Author: Lazy Guitar Anorak

The Knebworth Sheraton – “for cheap”!

Insight
Noel Gallagher’s Epiphone Sheraton – or maybe not?

On 10th & 11th August 1996, Oasis played the legendary, era-defining and record-breaking shows at Knebworth Park. Noel’s guitar throughout the gigs was the Sunburst Epiphone Sheraton – which remained his main live guitar until the end of the Be Here Now tour in early 1998.

This instrument is undoubtedly among the most significant and iconic guitars ever played by Noel Gallagher. Knebworth aside, just think about G-MEX 1997 (when the famous Man City sticker appeared on the pickguard!) or the insanely long Champagne Supernova from Budokan 1998: it was this guitar – which sadly got lost or stolen years ago.

Finding a Sheraton with the same distinctive appointments of Noel’s one has always been challenging – until last year. Now, you can have one that looks exactly like it at a reasonable price – and it’s a fantastic guitar for the money. Keep reading for the details!

Continue reading →

Update – 23 Jul. 2024

News & Updates
Noel Gallagher in his studio, March 2022

NEW PAGES:

Fender Jazz Strat (Burgundy Mist):
A bizarre hybrid between a Stratocaster and a Jazzmaster, made by the Fender Custom Shop for Noel. “One of a kind” – as he says. And there’s a nice geeky tidbit for the sticker aficionados!

UPDATED PAGES:

A a deeper dive into the specifics of the red Les Paul Standard that Noel has been rocking throughout the Council Skies tour, including a definitive confirmation of the exact model and specifications.

The Royal Tan USA Casino was used to record On the Game with The Black Keys, a track that features Noel as a co-writer. Its twin, the Sunburst USA Casino, was played by Noel during a live performance of the song on Jools Holland.

More Casino content again! The Cherry Red USA Casino has reappeared at recent summer gigs without its pickguard. Weird.

The two main Nashguitars Jazzmasters have just reappeared: the black JM63 has replaced the red Les Paul (boo!) at recent gigs, while the white JM63 is being brought on tour as a spare. Also, Noel’s Sparkling Burgundy Trini Lopez is currently back in Gem’s hands.

More details about the Fender Lead III, the Fender The Edge Strat, and the Jetglo Rickenbacker 330 – as seen in the Council Skies making-of documentary.

Update – 23 Jun. 2024

News & Updates
Noel Gallagher’s Gibson Trini Lopez (Original photo: talktonight27)

NEW PAGE: Gibson Trini Lopez Standard

This page has been long in the making because it involved a lot of investigation and pixel-peeping. The Trini Lopez that Noel has always been associated with actually belongs to Andy Bell, who still plays it in RIDE. However, Noel owns a Trini too, and it has been around since 2005, mainly played by Gem Archer. The page covers both guitars with plenty of background history and geeky info.
Enjoy!

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Trini Lopez Standard, which might be my personal favourite among all the semi-hollow guitars. It is basically an ES-335 with three distinguishing features: diamond-shaped f-holes, split-diamond fretboard inlays, and a peculiar Fender-style (or rather, Gibson Firebird-style) headstock with six in-line tuners.

Trini Lopez was a mainstream pop singer and guitarist in the early ’60s, but this lovely 335 variant stayed quite low-key in the following decades until a guy named Dave Grohl popularized the model as his go-to electric guitar…

The making of ‘Council Skies’

Insight
Noel recording guitar parts for Pretty Boy (Photo: Anais Gallagher)

It’s been a few busy months, and updates were lacking, but there are a couple of big articles in the works coming soon!

In the meantime, check out the four-part behind-the-scenes docu shot by Anais Gallagher. Each episode documents one month of the Council Skies recording sessions at Noel’s Lone Star Studio in early 2022. The first two episodes were originally available only with the limited digital Serenade edition of the album and are now free to watch for everyone on YouTube. The fourth and final part is coming next week.

The first two episodes show Noel (and Johnny Marr!) playing a few of their electric guitars in the studio. Keep reading for the detailed list!

Continue reading →

The Supersonic guitars

Insight
Photo: Michael Spencer Jones

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.

