally speaking that means the tone is not going to be very good, but for whatever reason this one works," Corgan said at (9:40). "I talked to somebody once who said the weight has everything to do with where they take the wood in the tree...the deeper in, the heavier the wood, because of the water..."

The Fender Jaguar was used by Billy on the recordings of Siamese Dream. They call it the “sad guitar” for “sad” tones. Check 9:16 in the video.

Posted on TSP's facebook page on 2011/03/27 with the caption "current weapon of choice!"

In this picture, Billy Corgan is using the Gibson ES-335 Cherry Red Electric Guitar live on stage. This photo originates from Smashing Pumpkins' concert in Movistar Arena, Chile, on November 23, 2010.

An image pulled from spfc.org (Smashing Pumpkins Fan Club dot ORG) with the following caption:

BC w/ the Marshall head, labeled "SOUL", and slant cabinet, Marshall logo modified to say "Mars"

Some supplemental tidbits taken from a notable blog, Ain't No Sleep When You're Living The Dream:

KB to Billy Corgan: What are your memories about the amp?

Billy Corgan: When I first bought the amp in 1989 from this stoner guy, I thought it sounded ok but I think I was more excited to just be playing thru a Marshall. I realized after a time that I wasn't that crazy about the sound so I asked Mike to look at it and see what he could do. After he changed the tubes to the KT88s the amp just sprang to life, and it was the body of the amp that I used to drive insane amounts of distortion into to get 'that sound'. Butch Vig and I were so sold on the sound of the amp that outside of a few select parts, I would say that 98pct of all guitar parts on the first two albums were done thru this amp/speaker combo. In order to change the sound, the Stratocaster parts would be recorded through a shure 57 on the bottom right speaker, and the Les Paul parts would be recorded through a Sennheiser 421 on the top left speaker. This subtle difference between what speaker we would use created the sense of playing thru a different amp set-up even though obviously I wasn't.

The Smashing Pumpkins during rehearsals for their 'Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour' to chat about gear before they hit the road. Here, lead singer and guitarist Billy Corgan talks about how the Line 6 HX Effects Processor helps him get his lead tones on tour.

Billy Corgan uses his signature Fender Stratocaster with Billy Corgan DiMarzio pickups and standard tuning.

Billy Corgan was recently reunited with the Seventies-era Fender Stratocaster he used to record the Smashing Pumpkins’ 1991 debut album, Gish. The guitar, essential to the band’s early sound and decorated by Corgan with a custom psychedelic design, was stolen in June 1992 after a Pumpkins gig at St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit.

But according to a report on RollingStone.com, a woman named Beth James living in Flushing, Michigan, had the beloved instrument in her basement for a decade or so, after purchasing it at a local yard sale for $200. After a friend notified her that the instrument might in fact belong to the Smashing Pumpkins frontman, she began attempting to contact the band via various channels. A meeting was eventually organized by music finance company Sound Royalties, a company that has worked with the likes of Lil Wayne and Rich Robinson, and the guitar was returned to Corgan.

Said Corgan to RollingStone.com, “God bless [James]. It falls under the ‘miracles can happen’ category. Even for a cynic like me.”

Corgan initially bought the Strat, which he believes to be a 1974 model, from Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain around 1989 or 1990. “It instantly changed the way the band sounded and the way I played,” he said. “When it was stolen, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, gee, my guitar just got stolen.’ It was the guitar that affected the way I played and I was heavily identified with the guitar.”

Now that he has it back, Corgan says he plans to use it on the follow-up to the band’s 2018 reunion album, Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.

“I’m literally gonna take it somewhere, and get it fixed up,” he told RollingStone.com. “And I’ll start using it. It’s a really valuable guitar to me. And I mean, the timing is sort of strange, and auspicious, and so I take it as a sign that it’s supposed to be part of what we’re doing.”

-Guitarworld February 7, 2019

Corgan's famous "Bat Strat" is an early 1990s '57 reissue, painted silver and modified to have Lace Sensor pickups. It is one of Corgan's favorites.

“If you said, ‘What’s the guitar you’d want to be buried with?’ I’d have to say the Bat Strat. It’s just beat to living hell. Jimmy keeps telling me to take it back out, so maybe we’ll bring it out for the 20th Anniversary Tour.”

