The inside story of Noel Gallagher’s Oasis reunion Hiwatt amps: “We unapologetically make colossal sounding, big and heavy amps”
“Should anybody be remotely interested…” posted Noel Gallagher recently alongside the photos that he knew perfectly well that a huge swathe of the guitar nerd community had been extremely interested in.
READ MORE: What guitars does Noel Gallagher use? The instruments that will power the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour
Ever since Oasis triumphantly returned to the stage in Cardiff last month, Adidas-clad guitar obsessives have been poring over any hint of the gear Noel Gallagher was using to recreate the magic to such fantastic effect. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already read articles about Noel’s new P-90-loaded Les Paul, or watched videos about it, but these photos were the motherlode – an in-depth look at the pedalboard and amps that Gallagher was using to power this monster guitar sound.
We’ve checked out the pedalboard in detail elsewhere, but the amps were perhaps even more interesting. In defiantly modern style, instead of a huge wall of stacks, instead we had a pair of isolated small combos providing that gigantic sound – a Marshall SV20C and a Hiwatt Custom 50 along with a pair of backups.
As with so much of the gear Noel’s using on tour, they seemed like remarkably down to earth and off-the-shelf choices, but the truth is actually a little more involved. It turns out the Hiwatts were actually created specifically for the tour by the brand’s UK Custom Shop, and we’ve got the inside story on how these amps were made – and how they’re not quite as stock as they seem.
Tom Hannon with Noel Gallagher’s Hiwatt vertical combos. Image: Press
Vertical Flight
“I’m not sure how Noel became a fan of Hiwatt,” says Hiwatt Custom Shop engineer Tom Hannon. “But I’d like to think that it was the same as most of us who when growing up, saw bands like The Who, Pink Floyd, Kinks and Slade on TV and in magazines, blasting those huge Hiwatt stacks.…but more likely it was because after the success of the first few records he had a bit more money to spend on a better amp!”
Oasis fans will know that Noel used Hiwatt amps in the last decade or so of Oasis – specifically distinctive Custom vertical DR103 combos that would regularly be seen behind him on stage.
“I bumped into Noel’s old roadie at NAMM recently who mentioned that his back was still bad from lifting them on and off the stage every night,” Hannon jokes. “We unapologetically make big and heavy amps!”
When the announcement of the reunion tour was made, Hiwatt understandably reached out to Noel’s guitar tech to make themselves available.
“We simply expressed that should they need anything for the tour, we’re ready to build!” Hanon explains. “Noel was open to using the vertical combos again, so we made a couple and sent them over. He also requested the horizontal Custom 50s to try both amps with the current ‘triple-guitar attack’ setup.”
Noel had previously used 100-watt Hiwatts live, but the 50s offered a more controllable option in a modern precision live sound environment.
“As Hiwatt is a clean pedal platform amplifier with an extreme amount of headroom, you really have to crank a 100 watt to get the slightest bit of grit,” Hannon observes. “Whereas the Custom 50 breaks up a bit more at lower volumes, I think it made more sense for Noel to downsize his other amps used for the extra drive and just go with the Hiwatts.”
Gut shot of Noel Gallagher’s Hiwatt Custom 50. Image: Press
Secret Ingredients
The Custom 50s sent for Noel and fellow guitarist Gem Archer, Hannon added some hidden tonal extras – though he’s not sure whether or not the guitarists are using them live.
“When working on Noel’s Oasis amps I added a couple of extra tonal options, should they be required,” he explains. “For some of the amps I added low-pass filters which are switchable via a push/pull CTS pot on both the normal and bright channels.”
Noel and Gem eventually plumped for the horizontal Custom 50s, with Custom Fane Purpleback speakers in them – with neither guitarist providing any request for tweaks or changes when they arrived. Getting them ready in time for the tour however, was a different kind of challenge – these amps were going to power the most hyped rock ‘n’ roll reunion in history, after all. “As all of our Custom shop range is meticulously hand-wired along with our rigorous testing procedures, they do take a little while to build,” Hannon notes. “We definitely had a busy couple of months getting them together!”
For builders like Hannon however, the labour was one of love – he’s one of a generation of guitarists for whom Oasis is a vital part of their musical journey.
“This really meant a lot to me,” he confirms. “I must have only been 8 years old when I first saw them live at Glastonbury Festival back in ‘95. A few years later I learnt to play guitar whilst noodling along to Definitely Maybe, practising the solos to Bring It On Down and Supersonic.
“When we got the go-ahead to start working on the amps at the beginning of the year, it was a really exciting time. I’m extremely lucky to work with a lot of great artists at Hiwatt but this one definitely hits differently. I was down the front for the first Heaton Park show, it was just an absolutely electric atmosphere! One of the best, if not THE best gig I’ve ever been to. Arms in the air, bucket hat on, singing every word. Long live Oasis… and Hiwatt!”
The post The inside story of Noel Gallagher’s Oasis reunion Hiwatt amps: “We unapologetically make colossal sounding, big and heavy amps” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
