WITH THIS NEW NOEL GALLAGHER GEAR GUIDE, WE AIM TO TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT WHAT GEAR NOEL IS CURRENTLY USING, HIS PAST SETUPS AND THE BEST PEDALS, GUITARS, AMPS AND MICROPHONES TO GET A SIMILAR SOUND.
This week, Noel Gallagher unveiled his new pedalboard on Instagram. For Oasis / Noel fans who play the guitar, it's always a thrill to check what new gear their idol is using. There's no denying that Noel Gallagher is one of the most influential and successful guitarists of the past 25 years - a true guitar hero.
But, most importantly for us here, he's also a talented and tasteful player, who's really into his fx pedals, without ever "overdoing" it - his setup and style serve as a great lesson in choosing a wide variety of effects but using them in moderation, always in favor of the songs, never just for the sake of it.
With Oasis nostalgia reaching a peak this year, with acclaimed Supersonic documentary, Oasis Exhibition in Manchester and an anniversary reissue of 'Be Here Now' to be released soon, this is the perfect time to put the spotlight on "The Chief" and unveil the secrets of Noel Gallagher's sound.
NOEL GALLAGHER GIG RIG PEDALBOARD, 2016: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
On Tuesday 4th October, Noel posted his latest pedalboard on his instagram account. Of course, as expected, it sparked the curiosity of many guitarists worldwide.
NOEL GALLAGHER COMPLETE GUITAR SETUP - TOTAL COST (EXCLUDING GIG RIG FEES): £6122*
We can reveal an approximate cost of all that gear on display - well over £6,000, plus the costs of hiring pedalboard experts Gig Rig to set it all up!
That's a lot of money... This is also the first time Noel goes full-on boutique effects - no more Ibanez, Boss or MXR fx pedals to be seen, like in the past. The days of him using Line 6 DL-4 delay are well and truly over!
What does it all mean? Who knows... it could be a "mid-life guitar crisis" (is there such a thing??) but, seriously, it just looks like Noel wanted an entirely fresh setup to experiment with, discover new sounds, and spark some creativity - as any guitarist who enjoys buying new pedals will be familiar with, getting new gear can inspire you.
The fact he's got no less than three different overdrives, three delay pedals and two very versatile reverbs certainly means he's got a rich palette with which to experiment, and he's also got a Critter & Guitari Septavox (sitting on top of his amp), which is a cool little synth created for Jack White's Third Man Records.
It seems Noel's new album might sound *very* different than anything else he's done thus far if this pic is anything to go by. Could this be possible?
At any rate, it certainly looks like Noel wants to have a lot of fun in the studio! Let's wait and see... but, in the meantime, here's the complete list of the gear featured on Noel Gallagher's new pedalboard:
This is his full rig breakdown:
- Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-300 Mini Tuner Pedal £100
- JHS Steak Eggs Overdrive £274
- Klon Centaur Overdrive £1400+
- JHS SuperVolt V2 (Supro amp simulator for creamy overdrive sounds) £156
- JHS Muffuletta (Distortion / Fuzz) £179
- Catalinbread Adineko Oil Can delay £157
- Catalinbread Echorec Delay (Binson Echorec tape delay simulator) £180
- Paradox Architect Reverb £141
- Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb £299
- Keeley 30ms Automatic Double Tracker £156
- Sonuus Wahoo Dual Analogue Filter / Wah £179
- Gig Rig Remote Loopy-2 £119
- Gig Rig G2 Bank Manager footswitch £39
- Gig Rig G2 FX Switcher £749
- Strymon Timeline Multi Delay and Looper Pedal £429
- Large pedalboard £230+
- Gig Rig Distributor power supply £35
- Fender 68 Custom Twin Reverb Guitar Amplifier Combo £1300
ALTERNATIVE SETUP TO SOUND LIKE NOEL - TOTAL COST: £2,871*
If you feel inspired by Noel's setup, but doesn't fancy spending as much, here's an alternative setup that can take you to the ballpark, pretty much using similar, good quality gear that's cheaper than Noel's "boutique" choices:
- Boss TU-3 £62 - still one of the best tuner pedals!