Corgan actually owned another Lace Sensor-modded '57 reissue before selling it on Reverb.com (with an original asking price of $999,999!). Both were Corgan's primary guitars on Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

This is a priceless piece of history. We are taking your best offer into account to find the right buyer.

This Fender Stratocaster is from the private collection of Billy Corgan.

It is the guitar that defined the sound of The Smashing Pumpkins in the mid-'90s and along with it, the sound of a true historical moment in rock music.

There were two primary guitars for Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie.... The number one is referred to as the Bat Strat, which you can see in videos. This is number two, and was equally important having graced not only the album tracks, but also stages around the world.

Nearly every clean guitar sound on those two albums was recorded with this guitar. Almost all of the solos on those albums were done with this guitar. The intro of 'Today,' the 'Cherub Rock' solo (which won Guitar World's best solo of the year) – that is all this guitar.

Appraising this guitar's "condition" in the traditional sense seems like a fool's errand. Given its place in rock history, I think it's fair to say that no one is going to be splitting hairs over the finish, the stickers, or the non-original parts. If you're curious, this guitar started its life as a 1988 '57 AVRI Strat (according to the neck date) with a metallic candy apple red finish and white pickguard. At some point it was spray painted black and the pickguard was painted red, though the original finish has worn through in places and the pickguard paint has mostly been picked away. There are thirteen star stickers and six dot stickers on the front, along with a faded "Organic" sticker and an iridescent pig sticker on the headstock. The original pickups have been swapped out for Lace Sensors. The original bridge saddles have been swapped out for graphite versions, and the string tree has been traded for a roller-type tree. It should be noted that, although Corgan's later signature Strat models were hardtail, this historic Strat that defined him as a guitar hero had a traditional vibrato bridge, with all five springs left in place. The backplate has been removed and discarded.

This is without question one of the nicest playing Strats you'll ever lay hands on. It is road-tested and settled in, with hundreds of hours of intense playing that shaped its resonance and character. Despite the spray paint finish (which can feel a bit sticky in humid conditions), the neck and playability are incredibly comfortable. Everything plays as it did when Corgan last took it out on tour. As for the sound, well...you wouldn't be looking at this guitar if you didn't already know what it sounded like. If you need a reminder, stop what you're doing and listen to the Siamese Dream LP right now.

This guitar ships in a vintage-type Fender hardshell case, with the original pickups included. Also in the case you'll find an All Access Pass from the June 9, 1991 Underworld event and a sticker ad for something we'll just call less music-related.

Weight: 8.2 lbs. (3.7 kg)

This item will ship with a physical Certificate of Authenticity from Reverb.com.

In this picture, Billy Corgan is using a silver finished Reverend Slingshot electric guitar. For the song "Oceania" and "Violet Rays", Corgan uses the Reverend tuned to G.

2.30 In this video he can be seen playing a red mustang

In the video, it is shown that Billy used two Phase 90s, labelled "2" and "3".

"MXR Phase 90s I've used for years to kind of get more movement during solos... like for example, on the 'Oceania' solo, I use the Phase 90 and the [Fulltone] catalyst, so you get some movement in the lead," he said in this Premier Guitar interview at (5:20).

At 1:14 minute mark, Corgan showed his MXR Distortion II pedal.

This White Fender Stratocaster '07 was owned by Billy Corgan. It has a Tronical tuning system installed. No serial number so can’t tell exactly which model but it has a ‘70s era headstock and a hardtail. But Reverb says it’s from 2007.

In this user-uploaded photo, Billy Corgan is seen playing a blue Fender Jaguar with a pearl pickguard during a live performance.

Visible on mic stand, printed design shows that even prior to custom picks, at least Billy was using the storebought 1.0mm tortexes.

In his article for Guitar World, Billy Corgan mentions using 9-42 gauge strings. Given that The Smashing Pumpkins are known to use Ernie Ball strings, it's likely he uses Ernie Ball Super Slinky Guitar Strings.

"Currently rocking a 58 les paul junior (leslie west style!) thru a dallas-arbiter rangemeaster into a 100w Laney head (tony iommi style!)" reads this tweet, by Billy Corgan.