Continue reading →

A key to the early Oasis sound: Noel Gallagher’s Marshall Valvestate 8080 amp

Insight
An early ’90s Epiphone Les Paul and a Marshall Valvestate 8080 – from my collection.

When people ask how to replicate that classic oasis sound from Definitely Maybe, one common answer is “just get a Marshall“. And then they start thinking about huge stacks and overkill 100-watts amp heads.

Noel and Bonehead did play powerful Marshall tube amps later on, but the real answer to that question will not necessarily hurt your neighbor’s ears or your bank account: the Marshall that Noel actually used is a much more modest Valvestate combo – often coupled with a small WEM Dominator Mk.III tube amp.

Keep reading this article for the in-depth analysis…

Continue reading →

Update – 18 Mar. 2024

News & Updates
Noel at Poole Lighthouse, 17 March 2024 (Photo: Rockstarimages.co.uk)

NEW PAGES:

Epiphone USA Casino (Cherry Red):
Yes, that’s another USA Casino! It’s Noel’s third one. We can safely say that he loves this model.
It appeared for the first time at last night’s gig – and it seems to be finished in a custom colour.

UPDATED PAGES:

A few more details about the Paisley Telecaster and the Mapleglo Rickenbacker, thanks to a MSN Webchat from 2000.

The Wine Red Matsumoku Riviera was loaned to Proud Mary’s guitarist in the early 2000s.

Bonehead actually played Noel’s first electric guitar – the Hofner S5 – for Up In The Sky in 1994 and 1995. I only noticed it a couple of days ago! Weird.

Update – 06 Feb. 2024

News & Updates
The White Room, April 1995 (Photo: Kim Tonelli)

NEW PAGES:

Gibson Les Paul (’53 converted to ’58-’60 ‘burst’ specs):
Noel’s most famous Les Paul, the main guitar during the Definitely Maybe era.
Everyone knows how it was given to him by Johnny Marr, and how it was smashed on a guy’s head in Newcastle!
An iconic guitar with a lot of background history – and a website page that was long in the making!

UPDATED PAGES:

A small update to the recently created Epiphone Supernova page: prototype #1 was spotted for sale a few days ago for £30k. The ad has since disappeared… has it been sold? A couple of new pics from the ad too.

Minor updates to the Gibson Firebird page, with details about the model year and its appearance during the (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? recording sessions.

Update – 28 Jan. 2024

News & Updates
A signed Supernova and a Paisley Tele (photo: Guitar Auctions & Fender)

NEW PAGES:

Epiphone Supernova (Man City Blue):
the background history of Noel’s signature guitar, released in 1997: from the first prototype (which was a modified Gibson ES-345) to the production version. Noel actually played a couple of prototypes during the Be Here Now recording sessions.
I love the Supernova and I’ve been researching info & details about the different versions for years: an in-depth analysis of the model is coming as soon as I’ll have time.

Fender Telecaster (Pink Paisley):
an iconic guitar from the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants era, played live for Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back in Anger, etc.
Writing this piece made me want one! I’ll try to stay away from guitar marketplaces for a bit.

UPDATED PAGES:

Epiphone Sheraton (Cherry, ’60s): updated with a quote from a recent interview with Gem Archer and a photo showing that it was used as a backup live guitar in 1997 and 1998.

Minor updates to the Mapleglo Rickenbacker and the Custom Telecaster pages.

Update – 22 Dec. 2023

News & Updates
Noel playing his Epiphone EA-250 – Nomad Studios, Manchester, 1993 (Photo: J. Fry)

NEW PAGES:

Epiphone EA-250:
an underrated Japanese model from the early ’70s. It’s the guitar that Noel plays on the sleeve photo of the Supersonic single – often mistaken for a Gibson ES-335 or an Epiphone Casino.

I recently acquired one: stay tuned in the coming weeks for a detailed history & analysis of this forgotten Epiphone guitar!

UPDATED PAGES:

Noel reveals that the legendary Sunburst Sheraton that he played at Knebworth has gone missing, probably stolen.

Minor updates to the page of the two Blonde Epiphone Casinos, used in the SOTSOG and DOYS eras.