Home Guitar Legends Graham Coxon Guitars & Gear: The Complete Guide to Blur’s Sonic Architect

Graham Coxon Guitars & Gear: The Complete Guide to Blur’s Sonic Architect

9 June 2026

“It totally changed my life, getting that Marshall.”

He was struggling. For a long time, he couldn’t get amplifiers to do what he needed them to do. Then he found a 1959 Marshall Super Lead — the plexi. He plugged in. Everything changed.

“I remember going on a search through loads of old Plexis, to maybe get another one, and none of them sounded like my old one that I got years ago. Even the people at Marshall listened to my Plexi and said, ‘This is tons louder than a normal one,’ and it’s got this kind of rattle to it, which I’ve never found in another Plexi.”

Tons louder than a normal one. A rattle that Marshall themselves couldn’t explain or replicate. Graham Coxon’s Marshall Super Lead is the kind of vintage amp that guitar archaeology is built around: a specific unit, apparently defective or at minimum unusual, that produces a sound that nobody has been able to duplicate by finding another example of the same model.

At the apex of Blur’s mid-’90s superstardom, a casual listener could be forgiven for failing to hear Graham Coxon’s guitar brilliance. Songs from Parklife and The Great Escape — records that virtually defined the cultural earthquake called Britpop — were so overflowing with hooks, brass, bubbling synths, radical song-to-song stylistic shifts, and Damon Albarn’s characters writ in boldface that Coxon’s fretwork could seem relegated to the sidelines.

It was not relegated. It was the architecture. “Coxon is an astonishing musician,” Q magazine critic Adrian Deevoy wrote. “His restless playing style — all chord slides, rapid pulloffs, mini-arpeggios and fractured runs — seems to owe more to his saxophone training than to any conventional guitar tuition.”

Saxophone training. That’s the key. He plays guitar like a saxophonist — melodically, expressively, with the specific rhythmic personality of a wind instrument translated to strings. The Telecaster, the plexi Marshall, the ProCo RAT, and a pedalboard that would make a studio engineer weep with complexity: these are the instruments of one of Britain’s most innovative and consistently underrated guitarists.

Noel Gallagher — whose Oasis competed with Blur through the entire Britpop wars — called him “one of the most talented guitarists of his generation.”

He was right.

Background: Rinteln, Colchester, Blur, and the Man Who Plays Guitar Like a Saxophonist

Graham Leslie Coxon was born March 12, 1969, in Rinteln, West Germany, where his father was stationed as a clarinet player and bandleader in the British Army. He grew up in Spondon, Derbyshire, and then Colchester, Essex, where he met Damon Albarn at Stanway Comprehensive School at age eleven. By twelve he was already playing drums, flute, saxophone, and guitar — the multi-instrumental facility that Q’s reviewer correctly identified as the source of his guitar approach.

He and Albarn formed bands through their school years, eventually recording a demo tape as Seymour and sending it to Food Records. Food signed them on the condition they change their name. They became Blur. Their debut album Leisure (1991) was a shoegaze-influenced record that barely hinted at what was coming. The shift from American indie influences (Dinosaur Jr., Pavement) toward a specifically British pop sensibility produced Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994), and The Great Escape (1995) — the Britpop trilogy that made Blur famous and that became the competitive centerpiece of the Blur-vs-Oasis chart battle of 1995.

Then, characteristically, Blur turned 180 degrees. The self-titled Blur (1997) was heavily American-influenced lo-fi — a direct rejection of the Britpop they had helped create. 13 (1999) was emotionally raw and electronically experimental. Think Tank (2003) was made almost without Coxon, who had temporarily left the band. The Magic Whip (2015) was a surprise reunion album made from recordings in Hong Kong.

Coxon’s solo career — fifteen albums from 1998 onward — demonstrates the full range of his musical curiosity: acoustic folk, indie pop, lo-fi noise rock, orchestral arrangements. He plays all the instruments on his solo recordings. He designs all his own album artwork. He is a visual artist who has designed sleeves for other artists including Blur’s own 13.

Tone note: His saxophone training. Q magazine’s observation — that his guitar playing owes more to saxophone training than to conventional guitar tuition — is the most precise description of Coxon’s style available. Saxophonists think about breath, phrasing, melodic arc, and the specific rhythmic personality of individual notes. Guitarists trained conventionally think about scales, chord shapes, and technical exercises. Coxon approaches the guitar as a melodic wind instrument. The result sounds like nothing else in British rock.