Billy Corgan can be seen with a Dimebag Darrell (of Pantera) Signature model by Washburn, with cut-up Explorer-type body and forked headstock, in this photo.

"The drum machine used on 1979 and other songs on Mellon Collie..."

Sold on Corgan's official Reverb.com shop.

Gifted to Corgan by creator Jeff Doucette, as documented by Kit Rae on his website. It does not seem to have been used much, if at all, on any recordings.

The Creamy Dreamer is a unique and original pedal created by a young, ingenious Canadian pedal maker, responsible for the all of the Smashing Pumpkins guitar tones...umm, well no, not really. It actually turned out to not to be a Smashing Pumpkins used or endorsed pedal at all, but simply an expensive boutique modded Big Muff circuit. Before you hear about how the pedal actually sounds, you may find the story behind this infamous pedal interesting, entertaining, and educational.

In the mid 1990s Billy Corgan's guitar tones from his band Smashing Pumpkins were all the rage in the guitar world. Specifically, many guitarists were after the tones heard on the 1993 album Siamese Dream, arguably the Pumkins [sic] best album (though I like all of them!). Billy had stated he used a vintage Big Muff on SD, but no one knew which version, or how it was used. In 1998 a high school student from Ontario, Canada named Jeff D (I'll leave the last name out to protect the guilty and/or innocent) was modifying Russian Big Muffs with a combination of several mods for the circuit. It seems he gleaned his Muff knowledge mostly from questioning other knowledgeable DIYers on the old AMPAGE forum and his own experiments, in an attempt to make it sound like the SP Big Muff tone. Jeff then began offering to mod the Russian BMP pedals online through a Smashing Pumpkins fan site (smashing pumpkins.org), and eventually sent one to Billy Corgan in 1999, who sent an email back to him complementary of the pedal. Jeff then began offering a new "Creamy Dreamer" pedal for sale through his sustainpunch.com website for around $200, which was very high for a boutique pedal at the time. The Sustain Punch website noted Billy's email about the pedal, and implied that the Pumpkins liked it and that an endorsement and signature series was in the works. Many people thought the website implied the pedal was something new, endorsed and currently being used by the Smashing Pumpkins on their new album, Machina. I saw the old website, and I have to say, that is exactly how I remember it, and it was implied this pedal was an original design, and all the work of Jeff, with no mention that it was essentially a Big Muff clone, or thanks to the people who explained how the circuit worked for him, and gave him advice on mods. The circuit board of Jeff's CD was coated in thick paint, presumably to hide the fact that it was simply a modded Big Muff.

Corgan_2005 demo sessions 3.jpg

The Creamy Dreamer seen in the demo sessions for Zeitgeist in 2005. From the Inside The Zeitgeist Documentary.

I do think the consumers who bought the pedal and the dealers who promoted the pedal blew the SP relationship more out of proportion than what was actually stated on the Sustain Punch and Smashing Pumpkins websites, but the hype spread, and the pedal became very popular for a few years as THE pedal for the Smashing Pumpkins tone. A story appeared in the Toronto Sun about Jeff, claiming the pedal created by the 19 year old was responsible for the Smashing Pumpkins sound and that they contacted him about doing an endorsement deal. Even Rolling Stone magazine reported the sound on the new Smashing Pumpkins album was created with Jeff's Creamy Dreamer pedal. Some were even stating that this was the pedal used on Siamese Dream, an album recorded years before the pedal was even made! A few major music gear chains picked up the pedal and thousands of units were sold. Billy Corgan has since stated he did strum a few chords on the pedal he was sent, and did send an email to Jeff complementing him as a matter of politeness, but nothing more. I have read in a few places that one of the Pumpkins crew claimed that they did use the pedal at some point on the Arising tour in '99, but that it was never used on any recording prior or since. It was used by Billy in 2005 during the demo recordings for the Zeitgiest album in Scottsdale, Arizona, although it is unknown whether it was used in the later recording sessions for the actual album.

Corgan_2005 demo sessions.jpg / Corgan_2005 demo sessions.jpg 2

The Creamy Dreamer seen in the demo sessions for Zeitgeist in 2005. From the Inside The Zeitgeist Documentary.