- MXR Badass Overdrive £85 + MXR Dyna Comp £80 - instead of the Steak and Eggs dual pedal - and Noel used to have a Dyna Comp, anyway.
- Electro-Harmonix Soul Food Overdrive £60 - doesn't look like it, but it's an amazing Klon centaur clone!
- Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Nano £56 - save money, instead of a boutique clone, get a Nano Muff.
- Ibanez Analog Delay Mini £85 - for vintage-style analog delay sound, much cheaper than the Adineko.
- TC Electronic Alter Ego V2 £159 - has a Binson Echorec mode, but is cheaper than the Catalinbread.
- Digitech Polara Reverb £129 - a super-versatile reverb! Noel would probably love it...
- Boss TR2 Tremolo Pedal £79: Noel used to have one, but shifted to the reverb + tremolo Strymon Flint.
- TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler £121 - new doubler pedal, very cool!
- Dunlop Cry Baby Mini £100 - not as versatile as a Wahoo, but a delicious wah, still.
- Boss ES-8 Switcher £569 - a fantastic alternative to the Gig Rig G2 switcher.
- Boss DD500 Digital Delay Twin Pedal £285 - pretty much Boss' response to Strymon, and just as amazing.
- Pedaltrain Classic Pro Pedalboard with Soft Case £138
- Fender 68 Custom Princeton Reverb Combo Amplifier £863 - same great Fender tone, but on a smaller amp with 10" speaker. For a cheaper but equally great option, you can also go with the Fender Blues Junior, which after all Noel has used for many years - saving you an extra £300!
There you go - a very cool setup similar to Noel's, but at less than half the price!* Not bad... *prices correct as of October 2016
NOEL GALLAGHER GUITARS - 2016
Though Noel's favorite guitars still remain his trusty Gibson ES-355 and ES-345 semi-acoustics, recently he's been leaning towards more Fender guitars.
Noel has played Fenders since Oasis, but it does seem like he's using them more often now.
On his most recent tour, he could be seen playing an assortment of guitars which have included Stratocaster, maple and rosewood fingerboard Telecasters, Telecaster Deluxe, and Jazzmasters.
NOEL GALLAGHER GUITAR VAULT
Noel Gallagher is a true guitar aficionado, and he went through a lot of different gear since Oasis.
Here's a look at some of the most important gear that's shaped his sound over the years- including all the Noel-related gear you can buy today!
NOEL GALLAGHER ELECTRIC GUITARS
Throughout his career, Noel has used semi-acoustic guitars.
During the Britpop explosion, Oasis helped to popularize this type of guitars, because Noel's favorite guitar at the time was an Epiphone Riviera.
Noel also used Epiphone Sheraton guitars - such as the iconic Union Jack model he first played at Oasis' historic Maine Road gig.
For 'Don't Believe The Truth' Noel used a Gibson Trini Lopez, before settling with the ES-345 and ES-355 he still uses today.
THE BEST GUITAR FOR EARLY OASIS TONE: EPIPHONE SHERATON PRO
The Epiphone Sheraton Pro semi-acoustic is perfect for that Noel Gallagher tone on early Oasis records such as 'Definitely Maybe'. Noel fans on a budget will be happy with an Epiphone ES-335 Dot.
ANOTHER NOEL FAVOURITE: THE LES PAUL
The other guitar model that Noel has used a lot over the years was the Gibson Les Paul.
But, like many up-and-coming musicians who want to get some good affordable gear, his main guitar in the early years before the release of "Supersonic" was an Epiphone Les Paul Standard model, in cherry Sunburst. It might be the same one you see on the UK version of the "Supersonic" video.
A GIFT FROM PAUL WELLER
One of his most prized guitars, though, must be the white Rickenbacker 330 which Paul Weller gave him.
It was the guitar Weller used with The Jam in their final years, such as performing the last single 'Beat Surrender' on TOTP.
It's not known if he used the guitar on the record, but he played it during the 'Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants' tour.
He also used another Rickenbacker 330 (in Mapleglo) on a couple of numbers.
NOEL GALLAGHER ACOUSTIC GUITARS
Noel Gallagher and his Gibson J200 acoustic guitar[/caption] For many years, his acoustic guitar of choice was an Epiphone EJ-200, such as the one used in 'Wonderwall', until he eventually upgraded to a Gibson SJ-200.
