Model: Epiphone Casino (various models - see below)
Color: Natural / sanded down
Year: #1 - vintage model, 1962-1964
#2 - vintage model, 1966?
#3 - John Lennon reissue, 1999
#4 - John Lennon reissue, 1999
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Used in...
- 1999-2015
- used during the recording sessions of the album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
- used during the recording sessions of the album Heathen Chemistry
- the main guitars used during the recording sessions of the album Dig Out Your Soul
- played live by Gem Archer between 1999 and 2002
- featured in the video of Riverman
Details
This page brings together four different guitars that have been part of the Oasis camp since 1999: each will have its own detailed history in the following sections.
It took plenty of pixel-peeping through grainy VHS rips and even having books and magazines shipped over from Japan, but I'm confident I've finally nailed down the correct identification for all four models. Let's begin with a brief history lesson.
Epiphone Casinos are among the most iconic Beatles guitars, famously played by John, Paul, and George. In mid-1967, during the height of the psychedelic era, John Lennon had his '65 Sunburst Casino partially resprayed in a thick coat of white or grey paint.
The following year, while working on The Beatles (aka the White Album), he had it sanded back to bare wood and finished with a thin coat of nitro lacquer. At the same time, the neck pickup's volume knob was swapped for a black one, and the pickguard was removed.1
George Harrison had his own Casino stripped during the same period. He once explained:2
"If you take the paint and the varnish off, and get to bare wood, it seems to sort of breathe..."
In 1969, both John and George had the Kluson tuners replaced with Grovers: on John's Casino, they are gold-colored.3
Because of the Beatles connection, many '60s Casinos have been sanded down and had their pickguards removed in an attempt to replicate that look.
Now, let's explore the four Natural-finish Casino models that have been with Oasis over the years... Hang tight: it's a lengthy and detailed read, as always!
Casino (Natural) #1
The first Casino is most likely a pre-1964 model, identifiable by its headstock shape. Given the nickel pickup covers, it could date to 1963.4
It belongs to Gem Archer, who played it extensively as the frontman of Heavy Stereo in the '90s. The finish has been stripped, it's fitted with a Bigsby B6 vibrato (instead of the more common B7), an aftermarket roller bridge, and Schaller tuners replacing the original Klusons. On the back, a large peace sign sticker stands out.5
It shows up in several studio photos taken by Mitch Ikeda at Wheeler End Studios during the summer of 1999.6 Just behind Noel, you can also spot Casino #2 (which will be discussed in the next section) along with Gem's red Firebird.
It's unclear whether Noel played this guitar during the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants recording sessions.
However, Gem definitely used it live during the December 1999 USA mini-tour, playing it on Champagne Supernova, Helter Skelter, and Wonderwall.
It also appeared in Gem's hands in 2000 for some performances of Who Feels Love? and again in 2002 for Better Man.7 In March 2009, Gem used it for the mimed performance of Falling Down on Top of the Pops.8
Casino (Natural) #2
The second Casino visible in the 1999 Wheeler End photos is another vintage piece: judging by the headstock details and other minor things, I'd say it's from 1966.9
The top shows a very distinctive grain pattern, and it's fitted with a non-original, trapeze-style tailpiece that makes it easy to identify.
I'm quite certain - and this is backed up by a reliable source - that this was originally one of Gem's Casinos from his Heavy Stereo days. The Wheeler End photos, likely taken by Mitch Ikeda around August 1999 when Gem had just joined Oasis, clearly show his guitars, almost certainly there for rehearsals with Noel.10
Casino #2 also appears in a photo featured in the booklet / inner sleeve of Standing of the Shoulder of Giants.
Gem used this guitar live on several occasions in 2000, including the Oasis special on Jools Holland in February.
Fast forward to 2007: Casino #2 found its way into Noel's hands for the Dig Out Your Soul recording sessions at Abbey Road, alongside Casino #3 (a John Lennon reissue, detailed in the next section).11 Noel recorded most of the album tracks with the two Casinos:12
"For this record I used two Epiphone Casinos. One is an original 1960s... I think it's probably a 1964 which has been sanded down, it's blonde. And one is one of the John Lennon reissue ones, that came out a few years back. They were the two main guitars I used all the way through the album. Which is not like me, I don't really use real hollow-body guitars with P90s, it's not really my style. But they seemed to work best in the studio this time."