The Rig: Graham Coxon’s Guitars, Amps & Gear

Guitars: Telecasters, Les Pauls, and the Signature Franken-Tele

1952 Reissue Fender Telecaster — The Blur Primary

Graham Coxon has primarily used Fender Telecasters throughout his career, particularly a ’52 reissue throughout Blur. The ’52 reissue — based on Fender’s original 1952 Telecaster design, before the model received its later modifications — has a specific character: the “butterscotch blonde” finish on an ash body, a maple neck with a single-ply black pickguard, the original-style bridge pickup in the distinctive Telecaster bridge plate, and a neck pickup in a more conventional position.

The ’52 reissue’s most discussed characteristic: its neck. A few aged natural, butterscotch coloured Teles litter live performances, alluding to a ’52 style Tele re-issue, this year specifically because it was the first year of the “Telecaster” after a period of Fender Esquires, Broadcasters and Nocasters. The ’52 re-issues have a famously fat, round neck referred to as a “baseball bat” neck. For a fatter sound, Graham Coxon has also played 70s-style Telecaster Deluxes, their humbuckers offering a larger and more modern sound.

Coxon confirmed his relationship with the model: “I got used to the 60s necks on Teles, although I did play the ’52 reissue [American Vintage series] throughout Blur, which had quite a big neck and was really heavy.”

1968 Fender Telecaster with Gibson PAF — The Signature Guitar

The guitar that became the basis for the Fender Graham Coxon Signature Telecaster is a 1968 Fender Telecaster with a Gibson PAF (Patent Applied For) humbucker installed in the neck position — replacing the original single-coil neck pickup with a vintage Gibson humbucker that provides a warmer, thicker neck sound.

Coxon described acquiring it: “I bought it from Vintage And Rare Guitars. I got a few guitars from there — a really great old Jazzmaster with a ’61 neck and a ’62 body, a lovely Goldtop Les Paul with P-90s in it — and the Tele with the Gibson humbucker, which is what eventually became Fender’s Graham Coxon Telecaster model.”

The Fender Graham Coxon Signature Telecaster is based on a classic ’69 Telecaster. What’s a little unusual is the fact that it has a humbucker pickup in the neck position, Seymour Duncan’s SH-1 (the equivalent of the PAF). Meanwhile, the bridge position is the classic vintage-styled single-coil by Fender. This configuration — PAF-style humbucker neck, vintage single-coil bridge — gives Coxon both the warm singing quality of a humbucker neck and the snap and clarity of a Telecaster bridge pickup. The best of both instruments in one guitar.

Early 1970s Fender Telecaster Deluxe — The Reunion Primary

Coxon started using his early-’70s Telecaster Deluxe around the time of his power-pop-driven LP Love Travels at Illegal Speeds. But it became his primary Blur guitar for the 2009 reunion — adding a ragged muscularity to the sound of many Blur classics performed on that tour. Since the Blur reunion in 2009 he almost exclusively used a vintage Telecaster Deluxe.

The Telecaster Deluxe is the same configuration as John Squire’s Telecaster Custom territory: Wide Range humbuckers in a Telecaster body. Coxon’s Deluxe provides the thick, powerful character of humbuckers with the Telecaster’s fundamental character — suited to the reunion tour’s more muscular approach to the classic Blur catalog.

Gibson Les Paul Collection

Alongside the Telecasters, Coxon has used Gibson Les Pauls across Blur’s career:

1980s Gibson Les Paul Custom (black) — Coxon’s ’80 Les Paul Custom dates back to Blur’s earliest LPs. Used most notably on Blur’s 1997 self-titled album; seen at the Hollywood Bowl with capo for “There’s No Other Way”
Gibson Goldtop Les Paul (P-90s, Custom Shop) — Acquired from Vintage and Rare Guitars; the P-90 character suits specific Coxon applications
1980s Gibson ES-335 — Used on “No Distance Left to Run” and “This Is a Low”

Other Key Guitars

1960s Gibson SG Special (faded vintage) — Coxon’s SG is documented in solo work and various Blur contexts
1967 Fender Jaguar — Listed in the comprehensive Premier Guitar gear list
Fender Jazzmaster (1962 body, 1961 neck) — Acquired from Vintage and Rare Guitars; a Jazzmaster assembled from vintage components. Graham Coxon plays a Fender Jazzmaster Live in Hong Kong in 2015.
Fender Musicmaster (heavily modified, sunburst) — He played it in “Beetlebum” and “Coffee and TV” videos; the Musicmaster is a budget student-grade Fender that Coxon modified extensively
1960s Fender Bass VI (refinished, ex-Sly Stone) — This late-60s Fender Bass VI was refinished for Sly Stone prior to Graham purchasing it in the late 90s. It has proven to be a firm studio favourite since appearing on his first solo recording The Sky Is Too High. The Bass VI — a six-string bass pitched an octave below a standard guitar — provides the specific low-register melodic capability that Coxon uses for specific studio applications
Coronade 12-string — Seen in the music video for “She’s So High” (the early Blur single)
Yamaha Revstar RS620 (Brick Burst) — Recent addition; Coxon described it: “The Yamaha Revstar RS620 I’ve got plays amazingly well — it plays just as well as any old Gibson of mine and it’s bang in the middle of the range”
Martyn Booth Cherry Sunburst signature — Hand-carved in the UK; Seymour Duncan JB bridge, Jazz neck
Gray Guitars custom Telecaster-type (semi-acoustic, P90s) — Recently received custom instrument
Fender Lake Placid Blue American Original 60s Telecaster — Recent Fender gift; Telecaster Custom-style single-bound body
Ralph Bown OMX acoustic and Atkin OM acoustic — Current acoustic instruments (Premier Guitar list)

