Riff Tone

Today

The Smashing Pumpkins

Guitarrock1990s

Original Gear

Guitar1974 Fender Stratocaster

AmpMarshall JCM800 2203 (with KT88 power tubes, studio recording)

PickupsFender single-coil pickups (stock 1974 Stratocaster)

Amp Settings

gain0

bass6

mid6.5

treble6.5

reverb1

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1992-1993 (Siamese Dream sessions). Clean riff section. Billy Corgan is known to use his '74 Strat for the clean parts, direct into the Marshall JCM800 with KT88 tubes for more headroom and less breakup. No evidence of pedals in the clean signal chain for this section; Corgan has stated he prefers as direct a signal as possible for rhythm/clean parts. No evidence of chorus, phaser, or other modulation on the clean riff. No evidence of amp reverb being used.

Tone Character(10)

bright and glassyarticulate and percussiveclear note separationdynamic and responsiveslightly compressed from amp headroomno audible breakupno reverb or delaydirect and unprocessedStratocaster chimetight low end

Difficulty

The clean riff requires precise picking and dynamic control to maintain clarity and articulation, but does not involve complex chord shapes or advanced techniques.

Sources

The Smashing Pumpkins Members, Gear & Sound - Equipboard Chasing Billy Corgan's guitar tone.. : r/SmashingPumpkins Billy Corgan shares his Smashing Pumpkins pedalboard secrets

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