Fender has another new Signature Stratocaster.

[toadman]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

Here is one of the Smashing Pumpkins most popular songs and I dont hear anything where you can tell there is a Strat in the mix.

When I hear SRV John Mayer Jimmie Vaughan Buddy Guy Mark Knopfler Eric Johnson and Eric Clapton I can tell they are playing a Strat but when I hear Corgan play there isnt any relation to the signature Strat sound we all know and love.

The sound he gets could be anything from an Epiphone Jr to a Bo Diddley cigar box guitar you cant tell what he is playing at all because its so distorted.

that was a popular song?? i must be out of the loop more than i thought!

[outbreak]

this signature thing is getting out of hand these days....

[59TweedVibrolux]

Ah Modern Day Guitar.......... I can plug my Signature Guitar into my
Signature Pedals into my Signature Amp
to hopefully get MY Signature Sound

How many Models do these guitar companies make these days ???? Fenders
Catalog is getting to be the size of the phone book. $35,000 for a Clapton
ES-335 Its a custom shop 335 with a bit of dodgy wear and tear,
come on... Rory Gallagher Strat / Hendrix Woodstock Strat / Stevie Ray
Strat Ltd Edition / Yngwie, Robert Cray, Blackmore, Mayer.....

What ever happened to just making Quality Guitars, a few Models made from
the Best Avail Woods, Well constructed & Finished ? Fender & Gibson did
it in their Golden Era's, Suhr, Anderson, D' pergo etc etc can do it today.
Who needs / wants a Splatter Strat, Hey Kitty Strat or 500 Signature
models. You don't need to hang your hat on a Celebrity to sell guitars,
have faith in your product. If its Qlty it will sell itself. I know I'd rather
have a real 1962 ES-335 or Strat than a C/S Eric Clapton 335 or SRV
lookalike Strat.......

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by toadman

that was a popular song?? i must be out of the loop more than i thought!

You may be in the loop now... that song was popular 13 years ago.

[morroben]

The two major themes in this thread seem to be...
-Why does Billy Corgan get a signature strat?
-Billy Corgan's tone doesn't sound like every other strat I've ever heard.
Don't these kind of explain each other?
I actually find it more strange that Mayer, Johnson, Clapton etc. get signature strats. Not knocking those guys, but just grab a strat off the wall and go. Three single coils and a trem...what's the big difference in these models? I know they all have their unique qualities, but they're all basically the same beast.
At least this Corgan model has the humbuckers and the hardtail...something a little different than your run of the mill strat. JMHO

[MulliganChebichev]

According to Fender's site it has Satin Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish, so basically its a hardtail Highway 1...cool enough I guess.

[outbreak]

i just don't see the need for the majority of these sig guitars....
if you want the same guitar your idol plays buy what their using and do the mods. these sigs dont seem aimed at kids because their too over priced for that

[morroben]

Originally Posted by MulliganChebichev

According to Fender's site it has Satin Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish, so basically its a hardtail Highway 1...cool enough I guess.

I thought the Highway 1 had single coils...is it just the neck profile and finish that are the same? I'm not an expert on strat models...this is the first one that's seemed appealing to me in a while.

[bobthecanadian]

Originally Posted by Blazer

And let's be honest Corgan paid his dues, he's a musical legend and a gifted musician, he deserves a Signature model.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!

Oops... sorry... become I become offensive, are you serious?

[Mark Davis]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

Yeah, we all know it, but trust me: we don't all love it.

I don't hear a Strat either; I hear an original guy making awesome frigging rock 'n roll, and not sounding like SRV, Eric Johnson, Eric Clapton yawn yawn yawn bore me to TEARS. It's been done and overdone ad nauseum, and it can go away FOREVER as far as I'm concerned.

The world IS a vampire.

I don't care that much for that model Strat but then I think Strats suck butt anyway... but the fact they made a signature guitar for him is cool by me.

I quoted those names Clapton SRV Eric Johnson etc just because they are all other Fender Signature Artist Series endorsers not because I like any of them especially.

I like the Strat and its specs I just think you can get that same sound he gets on any guitar.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by bobthecanadian

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!

Oops... sorry... become I become offensive, are you serious?

