Gibson SG Standard

Photo: P. de Villiers
Model: Gibson SG Standard (Les Paul '61 Reissue)
Color: Cherry
Year: 2009

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Used in...

- 2009-2011

- used during the recording sessions of the album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

- played live for I Am the Walrus in the last Oasis concerts (Summer 2009)

- played during the early HFB rehearsals (Summer 2011)
Details

This SG Standard was bought by Noel in Japan during the last Oasis tour in March 2009:1

"Bought a guitar yesterday. A Gibson SG. It's a new one. A re-issue of the George [Harrison] model. Not the ACTUAL model, but near enough. Looks good. Plays good."2

George Harrison's SG was actually a 1964 model, but this '61 reissue looks almost identical.

It was used to record guitar parts for the album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, such as (I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine:

"That's a new SG. I bought it in Japan. I used it on Record Machine, the part where we had to fill out the power chords - we were going for a Who thing, like in Won't Get Fooled Again. Someone said, 'Try an SG,' and I just happened to have one."

It was also played by Paul Stacey to record the guitar solo at the end of the song Stop the Clocks.3
The guitar's tailpiece has been converted to a 'stopbar' type, with only the plate of the original Maestro vibrato unit remaining.4 This is a common mod on Maestro-equipped guitars, as the vintage Maestro isn't well-known for its tuning stability...

Closer inspection (a big hint is the "Les Paul" writing on the truss rod cover) reveals that the exact model is a SG Standard Les Paul '61 Reissue, made in 2009.

What about that name?

In 1961, what we now call SG was still called Les Paul in the Gibson catalog. The body style changed to the double horned SG in late 1960 but the Les Paul name stuck - and it didn't change to SG ("Solid Guitar") until the end of 1963.5 So, technically speaking, a SG '61 reissue should still be called a Les Paul...
This SG was also played during the Summer 2011 rehearsals at Music Bank Studios in London. The first NGHFB lineup experimented with a few unusual songs and arrangements during these sessions.

According to a couple of recently sold setlists, the SG was used for Everybody's on the Run and (Stranded On) The Wrong Beach. However, it wasn't brought on tour.

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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.
Thanks!

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  1. https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-noel-gallagher-talks-guitars-gear-and-high-flying-birds-512993 ↩︎
  2. https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a151197/gallagher-concerned-about-main-guitar/ ↩︎
  3. It’s Never Too Late To Be What U Might Have Been – The Making of NGHFB ↩︎
  4. Thanks to Matt for pointing it out – I had missed this detail! ↩︎
  5. https://truevintageguitar.com/blogs/tvg-blog/gibson-les-paul-standard-1961-sg-body ↩︎

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