Billy holding up the black and white BC Signature Strats

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After 2 decades of faithful use, Billy finally got his very own signature Strat model, released in June 2008. Built with a large 70s-style headstock, to re-create his favorite Gish guitar, which was stolen. Some prototypes were used on Zeitgeist, and he uses the new model "every night" on tour.

"Made to Corgan’s exact specs to create his famous mid-’90s buzz-saw tone, this instrument features three DiMarzio® pickups (two custom for this instrument), a string-through hard-tail bridge and a satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish." Comes in black w/ white pickguard or white w/ black.
[product page (archived)] Note: as of June 2012, this product was no longer listed.

A video included with an article released shortly before the 2011 "Other Side of the Kaleidyscope" tour discusses some of his guitars, notably that he's switched out the modern, flatter necks for the 1957-style rounded necks for "faster" playing. 3 different signature model guitars (all white) were seen on that tour: one with a "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and an octopus sticker for standard-tuned songs, one with a 76 station and "BURBANK" stickers in E-flat tuning (this guitar is shown and discussed in the video mentioned above), and one with a glittery "X" and several red Devo "Energy Dome" stickers for drop-D songs.

Specs:

Model Name

Billy Corgan Stratocaster®

Model Number

011-5002-(Color#)

Series

Artist Series

Colors

(805) Olympic White,
(806) Flat Black,
(Satin Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish)

Body

Alder

Neck

Maple, Modern “C” Shape,
(Satin Polyurethane Finish)

Fingerboard

Maple, 9.5” Radius (241mm)

No. of Frets

22 Jumbo Frets

Pickups

1 Special Design Dimarzio® Billy Corgan Single-Spaced Humbucking Pickup (Neck),
1 Dimarzio® Chopper™ Pickup (Middle),
1 Special Design Dimarzio® Billy Corgan Single-Spaced Humbucking Pickup (Bridge)

Controls

Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)

Pickup Switching

5-Position Blade:
Position 1. Full Humbucking Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Inside Coil of Bridge Pickup and Full Humbucking Middle Pickup
Position 3. Full Humbucking Middle Pickup
Position 4. Full Humbucking Middle Pickup and Outside Coil of Neck Pickup
Position 5. Full Humbucking Neck Pickup

Bridge

American Strat Strings-Through-Body Hard Tail Bridge with Stainless Steel Saddles

Machine Heads

Fender® Standard Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines

Hardware

Chrome

Pickguard

3 Ply Black/White/Black on (805) Olympic White; 3-Ply White/Black/White on (806) Black

Scale Length

25.5” (648 mm)

Width at Nut

1.6875” (43 mm)

Unique Features

Billy Corgan Signature Pickups by DiMarzio®
Satin Nitrocellulose Lacquer Body Finish,
White Plastic Parts,
Large ‘70s Style Headstock Shape,
Large ‘70s Style Headstock Logo,
Original Body Shape,
“Original Contour Body” Decal on Headstock

Strings

Fender® Super Bullets® 3250L, Nickel Plated Steel, (.009 to .042), p/n 073-3250-003

Accessories

Vintage Tweed Case, Cable, Strap, Polishing Cloth

Case

Vintage Tweed Case (for Large Headstock Strat)

Introduced

6/2008

Notice

Product Prices, Features, Specifications and Availability Are Subject To Change Without Notice