I hope, I think, I know...

I want Noel to crack off that safe lid and play this next tour, make it happen.

That pedalboard shot he just posted on his Instagram is really interesting.
I'll admit I'm quite excited now as it looks like he has pretty much revolutionized his setup. There are some very curious and unusual choices in there, so hopes are that Noel is really getting a little bit more ambitious with this record!


I've just wasted the last hour and a half or so at trying to identify all the pedals. I know the list will be magically lifted from here and will end up on some mainstream website without any credit, but someone's gotta do the hard work






From the top left corner:

1) Strymon Flint: basically a vintage tremolo + classic reverb in one unit.

2) Paradox Architect: now this is interesting... it's another reverb unit but a lot more lush, washy and psychedelic, also thanks to the included modulation. I'm really curios to hear what Noel can bring out of this one.

3) Catalinbread Echorec: a very unique delay pedal that Noel has been using since the CY tour. Think of David Gilmour and his almost percussive echoing sound (Run Like Hell comes to mind).

4) Catalinbread Adineko: it's a delay, very "thick"-sounding from the demos I've heard. It emulates the rotating-oil can mechanism from the '60s, which gives it the slightly viscous, dense feel. Noel was used to the classic Boss digital (very clean and perfect-sounding) delays so this is an interesting departure.

5) JHS Muffuletta Fuzz: a versatile, very vintage/'70s sounding fuzz, inspired by various Big Muffs fuzz pedals. It can go from Dinosaur Jr. to My Bloody Valentine-ish heavy dense fuzz. Another interesting addition to Noel's pedalboard!

6) JHS Superbolt: it's an overdrive pedal. This probably replaces his trusty Ibanez Tubescreamer which has been Noel's go-to overdrive since the very early Oasis days.

7) Klon Centaur: another overdrive. Actually this is a bit like the Holy Grail of overdrive pedals. Very rare and very expensive, famous and sought-after for its rich, warm sound.

8) JHS/Keeley Steak N Eggs: this is two pedals in one. It combines a compressor and another overdrive (how many does he need?), which is actually called "Morning Glory". No jokes!

9) Tuner pedal: I can't identify the model, but I'm pretty sure this is just a guitar tuner.

10) Keeley 30ms: it's a double tracker with embedded reverb. In short, it can create a double voicing, a bit like if two different guitars were playing at once. Double-voicing (with the second one slightly detuned) is one of Johnny Marr's "secrets" that shape his signature sound.

11) Strymon Timelapse: this is probably the most seen delay unit on pro pedalboards. Everybody uses it, it's become almost a golden standard and Noel's been using it since the CY tour. Super versatile.

12) Sonuus Wahoo: a wah pedal had been missing in Noel's pedalboard for years! Think of the Hello outro, the mad solos during the BHN tour... or Johnny Squire's guitar sound in Breaking Into Heaven. Yep, that's the wah. This pedal is actually more than a wah, since it has customizable filters and other things, but my guess is that Noel will be using it mainly as a traditional wah-wah pedal.

Hopefully all this means is album #3 is due by March 2017. I don't recall Noel being this open and honest about the progress of any of his solo albums before. A good sign I hope.

I think it can be ready by march but seeing as Noel has seemingly pretty much gone back into the studio after wrapping up the tour and having worked on the 3rd album while touring as well, I can see him taking a break before he actually releases it, he might do that in the gap between announcement and release but then again he might pull another CY and simply leave it on the shelf until next september.

Hopefully all this means is album #3 is due by March 2017. I don't recall Noel being this open and honest about the progress of any of his solo albums before. A good sign I hope.