Show Me the Gear: Smashing Pumpkins’ Jeff Schroeder takes Guitar World on a tour of his rig
Schroeder’s full setup, from customized Yamaha Revstars to a digital/analog hybrid rig, covers all the sounds from "many different eras of the band."
Guitar World recently met up with Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder before the band’s show at Jones Beach in New York for the debut installment of our new video series, Show Me the Gear.
In the above video Schroeder delves deep into his onstage rig, starting with his pedal board, which begins with a Joe Bonamassa signature Dunlop Cry Baby Wah.
“I really love it because it’s really musical and expressive and it’s not too extreme,” he says.
From there Schroeder takes us through his pedalboard, rack effects, preamps, power amps and speakers, taking time to point out key items, including a Line 6 Helix guitar processor – his “hub” – his MESA/Boogie Simul-Class 2:Ninety power amp and his Electro-Harmonix SYNTH9 pedal, which he uses to recreate the string sounds on the Pumpkins’ song Tonight, Tonight.
Says Schroeder of the hybrid digital/analog rig, “It’s got the best of both worlds and lots of flexibility, but all the options that I would need for signal routing to do songs from seven or eight different albums and many different eras of the band."
In the second half of the interview, Schroder takes us on a tour through his many onstage guitars, including his various Yamaha Revstars. “I do the bulk of the show on those guitars and they’ve been kind enough to make me a lot of custom ones tailored to my needs in this band,” he says.
Additionally, he points out some other Yamahas, including custom models and a modified RGX, which is tuned C to C and is used for "Machina-era songs."
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He also highlights a recent acquisition – an Epiphone Dave Rude Flying V.
“I just got it yesterday and used it on a couple songs last night," Schroeder says. "It will definitely make another appearance tonight.”
You can check out Schroeder's full guitar arsenal below.
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Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.