Billy played (during the Gish-Siamese Dream era) a
customized Fender
Stratocaster fully equipped with three Fender Lace
Sensor pick ups. One blue at the neck, one silver in the
middle, and one red on the bridge. It also has a
five-position pickup selector switch which he installed
himself. The battered, stickered, '57 Reissue
Stratocaster became his number one guitar by default. He
used to have a '74 Strat that was stolen shortly after
Gish was completed. He also used a wide variety of
guitars on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. On
Where Boys Fear to Tread Billy used a Les Paul Junior
Reissue, and on Tonight Tonight he used a '72
Gibson 335. He is also known to use a '74 Strat that
has since then been painted baby blue. That guitar was
used on the recordings for Bullet with Butterfly Wings
and also Muzzle, because the heavier wood gave it the
basic Stratocaster sound with a bit more bottom. During
the recording and tour of the album Zeitgeist, Billy
used a Schecter C-1, finished in black with
Seymour Duncan pickups.
In 2008 Billy released to the market his own Fender Stratocaster. This new guitar was made to Corgan’s exact specs to create his famous mid-’90s buzzsaw tone, the instrument features three DiMarzio pickups (two custom for this instrument), a string-through hardtail bridge and a satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish. When playing live he uses both his signature Strats as well as another Fender Strat in red, a Gibson Tony Iommi Signature SG and his Schecter C-1, However the Schecter is only used on the Zeitgeist song United States.