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.

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.

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

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.

"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.

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

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

"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.

Billy Corgan can be seen playing a Gibson Firebird V in this picture. He can also be seen playing one in this photo.

Billy Corgan is playing a tobacco sunburst Les Paul Special in this photo.

Billy Corgan can be seen playing the signature checkboard Explorer-shape guitar of Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick in this photo.

"I have a really incredible ’54 Les Paul Bigsby and a ’72 Les Paul Custom that’s like a Jimmy Page guitar. We also have a ’78 Les Paul that sounds a little bit more like Randy Rhoads to me."

Billy can be seen playing a Fernandes JG series on Later with Jools Holland on Ava Adore.

Billy Corgan can be seen with a red Gibson SG Special in this photo.

In this photo, Billy Corgan can be seen with a Harmony H59.

Billy Corgan can be seen playing a Gibson Dove in this picture.

Throughout the entire video you can see the guitar being used. Billy used this during the Mellon Collie a good amount. Guitar was made by Ibanez with Billy Corgan but never made into a production model. Guitar was listed and sold on Reverb.com with certificate of authenticity and signed by Billy. Guitar was listed with Heritage Auctions at one time. Links provided.

https://reverb.com/item/14094660-smashing-pumpkins-billy-corgan-played-autographed-custom-ibanez-talman-1994

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/musical-instruments/electric-guitars/billy-corgan-signed-custom-made-ibanez-electric-guitar-total-4-items-/a/7164-89682.s

http://www.spfc.org/band/equipment.html?equipment_id=403

Billy Corgan turned to the Fender Stratocaster Deluxe Plus after losing his "Gish" guitar, drawn to the distinctive sound of its Lace Sensor pickups. This guitar became a staple of his setup during the Smashing Pumpkins' 1992-1995 era, prominently featured in their "Siamese Dream" and "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" albums. Photos and videos from this period frequently show Corgan playing the Strat Deluxe Plus, highlighting its significant role in shaping the band's iconic sound.

Billy used this as his main guitar for C# tuning during the Zeitgeist era.

Billy: This guitar has everything I've had on my guitars for years: graphite nut, hardtail bridge and back piece, everything that has to do with getting that initial attack. But we’ve taken it a step further so that I have a wider range of tonal and creative variation within the instrument.

The first thing that I said was: If it doesn't have enough gain, it won't matter how nice it is. I need to be able to get that jet aircraft sound. But it also has to have articulation. In the Pro Tools world, the amount of mid-range that's going out has changed the way people record guitars and the position of guitars in the recording field. In essence, it's kind gotten more fizzy and narrow.

I went with single coils in the early days of the Pumpkins, but with the scoop of the flat-pole pickups. Then I went to the Lace Sensors, which gave me more gain, but I didn't like the articulation, particularly when the guitar was clean. Then I went to P90s, just to do something different. But the lack of gain drove me insane, and there were noise issues. That's probably when Joe and I first met. I was trying to take the P90 thing into a different place, which he did.

Around 9:40, Billy Corgan talks about his 1974 Hardtail Strat. It appears to be in blue and has a few stickers and wear marks on the body.

"Dozens of collector–grade vintage guitars, including two '58 Strats, a '63 Candy Apple Red Strat, a 1953 Gibson Super 400, and a '66 Rickenbacker 360.

(...)

Rickenbacker 360 purchased from Courtney Love."

Billy used this guitar during the Zeitgeist tour, tuned to C# standard. The stock Seymour Duncan pickups look to have been replaced with a Gibson Tony Iommi signature set.