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On Monday, April 11, 1994, exactly 30 years ago today, oasis release their iconic first single, Supersonic.

The famous photo on the sleeve was taken by Michael Spencer Jones on January 26, 1994 at Monnow Valley Studios, during the first recording sessions for Definitely Maybe.
Michael’s aim was “to show them at work in a cluttered studio environment, with guitars and amps strewn everywhere alongside other studio paraphernalia“.¹

It is one of my favorite Oasis sleeves, also because of all those instruments lying around!
Keep reading for a detailed list.

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1. EPIPHONE LES PAUL STANDARD
A Cherry Sunburst Les Paul made by Epiphone in the Korean Samick factory, likely bought by Noel in the summer of 1993. This is the guitar that he actually used to record Supersonic in December 1993.
This one has just got a new detailed page on the website, check it out!

2. EPIPHONE EA-250
This guitar, often mistaken for a Gibson ES-335 or an Epiphone Casino, is actually a ’70s Made in Japan hollowbody named EA-250. It has never been played live by Noel (as far as we know) but was used during the recording sessions. It is a quite rare and underrated model with a rather unique, jangly (definitely not “heavy”) sound.

3. RICKENBACKER 330
The Jetglo Rickenbacker unceremoniously lying on the floor is a legendary guitar, one of Johnny Marr’s main axes in The Smiths. It is hard to believe that Johnny lent one of his most iconic guitars to a young lad from Burnage, but he did!
One of my all-time favorite video clips on YouTube is this one, where Johnny plays a couple of his popular riffs on this very Rickenbacker.

4. EPIPHONE EJ-200
Noel’s main acoustic guitar at the time was a Sunburst Epiphone EJ-200, made in Korea in the early ’90s. It also features in the artwork of Definitely Maybe and the Cigarettes & Alcohol single. The number of classic songs that have probably been written on this humble acoustic is astounding.

5. EPIPHONE RIVIERA
Bonehead’s famous Riviera – the guitar that he played almost exclusively during his career – is a revered Matsumoku Made in Japan version. Both Oasis guitarists loved this model.
Noel had two of them: one finished in Antique Sunburst, equipped with a Bigsby, and one finished in Wine Red. The latter is the famed guitar from the Morning Glory era that was replicated by Epiphone in 2022 as the Noel Gallagher Signature Riviera.²

6. FENDER JAZZ BASS
A black Jazz was Guigsy’s bass of choice in the early Oasis days.
It is probably the same one he had been using since 1992 at least.

7. HOFNER PRESIDENT BASS
An archtop bass from the mid-60s, finished in Brunette (the Hofner name for Sunburst).
This particular model was made between 1963 and 1967 in Germany.³
It is unknown whether this Hofner was actually owned by Guigsy.

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1. Supersonic: The Oasis Photographs – Michael Spencer Jones, 2016 ↩︎
2. https://www.epiphone.com/en-GB/p/Electric-Guitar/EPIKR5555/Dark-Wine-Red ↩︎
3. https://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/gallery/gallery2/bas.html ↩︎