Following Oasis singer-songwriter and lead guitarist Noel Gallagher for over two decades, I have always taken an interest in the instruments and technical gear he uses. Today, Noel's pedal board is extensive, with his current rig costing in excess of £6000. However, back in the 1990's it was a different story. In this article I unveil the guitars, FX and amplifiers Noel used to create that huge stadium rock tone that inspired a generation, and explain how to achieve his sound on a budget.

This Mancunian Brit Pop legend has always looked his most comfortable on stage. Cast your mind back to Main Road, Manchester in 1996, minus a laminated walking map, you'd be forgiven for thinking Noel was about to join a ramblers society. He enters the stage wearing a navy blue and olive green Berghaus cagoule, with matching green cargo pants. He seems elated and wastes no time in raising the expectation level, as he greets the crowd before reaching for his custom made Union Jack hollow body guitar, the Epiphone Sheraton. This, now famous guitar, had always intrigued me with its Sheraton headstock and its Riviera bridge, something I searched for in guitar shops up and down the country for years to no avail.

In the early days Noel always seemed to favour a hollow body guitar. The first ever live footage I saw was the 1994 show at Southend Cliffs Pavilion, where he played a wine red Epiphone Casino. The Casino was ever present at those early shows, and it was always Epiphone guitars Noel was playing. He used to boast they were every bit as good as the more expensive Gibson models. These days, however, it's rare you'll see him with an Epiphone guitar in his hands.

It's his early 90's tone I am focusing on here. In the Definitely Maybe years, Noel’s pedal board consisted of these three, now iconic guitar pedals: a Vox V847 Wah, a Boss DD-3 Delay pedal and the mighty Ibanez TS-9.

The VOX V874 is based on the specifications of the original pedal developed by VOX in the '60’s.  The V874 Wah-Wah offers guitarists the same legendary tone, with the addition of AC power capability, and a buffered input jack for preserving the unprocessed guitar tone when the pedal is not engaged. The pedal’s inductor has undergone a redesign, to be closer in specification to the original VOX wah inductors, for improved dynamics and tone.

The BOSS DD-3 is a compact delay pedal with superb sound quality and features. It provides 3 delay time modes, and a delay time control for quick adjustment of exact delay time between 12.5ms - 800ms. The pedal also has a hold function that repeats delay sound indefinitely for interesting effects

The IBANEZ TS-9 Tube Screamer is a reissue that's just like the original in so many ways. Same housing, same famous seasick-green paint, and the same crankin' overdrive that made the original one of the all-time classic pedals. Guitar Player called it the best.  Plug it in.  Crank it up.  You'll hear what all the fuss is about.

The amplifiers Noel used in this specific era of his career were predominantly Marshall. The JCM and Bluesbreaker range always stood proudly on stage behind the musician, as he bellowed out those huge anthems. Whilst these valve amplifiers can be expensive to buy and costly to maintain, we recommend the more affordable Marshall MG range. You can pick up a Marshall MG15 combo for around £90, perfect for the bedroom musician. If you need something with a little more volume in the practice room, Marshall also provide these amplifiers in a 30, 50 and 100 watt model. The VOX V874 pedals are still available at the time of writing this article, and are on sale at around £80 - £90.  The Boss DD-3 has been discontinued by the company. Fear not though, as Boss always re-brand their range adding new features to their products along the way. Today’s current model is the Boss DD-3T, retailing at around £130. The Ibanez TS-9 is still available from all good guitar stores and is currently selling for around £120.    

As Noel’s playing matured, so did his sound, and by 1995 things were starting to change. Drummer Tony McCarroll had been replaced by Alan White for the (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? sessions. In 1997 the band’s third album release  Be Here Now became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history. It saw thousands of people camping outside record shops up and down the country, with the hope of being the first to get their hands on the album. The creative process at this time seemed to be changing for Noel too, as he started to experiment with different amplifiers and pedals. With this his pedal board started to grow. Twenty years on, his current rig has been custom made by Gig Rig.