Billy Corgan

You can see William Patrick Corgan playing 1979 and Tonight, Tonight on this Yamaha semi hollow guitar.

In this video of Billy Corgan’s 2012 Smashing Pumpkins rig, Corgan notes at 3:21 that the Palmer PDI-03’s give him a certain ‘forward’ quality to the guitar tone through a PA, a quality he found while listening to Alex Lifeson of Rush, who was an avid user of these units.

You can see it under his feet on his pedalboard.

Used by Billy in 1991-1992 before he bought the Bat Strat. Also the Jazzmaster was used in the studio for the recordings of Siamese Dream.

In the photo, Billy Corgan is shown using the Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker, highlighting its role in his effects setup.

On Billy Corgan’s pedalboard from 2021.

Seen on Billy’s pedalboard near the Helix.

Billy Corgan can be seen using the Yamaha LL16 at the, In Plainsong Tour 2015

In this June 11, 2012 article from Guitar World, Corgan discusses his amplifier tone stating:

AMPS

[BC]: "Experimenting with different amps is one of the hardest things for a guitarist to do. It's virtually impossible to walk into a music store and crank up one amp, let alone a bunch of them. I recommend that young guitarists with a lack of amp experience buy rack-mountable amps and preamps because their sounds are generally very consistent and easy to tailor to different applications. I used an ADA MP-1 preamp for all of "Gish." I'd written the songs on that unit, and I couldn't imagine them being played any other way."

"If you end up with a tube amp, make sure the tubes are working properly. Also, if possible, experiment with different power tubes. I'm a huge fan of using KT-88's in my Marshall. Most people prefer EL-34's, but I hate them. The "Gish"/"Siamese Dream" guitar sound has so much to do with KT-88's, which add a round, fat bottom to my sound."

"Before buying any amp, be nosey. Talk to as many guitarists as you can, get different opinions and see what other people like and don't like. I've always done that, and it's always been helpful."

In this instagram post by Billy Corgan himself you can see he’s using the Orange Rockerverb MKiii 100 in studio below his Carsten Grace amp. You can clearly see this is the Orange Rockerverb MKiii 100 and the power light is on. He also posted the same photo on Twitter.

Can also be seen here being used live with several other amps. Billy’s guitar tech showing his amps and guitars used.

https://youtu.be/s2jExoNQWnU

7:15 - 11:06

Billy Corgan endorses Minotaur Sonic Terrors guitar pedals. https://www.minotaurst.com/artists.html#artists On this video https://youtu.be/CD-RYfXstVM at 00:24 you can see the Minotaur Sonic Terrors - Fuzz & Burn (white and black) at the far right of his pedalboard and right next to it is the Minotaur Sonic Terrors - Evil Eye MKIII fuzz (grey)

At 3:06 in the video, it clearly shows these strings.

At 3:06 in the video, it clearly shows these strings.

At 3:06 in the video, it clearly shows these strings.

At 3:06 in the video, it clearly shows these strings.

In this Instagram post by Billy Corgan himself (***second photo) you can see the Collision Devices Black Hole Symmetry being used.

In this Rig Rundown by Premier Guitar a picture is shown of Billy’s effect pedals currently used. We can see the volume pedal apparently used as an expression pedal for the Strymon Brigadier delay.

In this Rig Rundown by Premier Guitar a picture is shown of Billy’s effect pedals currently used. We can see the Octave Divider on the low right corner.

In this Rig Rundown by Premier Guitar a picture is shown of Billy’s effect pedals currently used. We can see the delay pedal on the lower right.

In this Rig Rundown by Premier Guitar a picture is shown of Billy’s effect pedals currently used. See the treble booster with Mullard-style transistors in the lower middle.

In this Rig Rundown by Premier Guitar a picture is shown of Billy’s effect pedals currently used. See the MIDI-controller on the left.

In the official billy corgan shop, it says that he used a Danelectro Baby Sitar

In the official Billy Corgan reverb shop it says that he used it for "We only come out at night"

Sold at the billy corgan reverb shop

They are Billy Corgan’s signature set… it’s got his name on it!

In this video at 4:53, Corgan can be seen using an EBow for sustaining lead portions of the song.

On Billy Corgan's official Instagram account, he posted about using this new model in the studio.

The new Billy Corgan Signature Drop-Z from @reverendguitars. This guitar is all over the new SP record I’m making.

Billy Corgan is seen playing a red Yamaha BB-300 with his father in this photo posted to his official Instagram page. https://www.instagram.com/p/C8R-SNnt6Ap/?img_index=2

Corgan used four Valve FX units live during the tour for Machina, as can be seen in this September 2001 photo taken by guitar tech Mike Vegas and on this page of a contemporary Japanese magazine. Vegas' photo was [uploaded to Wikimedia Commons on August 20, 2008](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Billy-corgan-guitar-rig.jpg (July 14, 2009 Flickr mirror by Aaron Kronis of Stamina Music, who used to update Vegas' website guitartechnician.com.

Corgan listed all four units on his Reverb.com shop in 2017 (Listing 1 ("#1", "OFFSTAGE FX PRE", "MIDI 6"), Listing 2 ("#2", "OFFSTAGE FX PRE", "MIDI 6"), Listing 3, Listing 4 ("ONSTAGE FX PRE", "MIDI 3")).

Featured in this December 16, 2022 Laney blog article.

After purchasing a Laney LA100SM Head on the 2nd hand market and searching for a Laney LA412 Cabinet, Billy Corgan reached out to our family-run company, based in the West Midlands UK, to get more of “that God-like power” as he so puts it.

Of course, we were happy to help him out!

[...]

On the search for the Black Sabbath sound and with the LA100BL out of production, Billy discovered the LA100SM – a redesign of the original amp with one essential feature – a master volume control, but the same incredible vintage growl.

“I’ve used a lot of Laney amps, particularly vintage, over the last 10-12 years on Pumpkins recordings and there’s a density and a warmth that can only come from a Laney.

I found that there are modern amplifiers that I like using that give me that sort of high-gain context but also have a certain clarity. So the way I’m using the Laney is sort of like a contrasting thing. Somewhere between super-high bright modern gain and let’s call it more of a vintage gain.”

The LA100SM was a limited-release product which Billy had actually purchased for himself on the used market. Unable to find any more due to collectors coveting this sacred sound, Billy reached out to our engineers to try and get more of these amps. Incidentally – this ability to contact Laney engineers led him to join us as an artist, and a key reason why Laney amps are the premier choice for guitarists.

Fortunately for us here at Laney we just happened to have the pair archived and were able to recreate two for him, which have now become a main stayer in his incredible touring rig and are tube amps loud enough for a stage show as remarkable as his!

[...]

WHICH LANEY AMPS IS BILLY CORGAN CURRENTLY USING ON TOUR IN 2022/2023?

Billy’s current Laney amp setup includes two 100-watt Laney LA100SM Super Modified hand-wired tube guitar heads alongside a variety of other amps. Billy also runs all of his amplifiers through Laney LA412 4 x 12″ Celestion G12H loaded cabinets.

[...]

WHAT ARE BILLY CORGAN’S AMPLIFIER SETTINGS ON THE LANEY LA100SM?

Billy Corgan’s Laney LA100SM amplifier settings are:

• Presence – 10
• Bass – 2.5
• Middle – 10
• Treble – 10
• Master – 6.5
• Gain – 8

He currently runs two amps in parallel to get that iconic Smashing Pumpkins growl that fans will know and appreciate.

[https://www.laney.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/billy-corgan-laney-amplifier-settings-2022-2023-1000x400px.jpg]

Photo courtesy of Billy’s guitar technician.