I don't know if anyone 'deserves' a signature model, but if anyone does then he could be on the list.

I always loved the Pumpkins more than any other of the early 90's bands, except for Alice in Chains perhaps.
The guitars and mix might be buried in distortion- but Dinosaur Jr are as well and no-one seems to mind J Mascis getting a sig.

[winny pooh]

I think the strat is fine and so is Billy, ultimately.... so what.

I have a bigger problem with Blazer saying he is "little" in his first post, you must be kidding, that guy is huge!

[Nick JD]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

I like the Strat and its specs I just think you can get that same sound he gets on any guitar.

Do we only buy a guitar because of the way it sounds through a clean channel?

We buy it because our heroes play one. We buy one because it's comfortable and feels nice on the hands. We buy one because it fits - ergonomically and stylistically. We buy one because even though we grew up playing Waylon Jennings - we now like Death Metal and put our Twangmaster Mach 52 through ten distortion pedals until the guitar sounds like a thousand angry bullfrogs.

Isn't it a bit simplistic to think guitars are bought on tone? Only three people in the whole audience can tell the difference between a Strat and a Tele and a Les Paul and a Warlock - but most can see the difference.

Put three pups and a tremolo on a Tele and it sounds just like a Strat - but is it a Strat? Nope, it's a Tele!

[chet]

Billy Corgan and no:

Buddy Holly
Luther Perkins?

Fender has got thier head up thier....

[eddiewagner]

Originally Posted by Walter Broes

Nothing for or against Billy Corgan, but that is one un-exciting strat!

you took the words right out of my mouth.

[bowlfreshener]

A lot of these signature models that come out these days have nothing to do with who has paid their dues or who deserves one, and has everything to do with marketing.

Think about it, the very first Fender signature model was for Yngwie Malmsteen, and it came out just at a time when much of the hard rock and metal guitarists were going with pointy bodies and reverse headstocks. I am sure that at the time had they had the internet when that model was introduced, many would say Yngwie was not deserving of such a model, especially since this was before the Eric Clapton signature strat came out. But like I said, it has to do with marketing. How do you market your brand to people who may not even considering your brand? You take someone who is well respected in hard rock and metal and give them a signature guitar...they may not buy one at that moment, but at least they took some time to look at something Fender, and it may planted a seed for their consideration in regard to future purchases.

[byrdbrain]

This thread reminds me of a Guitar Player article, when one of the abysmally
boring studio players (with a band of his own) complained about the "quality"
of playing of, among others, Billy Corgan. Meanwhile, the Smashing Pumpkins
made some pretty good records – while the studio player did not.
And yes, J-man, about those can-o'-worms signatures; I want
a Derek Bailey Epiphone.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by byrdbrain

And yes, J-man, about those can-o'-worms signatures; I want
a Derek Bailey Epiphone.

Can we call it the 'plinkyphone'?

Joe Bonamassa would be an interesting choice- who the hell would make it?

[Twangmeister]

It could double as the James Carville signature Strat.

Durt, this is inspired. Buy yourself a cold one and send me the bill.

BTW, Corgan is not a little bald man. He's a tall bald man. I bumped right into him as we were walking out of respective rehearsal rooms and he is one tall drink o'water.

[Blazer]

Originally Posted by Twangmeister

Durt, this is inspired. Buy yourself a cold one and send me the bill.

BTW, Corgan is not a little bald man. He's a tall bald man. I bumped right into him as we were walking out of respective rehearsal rooms and he is one tall drink o'water.

Sorry I was just quoting a lady friend of mine who's over six feet seven. So he sure is little to her.

BTW: Who exactly is James Carville?

[Twangmeister]

Wow, sounds like she's built like an Amazon. Is she also a brick house?

Note to Moderator: This is NOT political post. Previous poster asked who James Carville is for the purpose of Durtdog's previous, hilarious analogy.

James Carville info here: http://www.carville.info/

Coincidence? You tell me!

[Blazer]

H'mm doesn't seem that he plays guitar though.

[ramblinmike]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Carville

[Blazer]

Okay I can see the link now, the joke was based on Corgan's looks, not because his guitar is similar to something that Carville character is playing.

