Thirty-one years after Gish, the Smashing Pumpkins are still exploring the architecture of sound in their often explosive and unpredictable songs. For their current Spirits on Fire Tour, Billy Corgan leads with his Reverend signatures and a few other carefully culled guitars, and Jeff Schroeder lends support with his fleet of Yamahas.
The Smashing PumpkinsSmashing Pumpkins' first two albums, Gish and Siamese Dream, were a huge part of the soundtrack for the early ’90s alternative rock revolution. Still sounding revolutionary all these years later, the band’s leader, Billy Corgan, recently brought the Smashing Pumpkins to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the Spirits on Fire tour, on the heels of their 11th studio album, Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts.
The concept album is a sequel to the Smashing Pumpkins’ definitive three-LP masterwork Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, from 1995—which also brought them crushing into the mainstream. Acts two and three of Atum are scheduled for January and April 2023. But meanwhile, there are live shows … and all the gear it takes to recreate more than three decades years of the band’s signature sounds. PS: Special thanks to super-tech Trace Davis for his help with the fine points.
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Sticker Shocker
Billy Corgan’s main guitar, tuned in standard, is his Reverend signature Z-One in midnight black, loaded with Railhammer Billy Corgan Z-One neck and bridge pickups. This model is the third collaboration between Corgan and Reverend’s Joe Naylor, and Mr. C’s axe takes Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys, gauged .010–.046.
Purple Haze
For a back-up, Billy has his Reverend BC1 signature in satin purpleburst, loaded—again—with Z-One neck and bridge pickups, which blend the bite of P-90s with humbucker heaviness.
Those Pickup Covers!
Stare long enough at those pickup covers, and perhaps you’ll see the universe, putting a new spin on the old Zen koan. When Corgan wants things just a bit looser, in Eb standard tuning, he’ll reach for this Z-One sig in silver freeze. Oh! The strings? Ernie Ball Power Slinkys, .011–.048.
Truly Special
For a classic P-90 voice, Corgan lets the strings on this 1994 Gibson Les Paul Special sing. He keeps it tuned to C# standard and the switch has been modified (it's a secret), as has the sticker. Ernie Ball Not Even Slinkys (.012–.056) adorn this axe.
ES for Eb Standard
Another low-tuned Gibson, Corgan’s 1972 ES-335 with block inlays and a trapeze tailpiece, lives in Eb standard land and gets called out to play on the song “1979.”
The Silver Surfboard
For some mini-hum sting, Billy plays this Gibson Firebird with a Bigsby in silver finish. There are several switches in the headstock, which Corgan’s tech Davis says control the “secret sauce and voodoo magic.”
Star Baby
Corgan tours with two of his signature Yamaha LJ16BC acoustics—one in E and one in Eb standard. They’re medium-jumbos and all-stock, which means a spruce top, rosewood back and sides, a 5-ply mahogany and rosewood neck, and the company’s comfort traditional neck style.
Double Vision
Corgan tours with two identical amp rigs, with four different heads used separately for different tones, and all switched with an Ampete 444. This allows him to drive all four heads into one Laney Black Country Customs LA412 4x12 speaker cab loaded with Celestion G12H-75s. It lives in an iso box under the stage. The amps? There’s a Laney Supermod, an Orange Rockerverb 100 MKIII, a Carstens Grace, and an Ebo Customs Del Rio.
Billy Corgan’s Pedalboard
Here’s what underfoot: an RJM Mastermind GT/16 MIDI controller, an MXR CAE Power System, Analog Man Beano Boost treble booster with Mullard-style transistors, a Lehle III switching and looping tool, a Tone Bender-inspired Minotaur Sonic Terrors Evil Eye MkIII fuzz, a Strymon Brigadier delay, a Behringer Octave Divider, and a Dunlop Volume (X), used as an expression pedal for the Strymon.
Yamaha, Aha!
Jeff Schroeder plays Yamaha guitars. And he’s got four Revstars on tour. This one has an especially elegant finish. They came stocked with P-90s, but now one has Black Cat Vintage Repro Minis, another features Lollar Low Wind Imperial Humbuckers, and the one he keeps in drop D is totally stock. Schroeder goes with Ernie Ball Paradigm .009 sets for standard, .010s for Eb standard, .009s with a heavier .046 on the bottom for drop D, and .011s for C# standard.