Billy's statements indicate he feels that his comment was exploited, as he never endorsed, or used this pedal on any Smashing Pumpkins recording, and that he was just being nice to a kid who sent him a pedal. When word about the real story behind the CD pedal spread quickly on the internet, the hype soon died down. There was a lot of backlash against Jeff on the DIY forums over the whole affair, to say the least. Many people expressed anger over him using their ideas to make his pedal. Ron Neeley of Ronsound even claimed Jeff stole the ideas used in the CD from mods he was already doing to BMP's at the time.

In the end, the Creamy Dreamer was simply another modded version of a Big Muff made by another boutique pedal builder, no different that what dozens of other builders have done, using mods now commonly and freely shared. There has been no shortage of boutique pedal makers since then who have sold pedals that attempted to reproduce the Smashing Pumpkins sound. Skreddy Pedals is one maker that did it, with pedals given obvious Smashing Pumpkins-like song names like the Zero, Mayonaise, and Mayo (Billy Corgan has actually used Skreddy Pedals - the Skreddy Echo was on his 2012 pedal board). Devi Ever made several Pumpkin's inspired pedals, like the Rocket (Corgan owns one), Soda Meiser, and another supposedly requested by Corgan, called the Silver Rose (Corgan hated it, resulting in another messy non-endorsement). Those makers also sold a range of other non-Pumpkins inspired pedals though. The CD was perhaps a good lesson on why not to attempt to run a business based on one product that was not terribly original. The Sustain Punch website was closed down in 2000, although the BMP mod was still offered by Jeff for a few years afterward. I'm sure he has moved on to other things now, but the myth of the Smashing Pumpkins' use of the Creamy Dreamer pedal remains. At the time I wrote this article (2008), it was still being perpetuated on various websites and ebay auctions. I even pulled this silly and very inaccurate tidbit off of Amazon.com's Pumpkins' bio.

'After Gish, the band toured, enjoying a cult following from the release of Gish, which sold close to a half million records in a couple of years. Billy began some experimentation with the band's sound, often setting up multiple effects loops for one guitar alone. The sweetheart of this era is the "Creamy Dreamer" Sustain distortion, behind some of the band's "wall of sound" that defines this era of the band.' - Smashing Pumpkins bio on Amazon.com

While working on the Smashing Pumpkins' abandoned Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project in 2009, Billy Corgan revealed in a blog that he used a vintage late 1970s Big Muff for Siamese Dream, which appears to be an op-amp Big Muff. I have written about it in this section.

In this video for Premier Guitar's Rig Rundown series, Billy Corgan says of his Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo [@ 6:09] "Really great delay; almost like a '60's tape delay, so I use that for a few things."

"Oh, the original 'pumpkins' Electric Mistress... Gish/Siamese era. (I'm) still rocking that." - Billy Corgan at 3:20.

Billy used a Fender Subsonic during the Zeitgeist tour, tuned to C# standard for "That's the Way (My Love Is)" and "Neverlost".

https://youtu.be/i7vrz-8OEP4

"The unique guitar sound in the song was achieved by using a small Crate practice amp"

• "The Everlasting Gaze" Wiki

In this photo, Billy can be seen playing an Epiphone Casino.

"For Billy's vocal mic, we started with a Neumann 105, but with our video wall encompassing the stage like a parabolic reflector, we had to go to a Shure SM58. We've been happy with it."

• http://www.mixonline.com/news/tours/all-access-billy-corgan/367847

"MXR Phase 100, for those of you looking for the Siamese Dream lead sound. you just pick one of these (modes) and turn the speed all the way down. It gives you a little bit of movement there." - Billy Corgan at 2:38.

"It's just kind of got that nice, a little bit acoustic sounding, a little bit of electric sounding. It's hard to play with feedback. You can only really do clean sounds with it," says Billy Corgan, at 2:00 in this video, talking about his Gretsch Country Club.

At 1:39 in this video taken from documentary about making of Siamese Dream, Butch Vig (album producer) says: "This is one of the secrets to our seret sound - this is the MuTron Bi-Phase. We run everything through it, everything... it's fabulous". (In the same video Vig calls Gish "sad" and Siamese Dream "happy, with a lot of happy songs", so I don't know how much can we trust him about anything else in the video)