Noel also used a few Takamine guitars during the Britpop years. Today, his main choice is a Martin D-28 - one of the best acoustics there is, as used by Bob Dylan, Jimmy Page, Neil Young, and John Lennon.
Noel said: "I bought it brand-new in a shop, just straight off the peg. It's f***ing incredible. It's got a new Baggs pickup system in it, which is pretty amazing."
NOEL GALLAGHER GUITAR AMPS
Noel's favorite guitar amp seems to be the Fender Blues Junior, which he's used from the final years in Oasis up until very recently with the High Flying Birds, alongside a Hiwatt Custom 100 head.
But for a long time - during most of Oasis' career, anyway - he used Marshall amps: this is pretty much the ultimate formula for Noel's 'Definitely Maybe' sound - Epiphone semi-acoustic into a cranked-up Marshall.
'DEFINITELY MAYBE' TONE ON A BUDGET: MARSHALL CODE 25
The new Marshall Code 25 is an affordable practice & recording amp that perfectly emulates the sound of classic Marshall amps, including the JCM-series stacks like the ones Noel used during early Oasis.
This is a great choice for any Oasis fans playing at home!
IN THE EARLY DAYS
Early on, Noel used a small Marshall and a small Vox amp (an AC10, maybe?) which were replaced by what looked like a Marshall Valvestate 8040 or 8080 and a WEM Dominator, as seen on Oasis' TV debut in 1994.
However, as soon as Oasis got huge, he started to use a Marshall JCM900 stack. Contrary to what some guitarists think, Noel didn't use a Marshall Bluesbreaker - it was rhythm guitarist Bonehead who did!
NOEL GALLAGHER FX PEDALS
Noel Gallagher is like so many of us, it seems - a true guitar fx addict! He's always experimenting with new guitar effects, and his pedalboard seems to change almost on a yearly basis.
At the start of his career with Oasis, he had a pretty simple setup (mostly Roland Space Echo and/or Boss delay, Tube Screamer, Wah) but his setup soon expanded, as those three previous pedalboards show.
Here's a list of all fx pedals that Noel Gallagher is known to have used, prior to his newest 2016 acquisitions.
- Roland RE-201 Space Echo (Now re-created as the Boss RE-20 pedal. Noel used it on top of his amps, it's likely to provide the delay on early songs such as 'Columbia')
- Ibanez Tubescreamer TS9 (Noel's favorite overdrive for a long time)
- Boss DD3 delay
- Vox Wah
- Boss PH-3 Phaser
- e-Bow (listed on 'What's The Story? Morning Glory' album booklet, never used live)
- Coloursound Tone Bender
- Boss HR-2 Harmonizer (Discontinued, supplanted by the Boss PS-6 Harmonist)
- Boss LS-2 Line Selector
- Sib Echodrive
- Boss RV-3 Digital Delay/Reverb (now discontinued, replaced by the Boss RV-6)
- Way Huge Aqua Puss Delay
- Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere (Leslie rotating speaker simulator. For an alternative, check the Electro-Harmonix Lester pedals)
- Dunlop Crybaby 535Q Wah
- Boss PN-2 Tremolo/Pan
- Danelectro Dan-Echo delay
- Korg DTR-1 Tuner
- TC Electronics 2290 delay
- Line 6 DL-4 Delay Modeler pedal
- Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer
- MXR Dyna Comp
- ProCo Rat Distortion
- MXR Micro Amp
- Catalinbread Topanga Spring Reverb
- Z-Vex Super Duper
- Electro-Harmonix Micro POG
- Pete Cornish SS2 (Soft Sustain)
Noel also used a Mellotron keyboard on tracks from '(What's The Story) Morning Glory'. The subtle orchestral strings you hear on 'Don't Look Back In Anger' and cello sounds you hear in 'Wonderwall' were created by this vintage instrument - which was also used by The Beatles for the flute sounds in 'Strawberry Fields Forever'.
To get that Mellotron sound on a budget, simply hook up your keyboard or guitar to an Electro-Harmonix Mel9 pedal!
