“I sold my first guitar to my drummer. He paid me $50, put SpongeBob stickers on it, then lit it on fire”: Kiki Wong reveals her Smashing Pumpkins live rig, gear regrets and how a Line 6 amp made her the player she is today

This month on Bought & Sold, Smashing Pumpkins' Kiki Wong checks in to talk about her life in guitar, from first electric guitars to her current touring rig – and also to weigh in on the big questions in life.

We're talking cheap amp and expensive guitar versus expensive amp and cheap guitar, electric guitar pickup preferences, and how to find your ultimate guitar…

What was the first serious guitar you bought with your own money?

I remember my first guitar was a Slammer by Hamer, which came in a beginner pack that essentially included a Fender 15-watt amp, a few picks, a strap and a whole lot of motivation to practise. I didn’t have a clue about what pickups did or how necks feel; I honestly just wanted to play Metallica and heavy riffs since I had been learning on an acoustic guitar.

Since the internet wasn’t so handy as it is today, I really got my inspiration for gear from guitar magazines and frequent visits to Guitar Center.

That’s where I discovered this stunning Ibanez S series. I still remember the model number S40DXQM because I remember repeating it in my head over and over, knowing that it was the guitar I wanted.

Eventually, I pooled enough cash together with my mom and myself and was able to buy it for my birthday. It was an absolute game-changer since it had a ‘Z Tremolo’ floating bridge that allowed me to poke around with Dimebag [Darrell] divebombs.

It was absolutely my dream guitar in the flesh, and it was such a cool experience overall. Sadly, it was stolen out of my car in Downtown LA in 2015.

What was the last guitar you bought and why?

“The last guitar I purchased was actually a Strandberg Boden Essential guitar for my incredible tech on tour [with the Smashing Pumpkins], Pat Ryan.

He always goes above and beyond to ensure my gear is absolutely pristine on tour. He truly loves his work and he loves guitars, so I wanted to gift him something special that he could take on the road without sacrificing any quality of the instrument.

What’s the most incredible find or bargain you’ve ever had when buying guitars?

This is more of an amp story. I remember that I had just joined the She Demons, a female punk-rock supergroup formed by a founding member of The Misfits, [bassist] Jerry Only. We were about to go on tour as direct support across the US and in Canada for a 34-date run. The gear I was using before was a hand-me-down Carvin Amp that I was borrowing, so I knew I had to get my own amp.

With only 500 bucks in my bank account, I was scouring Craigslist for anything that would be up to par for the tour. Someone had listed a Marshall JCM2000 head and cab for $1,500. I definitely didn’t have the cash, so my brother Eric, who is a shredder and metal music fan himself, helped me pay half.

We drove two hours down to Orange County and met up with the seller, who ended up being someone who worked on production for Slash. I told him about my situation and he agreed to sell the stack for 1,000 bucks because he believed in me and what I was doing. He gave me a really nice pep talk. It was really one of the first times I felt like I had really good gear for a show.

Kiki Wong of The Smashing Pumpkins | Artist Spotlight | Studio 900 | Marshall - YouTube

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What’s the strongest case of buyer’s remorse you’ve ever had after buying gear?

When I was in high school, I always dreamed of having a Triple Rectifier Mesa/Boogie half-stack. It was clearly obscenely out of my price range. I opted for a Peavey Triple XXX 212 combo amp, which had a lot of juice and power. It wasn’t that the amp wasn’t good enough, I just wished I saved enough money to actually buy the amp I always dreamed of.

Have you ever sold a guitar that you now intensely regret letting go?

I actually have a major issue selling gear in general. I’d like to say that I’ve at least attempted to live my life sort of ‘minimalistically’, trying to consume less. However, all of it is pretty much cancelled out by how many guitars I have! [laughs]

That being said, I do remember when I was in high school, I sold my first guitar ever to my drummer in the little grungy metal band I was playing. He paid me 50 bucks for it, put a bunch of SpongeBob [Squarepants] stickers all over the fret markers, and then lit it on fire! It makes me laugh thinking about it, but it would have been nice, sentimentally, to still have it today.

The Smashing Pumpkins: The World Is a Vampire Tour (Paris 2024) [Multicam] - YouTube

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What’s your best buying tip for anyone looking for their ultimate guitar?

Honestly, get the guitar. There’s something really special, first, about musicianship and instruments. The best creations come from being in the right emotional state.

There’s nothing better than feeling absolutely inspired by the instrument you’re playing, where you feel glued to it, thinking about it during your day-to-day, and looking forward to playing it next. If that’s what drives you to practise, play and create, then get the damn thing! The longer you wait, the more likely it’ll get snatched up.

When was the last time you stopped and looked in a guitar shop window or browsed online, and what were you looking at?

I’m currently on tour in Asia with the Smashing Pumpkins. We just had our Japan leg of the tour, and someone locally suggested going to check out Guitar Street [Tokyo]. My fiancé and two-year-old son were travelling with me, and my son is absolutely obsessed with musical instruments – almost neurotically, where he can actually name all the instruments in an orchestra type of obsessed [laughs].

We walked along the streets, where they are filled with collector guitars, used guitars, special Japanese guitars, new and old, fancy and functional, the whole nine yards. My son loved it and so did I.

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS - Gossamer/The Spaniards (Live) | Montreux Jazz Festival 2024 - YouTube

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If forced to make a choice, would you rather buy a really good guitar and a cheap amp, or a cheap guitar and a top-notch amp?

I am 1,000 per cent onboard with a great guitar and a cheap amp. Now, this obviously applies to me being home and playing. I’ve been playing out of a Line 6 Spider III 15-watt amp that I purchased in 2007.

I’ve made about half of my TikTok videos with that amp, which is essentially where it got me today. People talk a lot of poo about my tone. But, honestly, it’s what I love and have loved since I was a kid. Now, on tour, it’s definitely a different story – you’ve gotta have all cylinders running. But, overall, I love a great guitar.

If you could only use humbuckers or single coils for the rest of your career, which would it be and why?

1,000 per cent humbuckers. Again, it goes off of how much I like the dirty, grungy metal tone. You really can’t achieve it without those humbies.

Kiki’s Go-To Rig

My pedalboard is powered by Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 3 Plus. And here’s the signal chain into the amp input: guitar, Shure Axient wireless, followed by the Dunlop [Cry Baby] 95Q wah-wah, which goes into the Interstellar Audio Octonaut Hyperdrive.

Then we have the Chase Tone Fuzz Fella, which leads into the Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork. And then we’ve got the Axess Electronics Compatt/A [Input] Buffer, leading to the Analog Man Mini Chorus and then the amp input.

The signal flow in the effects loop is: amp send and then it’s the Dunlop Volume Pedal and Boss TU-3S, then the Walrus Audio Lore pedal going into the MXR Joshua echo pedal with tap control, and then we’ve got the Axess Electronics Compatt/A [Input] Buffer and then amp return.

The signal runs into a Revv Generator 120 head going into a Marshall JCM2000 1960A cabinet in an ISO box.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.