Cutaway to the Pacifica
This Yamaha Pacifica has a scalloped fretboard and Seymour Duncan Hunter humbucking pickups in the bridge and neck, and an SSL-5 single-coil in the middle. It also features a Floyd Rose whammy upgraded with titanium parts.
Big Red
For a semi-hollow, Jeff goes with his Yamaha SA2200 guitars, with Lollar Low Wind Imperial Humbuckers.
Player’s Pick
As with all his axes, his plectrum choice is Dunlop Tortex 1.14 mms, including the the just-for-fun Dunlop YJMP03YL Yngwie Malmsteen picks (yellow), but the Dunlop YJMP02RD Yngwie Malmsteen picks (red) are beefier at 2 mm.
Double Generation
Schroeder tours with two Revv Generator 120 MKII tube heads—big, beefy, and versatile.
Don’t Call a Cab
No big boxes for Schroeder … at least onstage. He uses a pair of Two Notes Torpedo Captor X simulators, emulating a 4x12 mic’d with a Shure SM57 and Sennheiser MD421 on Celestion V30s. As a back-up, there is a Marshall 4x12 in an isolation cabinet—with a Shure SM57—under the stage. And Jeff’s “icing on the cake”—a suggested addition from tech Trace Davis (of Voodoo Amps)—is a Retrospec Juice Box. This inconspicuous box is a transformer-less, all-tube DI that has upped his live tones to a studio quality.
Double Helix
His effects array has two Line 6 Helix Rack units that live in his rolling rock case.
Central Command
At his feet he has a Line 6 Helix Control Foot Controller that works with an Analog Man Beano Boost, like Billy’s. These are fired up for solos. Also, Schroeder has a pair of Dunlop DVP3 Volume (X) pedals (one for volume and another for pitch-shifting effect from the Helix) and a Dunlop JB95 Joe Bonamassa Signature Cry Baby wah.
But Wait, There’s More
He also uses an Origin Effects RevivalDrive, a Vox Satchurator, and Fender’s Yngwie Malmsteen signature OD.
- Billy Corgan on Smashing Pumpkins’ New Mellon Collie Sequel: “Now’s the Time.” ›
- Rig Rundown: A Perfect Circle ›
- Reverend Launches the Billy Corgan Z-One ›
- Reverend Billy Corgan Drop Z Signature Electric Guitar - Premier Guitar ›
- From Songwriter to Guitar Designer, Billy Corgan's Evolution - Premier Guitar ›
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There’s no disputing the influence B.B. King has had on the history of electric guitar music. We’re talking about his sound, his best records, his guitars, his showmanship, and his collabs, from an all-star jam at the 2010 Crossroads festival to, yes, even his 1988 U2 collab, “When Love Comes to Town.”
There’s no disputing the influence B.B. King has had on the history of electric guitar music.
With Lucille in hand—as well as other guitars—he carved out his sound by developing a signature one-of-a-kind vibrato and pick attack. His note choice, phrasing, and feel have basically become the fundamental vocabulary of electric blues. Even more than any other of his blues peers, his playing shaped blues and rock guitar. And that’s not to mention his singing.
So, on this episode of 100 Guitarists, we’re celebrating the King. We’re talking about his sound, his best records, his guitars, his showmanship, and his collabs, from an all-star jam at the 2010 Crossroads festival to, yes, even his 1988 U2 collab, “When Love Comes to Town.”
In our current listening segment, we’re talking about Brian John McBrearty’s recent meditation-jazz release Remembering Repeating and Julian Lage’s latest, Apple Music Nashville Sessions.
This episode is sponsored by Gibson.
A terrific twosome or a terrible twinning? It all depends on how you tame your treble.
Rein in those icy high frequencies with these handy tips.