Noel refers to it as "probably a 1964", but in the Gold & Silver & Sunshine documentary, it's unmistakably Gem's 1966 model - aka Casino #2.
It's unclear whether Noel kept the guitar as part of the Oasis gear after the band split or if Gem handed it over to him.
What is certain is that Noel used Casino #2 during the 2010 recording sessions for his first solo album, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds: it can be spotted in a couple of frames from the It's Never Too Late... documentary.
Casino (Natural) #3
The other Casino used during the Dig Out Your Soul sessions is a "John Lennon Revolution" model, a vintage-correct reissue of John's original.
In late 1999, Epiphone replicated the two different versions of John's Casino: the Sunburst - named "John Lennon 1965 Casino" - and the Natural "sanded" - named "John Lennon Revolution Casino". Both models were manufactured in Japan and assembled in USA: they were designed to '60s Kalamazoo specs and they featured Gibson electronics and an ABR bridge with nylon saddles.13
By the way, Noel also had a Sunburst "John Lennon 1965 Casino".
The "Lennon Revolution" reissue has two distinctive features that perfectly replicate John's original and make it instantly recognizable:
1. the black washer around the toggle switch, which John's Casino had from the start - likely to cover scratches or finish imperfections from the factory;14
2. the gold Grover tuners - added in 1969.
Epiphone also provided a black knob to replace the neck pickup volume knob, just like John's. As shown in the photos above, Noel had this installed.
Casino (Natural) #4
This is another "Lennon Revolution" Casino: can you spot the black washer and the gold Grover tuners?
It's identical to Casino #3 but fitted with a Bigsby B7 (a modification, not a factory feature). At first glance, it might be confused with Gem’s Casino #1, but this is definitely a different guitar: the headstock shape, Bigsby model, and tuners all differ.
Gem played this one at Wembley in 2000, though it apparently belonged to Noel.
Johnny Marr can also be seen holding it in a photo taken at Olympic Studios in October 2001, during the Heathen Chemistry recording sessions. Unfortunately, I couldn't identify the author of the photo: it could be Jill Furmanovsky or Lawrence Watson.
And now we reach the final chapter of the Casino saga: 2015, the Riverman video.
Which of the four Casinos is Noel playing here?
It's not easy to say for sure, but it appears to be the 1966 Casino #2. The grain (if you look closely through YouTube’s compression) and the tailpiece seem to match.
DISCLAIMER
This is a fansite. It is not affiliated with Noel Gallagher, his management or his record label.
For informational and non-commercial use only. Please do NOT publish this content elsewhere.
If you share or use this information, please provide proper credit and link to the website.
I appreciate your respect for the years of dedicated, freely available research!
Visit the “Info & About” page for contact details and more.
- Beatles Gear (Revised Edition) – Andy Babiuk, 2002 ↩︎
- Beatles Gear (Revised Edition) – Andy Babiuk, 2002 ↩︎
- Guitar Magazine Japan, Aug. 2019 ↩︎
- The August 2019 issue of Guitar Magazine Japan features an outstanding analysis of the Casino’s history and evolution: it was an invaluable resource for this page – absolutely worth the shipping cost from JP! ↩︎
- See for example @12:53 here: https://youtu.be/kB8P0z1vQqk&t=770 ↩︎
- Live Forever – Mitch Ikeda, 2003: apparently, this one was printed in 5000 copies only and sold exclusively in Japan: it is very hard to find, but if you can get it at a good price it is a great book, with never-seen-before photos inside. ↩︎
- https://www.gemarchergear.com/oasis-gear.html ↩︎
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-digc8ukrV8 ↩︎
- Again, this is thanks to the August 2019 issue of Guitar Magazine Japan and the super-detailed Epiphone Casino analysis through the years. ↩︎
- Thanks to Live4Ever forum user mahsteve for narrowing down the date. ↩︎
- Gold & Silver & Sunshine: the making of Dig Out Your Soul ↩︎
- https://musicradar.com/news/guitars/noel-gallagher-exclusive-interview-171793 ↩︎
- The Epiphone Guitar Book – Walter Carter ↩︎
- Guitar Magazine Japan, Aug. 2019 ↩︎
The Chief's Guitars - Noel Gallagher's guitars: a complete guide - Oasis and NGHFB 