I am no American so I couldn't see the link here.

Geez why didn't you guys just say "Captain Picard" signature? I know who that guy is and I also know that he's bald AND Patrick Stewart plays guitar.

[mjb1967]

Originally Posted by chet

Billy Corgan and no:

Buddy Holly
Luther Perkins?

Fender has got thier head up thier....

If they had a white 3000.00 Buddy holly model would you buy it?

[Frank_Kimball]

Can only think of Corgan with hair...and animated by some hard-working Koreans...



I used to be with it, but then they changed what "it" was. Now, what
I'm with isn't it, and what's "it" seems weird and scary to me.
-- "Homerpalooza"

[TedGreeneFan]

This is Hilarious! I have DEFINITELY enough preferences for a signature model, however not enough to present a new/different product to their "Artist Series". Any one else notice a pattern?

Just my two cents...

H.

[jcw]

Originally Posted by AlbertvRayTele

At least the pickups and switching offer a bit of a twist on the traditional Strat config.

Maybe this is why no one could tell he's playing a strat from listening to the songs. :)

My main strat which I ordered last year (not Fender) is a lot like his sig strat, except I don't have humbuckers. It's a 70's big head neck on a hardtail black body.

[Blazer]

Originally Posted by jcw

Maybe this is why no one could tell he's playing a strat from listening to the songs. :)

Check out his sound on the live clip I posted, when he plays clean, his strat sounds ...well... like a strat.

[rahbee]

Originally Posted by J-man

I'm waiting for a Johnny Greenwood signature Tele...

this would be a pretty cool tele as long as it was more of a reissue of the telecaster plus rather than a $3,000 relic.


im thinking that this would be an even cooler jonny sig.

[J-man]

Originally Posted by rahbee

this would be a pretty cool tele as long as it was more of a reissue of the telecaster plus rather than a $3,000 relic.


im thinking that this would be an even cooler jonny sig.

Yeah, it would definitely have to be a working man's guitar with a working man's price.

Fender should just reissue the Starcaster.

[rahbee]

Originally Posted by J-man

Yeah, it would definitely have to be a working man's guitar with a working man's price.

Fender should just reissue the Starcaster.

AMEN +1


all the radiohead guitars and that image are from Plank's (radioheads guitar guru) blog over here - http://www.stringsreunited.com/plankarchive.shtml

[63dot]

i like the guitar but i am biased liking the pumpkins very much

for people who don't know billy corgan, this choice by fender probably remains a mystery and something like a hedrix sig. strat has way more mass appeal

[Blazer]

Originally Posted by J-man

Yeah, it would definitely have to be a working man's guitar with a working man's price.

Fender should just reissue the Starcaster.

While Fender will probably never reissue the Starcaster, Yamaha has the closest thing.


The Yamaha Wes Borland signature.

Former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland is a big fan of the starcaster, having used one as his main studio guitar for many years. His signature Yamaha reflects Borland's love for Fender's hollowbody offset.


Wes Borland and his Starcaster doing what they do best: exploring new sounds.

[neocaster]

I can't stand James Carville, but his ice cream cakes ROCK!

Fudgie the whale for president!

[jonzer]

Originally Posted by Durtdog

It could double as the James Carville signature Strat.

You made me choke on my coffee.

I think it's cool to give this guy a guitar. I really don't care who gets signature models anyway but I think Corgan deserves it. However, I never did associate him with a strat. Last time I saw him on the cover of a guitar magazine he was posing with a Reverend. Maybe instead of giving him a signature guitar he should have a signature distortion (big muff) pedal instead.

[rahbee]

i suppose he does deserve it. im in the camp of thinking that signatures are silly. i mean pete townshend plays a clapton strat so it can't be all that bad. i just don't think that there are enough smashing pumpkin fans out there to support a signature model like this. i feel like it will just kind of fade away into obscurity.


and blazer, i never would have guessed that wes borland was a fan of starcasters. thats a very interesting thing. i mean im at the age where limp bizkit was one of the biggest bands in the world when i just starting paying attention to music so i was a pretty big fan "back in the day", but never would have guessed a starcaster! thanks for that info.