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To celebrate 30 years since the release of the single Whatever, the official Oasis social media accounts posted an upgraded (or let’s say, AI-upscaled) version of the iconic video clip.

While it is often remembered for a messy Noel Gallagher eating chips and sweeping the floor with a broom (“I’d been out the night before to the pub. I woke up in a bus shelter in Maida Vale!”), for us guitar geeks the video is a nice display of the guitars that were in Noel’s possession in late 1994.

Keep reading after the break for a detailed list of the instruments. I also want to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and thank you for putting up with all the fussy details about guitar knobs and stickers!

Let’s start with the main bit…

GIBSON LES PAUL CUSTOM (Black, 1978)
This is the guitar that Noel is playing in the clip, complete with the famous oasis sticker on the pickguard. I bet you already know everything about it, but its page has been updated as promised with lots of additional info and pictures – including details from when Johnny Marr owned it.
If you missed the in-depth article about the replica of this Les Paul, here’s the link.

Now, going from left to right…

HOFNER MODEL S5 PA (Mahogany, early ’80s)
Noel’s first electric guitar, a sort of Les Paul-inspired model with unconventional electronics. Its page has been recently updated with a few details, including the fact that it was actually played until the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants recording sessions in 1999!

GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD (Cherry Sunburst, 1953 – converted to 1958-1960 specs)
You probably already know everything about this one too, right? Nevertheless, the page has been updated with minor details and pictures. The Whatever video set marked the guitar’s first appearance since the Newcastle incident in August 1994, after having been repaired in New York.

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EPIPHONE RIVIERA “MATSUMOKU” (Antique Sunburst, 1983)
The detailed page for this guitar has been a long time in the making, but it’s almost ready! I still need to finalize a few details… Anyway, this is the guitar featured on the Definitely Maybe album cover and in the Shakermaker music video. It’s identical to Bonehead’s iconic Riviera (aside from the aftermarket Bigsby vibrato), and it’s a sister guitar to Noel’s legendary Wine Red model. It was brought on tour as a backup, and Noel still owns it today. It was even showcased at the Oasis exhibition in Tokyo last month.

GIBSON J-160E (Sunburst, early ’60s)
Sooner or later (okay, definitely later!), this website will feature an acoustic guitar section. In the meantime… this Gibson acoustic was likely just purchased by Noel around the time of the Whatever video shoot. It’s a model made famous by The Beatles, with both John Lennon and George Harrison playing one. This J-160E was later used during the recording sessions for (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? in 1995. A different J-160E was given to Noel by his record label in December 1995 and sold in 1999. This isn’t the same guitar, though, as the dates don’t align.

GIBSON FIREBIRD NON-REVERSE (Sunburst, 1968)
This is another cool guitar with a rich history. While it was rarely played live, it appeared in many Oasis videos and recording sessions up until Be Here Now. Originally, it had three P-90 pickups, which were replaced with a set of Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in late 1994. The Whatever video shoot marks the first time the modified guitar was seen. Interestingly, the original Firebird pickups ended up in the black 1978 Les Paul Custom in the late ’90s! The guitar was sold in 1999 and is now owned by a collector in the UK.

And finally… The guitar played by Bonehead in the video is a GUILD F-512 12-string. It was also used by both Noel and Bonehead on Later… with Jools Holland the day after the video shoot. That performance of Sad Song was particularly good!

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