Classic vintage Fender amps are renowned for their clean, shimmering tones. However, dialing in the “sweet spot” isn’t always straightforward, especially when you're playing on a new or borrowed amp. Pair these amps with Fender guitars—also known for their brightness—and the combination can sometimes result in ear-piercing treble and overwhelming volume. An amp that’s too powerful or an unsuitable guitar pairing can easily derail the musical moment you’re trying to create. So, controlling treble is crucial, particularly with louder amps.
In this article, I’ll share my experiences with Fender amps and how I’ve tamed treble issues through guitar tweaks, speaker swaps, amp modifications, and pedals. My goal is to help you achieve those glorious vintage Fender tones without losing your ears—or your audience—in the process.
Backline Bargaining
I’m extra cautious about bringing my brightest Strats or Teles to gigs with rented backline amps. Newer Deluxe Reverbs, for example, can be particularly tricky with dialing in a smooth tone. These amps often feature bright ceramic speakers and the EQ options are limited—there’s no bright switch to dampen the top end and no mid knob to add warmth.
Here’s what I do: I start by turning down the tone knob on my Okko Twinsonic overdrive pedal, which is very transparent. My old Ibanez Tube Screamers naturally rolled off much of the high end, making them easier to pair with brighter amps.
I also adjust the microphone placement set up by the sound crew. The tone gets brighter the closer the mic is to the center of the speaker cone. I angle the SM57 slightly and aim it closer to the outer edge of the cone, leaving a 3–4 cm gap from the grill cloth. Larger 12" or 15" speakers are more forgiving in this process, while smaller 10" speakers are less so. I’ve encountered challenging amps, like a Super Reverb loaded with 10" JBL speakers featuring aluminum dust caps. These amps sounded much harsher through the PA than they did on stage, making mic placement even more critical.
Dimming the Bright Caps
Bright caps are key components in shaping an amp’s treble response. On the Deluxe Reverb, the bright cap is always enabled, which can make brighter guitars sound harsh, especially at low volumes or when using fuzz pedals. Cranking the amp helps by adding more upper mids to the mix.
For my own Deluxe Reverbs, I sometimes disable the 47 pF bright cap or, more often, install a 25k mid pot on the back panel to add warmth. It depends on the tones I’m chasing.
Smaller amps like the Fender Champ and Princeton don’t have bright caps, which naturally gives them smoother tones. But if they sound too dark or muddy, you can add a bright cap. I installed a 100 pF bright cap on my 1966 Princeton Reverb (which has a Jensen C10N speaker from the same year, though not original to the amp). After experimenting, I settled on a 47 pF cap for just the right amount of clarity.
If you’re up for a bit of DIY, experimenting with bright cap values can significantly shape your tone. Black-panel and silver-panel Fenders typically use 120 pF bright caps, with exceptions like the Deluxe (47 pF) and the Princeton and Champ (none).
Guitar Tweaks for Warmer Tones
Your guitar’s setup can also make a big difference. Thin strings combined with pickups set too close to the strings can result in a thin, overly bright tone. Here’s how I address this:
● Lower the pickups slightly. I start with a 2–2.4 mm gap on the high E string and 2.4–3.3 mm gap on the low E, measured between the pickup pole and the string when fretted at the highest fret. Then, I fine-tune by ear to balance output across pickup positions.
● Use thicker strings for a warmer, fuller tone. I tune my guitars down to Eb to deepen the sound and increase sustain. Keep in mind, though, that this can create a looser, flabbier bass response on smaller amps.
● Hotter pickups add mids and bass, naturally reducing treble dominance. Alternatively, lowering the resistance of the volume pot can smooth out the tone by filtering high frequencies. However, changing pot or cap values will alter how your guitar responds when rolling down the tone or volume knobs.
Speaker Swaps
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, speakers play a huge role in shaping your tone. Swapping speakers or experimenting with extension cabinets is one of the most effective ways to adjust treble, mids, or bass. I’ve written extensively about this in previous articles, but it’s worth emphasizing here: The right speaker pairing can make or break your tone.
I hope these insights help you conquer any treble troubles and coax balanced tones from your Fender amps. Happy tinkering!
Tighten up your rhythm playing by focusing on how to get a great sound, balancing your wrist and elbow, and understanding how to subdivide rhythms.