Billy Corgan to sell gear played on Smashing Pumpkins albums and tours

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has announced his return to the online marketplace Reverb, where next Wednesday (September 29), he’ll open sales on over 100 items from his personal collection of musical equipment.

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The listing features a stable of guitars, synthesisers, amps, pedals, and various other gear that Corgan used to record and tour with throughout the Pumpkins’ 33-year tenure. One standout includes a pair of Kurzweil K2500 synthesisers that Corgan played in the studio for 1998’s ‘Adore’ and 2000’s ‘Machina’ records, and also toured with following the release of 1995’s ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’.

A selection of Corgan’s prized guitars will be offered up, including a custom-made Yamaha SA2200, a Harmony Rocket used in the recording sessions for 2012’s ‘Oceana’ (and its subsequent tour), and a 12-string Taylor 885 that featured prominently in the ‘Machina’ era.

In the way of gear used specifically for recording, the pièce de résistance is a Drawmer stereo compressor from 1960, which has long served as a centrepiece in Corgan’s home studio. In a statement, he told Reverb: “I used it on all my home demos, from ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ to the ‘Machina’ albums.”

Corgan will also offload some of his preamps, including two gold Marshall JMP-1s that he described as “vintage pieces straight out of the ‘90s”, and three ADA MP-1s used to record the Pumpkins’ 1991 debut, ‘Gish’. “I would run it into a Marshall head. That was my main sound from ’89 or ’90 through ’92,” Corgan said of the piece.

Corgan’s latest partnership with Reverb comes as the gear reseller’s latest in a series of high-profile auctions, following those from Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge, Green Day, and late Mazzy Star founder David Roback. Corgan had linked up with Reverb once before in 2017, selling over 150 pieces of equipment that he’d accumulated over the years.

The Pumpkins made their long-awaited return to the stage earlier this month, headlining Chicago’s iconic Riot Fest alongside Run The Jewels, Morrissey and Slipknot. Their set ran for almost two hours and featured a suite of rarities, including the band’s first performance of ‘Quiet’ in 27 years. In NME’s review of this year’s Riot Fest, writer Bob Chiarito labelled the Pumpkins’ set the “big draw” of Friday’s offerings.

The band’s most recent album was ‘Cyr’, which dropped in November of 2020. NME gave it a three-star review upon release, with writer Damian Jones saying that “unlike most double albums, which are either loaded with fillers or come in two bloated parts, ‘Cyr’ feels like a single complete record crammed full of pop anthems”.

Back in July, the Pumpkins said they were “halfway through” working on a follow-up to ‘Cyr’, a 33-track concept album that is also said to serve as a sequel to 1995’s ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ and 2000’s ‘Machina’ series. The as-yet-untitled new album was announced last October, and began recording earlier this year.

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