Noel Gallagher’s 1960 Gibson ES-355 TDSV

Brand: Gibson

Model: ES-355

Noel got this guitar at the end of the Morning Glory tour in late 1996. According to a 2023 interview with The Pedal Show, a guitar dealer came to the studio where the band was rehearsing, and Noel bought the guitar immediately after noticing how thin the neck was. From that point on, it essentially became his main guitar, and he used it on nearly everything he recorded from then onward.

This guitar has got the best tone. I wrote “Little by Little” on it, and I played it on every Oasis record from ’96 onwards—everything! And all of my solo records. It’s the main rhythm electric guitar.
The Noel Gallagher Guitars & Gear Interview

Noel with his 1960 Gibson ES-355 TDSV in the studio.

Specs

The ES-355, officially known as the ES-355 TD, was introduced in 1958 as a high-end complement to the ES-335. Designed to be more luxurious, the ES-355 featured an ebony fingerboard with large block inlays, multi-ply binding on the body and neck, and a split-diamond inlay on the headstock, similar to the Les Paul Custom.

In 1959, Gibson introduced the ES-355 TDSV (Noel’s model) adding a stereo output and the Varitone switch—features originally found on the ES-345. Both versions of the ES-355 typically came with a vibrato tailpiece (commonly a Bigsby or Maestro Vibrola – Noel’s has a Bigsby), though a stopbar tailpiece was available as a factory option.

Signature Version

In 2022 Gibson released the Noel Gallagher 1960 ES-355, which is a detailed recreation of this guitar, featuring a multi-ply bound maple body, a mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard, a Varitone switch, and a Bigsby B7 vibrato tailpiece.

Aged by the Murphy Lab, the production was limited to just 200 units worldwide. Each one came with a handwritten lyric sheet replica, a hand-signed Certificate of Authenticity, and a custom Bear Strap, all packed in a brown and pink hardshell case.

The guitars were sold at $9,999 brand new, and were sold out pretty much immidietly. Noel himself must’ve got atleaset a couple of them, since he did mention that he keeps original in the studio ever since Gibson made the replicas.

One of the Noel Gallagher ES-355s recently appeared on Reverb.com, showing all the additional items that come with the guitar. At the time of writing, it was listed for $18,000—double the original sale price.

The Second Gibson ES-355 TDSV

Noel owned anoether Gibson ES-355 TDSV, which he bought sometime in the late 90s in Paris. Interesting fact about that guitar is that it was made on the same day as Noel’s first ES-355, which is based on serial numbers whuch are apperently consecutive.

Since this second has a serial number A34884, one could assume the first one could be A34883 or A34885, depending on whether it was produced immediately before or after. But as of writing this, there’s no official information on the serial number of this particular TDSV – only the second one.