Scottsdale, AZ (July 1, 2008) -- Fender adds another notch to its bedpost, as it introduces a new signature Stratocaster series to its abundant collection. Fender collaborated with one of the most influential musicians of the nineties, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, to create a new versatile tone-machine. They worked together to reinvent the high-gain sound in order to recreate Corgan’s signature mid-nineties buzz saw tone.

Although Corgan and the Pumpkins have enjoyed worldly success with more than 30 million albums, he appears to be as excited about his new signature guitar as when he first started making music nearly 20 years ago.

 DiMarzio pickups -- two wound specifically for the instrument

String-through hardtail bridge

Jumbo frets

Satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish

Olympic White finish with black pickguard or Black finish with white pickguard

“This guitar has both a Strat articulation and enough low-end heavy metal sound to get the ‘Sabbath’ out of the guitar I want. My greatest go-to guitar got stolen at a Pumpkins club date in 1991, and I’ve always struggled since then to find a guitar that was my guitar. I’m really pleased with this model’s versatility, which I need because I’m playing music from a 17-year period of the Pumpkins’ history – from spacey early stuff to grunge to all-out cyber metal, then back to ballads.”

The motivation behind the guitar was simple – something that Billy could play in live or recording situations.

“Billy owns a lot of vintage Strat guitars, but he was looking for a primary ‘go-to guitar,’ said Justin Norvell, Fender marketing director for electric guitars. “Billy was very hands-on. We were bringing prototypes into the studio and rehearsal space while they were tracking the record, and did the fine-tuning on the specs while they were out on tour. Playing live and in the studio is two completely different things, so we worked together to make sure it was perfect.”