Complete Guitar List (Key Instruments)

’52 Reissue Fender Telecaster (butterscotch) — Blur primary throughout career; “baseball bat” neck; classic Tele character
1968 Fender Telecaster (Gibson PAF neck humbucker) — Basis for Graham Coxon Fender Signature model; acquired from Vintage and Rare Guitars
Early 1970s Fender Telecaster Deluxe — Reunion primary from 2009 onward; Wide Range humbuckers
Graham Coxon Fender Signature Telecaster — Seymour Duncan SH-1 neck, vintage single-coil bridge; 69 Tele basis
1980s Gibson Les Paul Custom (black) — Earliest Blur; 1997 Blur album; Hollywood Bowl
1967 Fender Jaguar — Leisure era and beyond
Fender Jazzmaster (1962 body, 1961 neck) — Vintage assembled from Vintage and Rare Guitars
1960s Gibson SG Special — Solo work and select Blur
1960s Fender Bass VI (ex-Sly Stone) — Studio favourite; Sky Is Too High
Fender Musicmaster (heavily modified) — Beetlebum and Coffee & TV videos

Amps: The One Marshall That Changed His Life

Marshall 1959 SLP Super Lead — The Primary and the Holy Grail

For amplification, he uses two Marshall 1959 SLP heads going into individual 1968 4×12 cabinets. The brittle, bright sounds on a lot of Blur records are thanks to his penchant for Marshall, particularly the Super Lead, a.k.a. the “Plexi.”

Coxon’s specific Marshall story is documented in detail from the MusicRadar interview: he found his original 1959 SLP Super Lead years ago, and it transformed his playing (“It totally changed my life, getting that Marshall”). When he subsequently went looking for a replacement or backup — auditioning “tons” of 1959 SLPs — he found none that sounded like his specific unit. When Marshall themselves heard the amp, they said it was producing more volume than normal, with a distinctive rattle that they couldn’t explain.

The implication: Coxon’s primary amp is either modified (possibly by its original owner or a tech at some point) or is a natural variation in a production run that landed on the right side of the inevitable unit-to-unit variation in vintage manufacturing. Either way, it is an amp that Marshall themselves cannot reproduce — which is both the most specific and the most frustrating piece of gear documentation in this entire series.

He runs two of these heads — confirmed in the Guitar Geek rig diagram and Mixdown’s documentation — into individual 4×12 cabinets. The two-Marshall setup provides the stereo width and the redundancy that professional touring requires.

Other Amplifiers

Marshall 1962 Bluesbraker combo — Used on solo work (2009 tour); the Bluesbraker is a vintage Marshall combo with a different character from the Super Lead plexi
Orange Rocker 30 — Also used on the 2009 solo tour
Various smaller combo amps — “For amps, I used old Marshall heads and Marshall 4×12 cabinets, as well as some smaller amps” (Guitar Geek interview)

Pedals: The Enormous Pedalboard

Coxon is, above all else, a pedal enthusiast. His pedalboard — organized on a custom Mike Hill board — has included an extraordinary range of effects across Blur’s career and his solo work. He is, after all, a bit of a pedal junkie, and has relied more on effects rather than amps in shaping his tone.

The Essential Distortion — ProCo RAT

The Pro Co RAT 2 is a distortion pedal that’s verging on the edge of fuzz, its thick, forward sounding distortion making just about everything sound massive. Coxon has used a variety of RAT variants over the years, but always because of his love for the original. The RAT appears in multiple forms on his pedalboard:

ProCo RAT 2 — The standard version; primary distortion for Blur guitar parts
ProCo Turbo RAT — The higher-gain variant; visible in The Magic Whip recording footage: In these stills from recording “The Magic Whip”, the ProCo TurboRAT is visible.

“Song 2” — The DOD Punkifier

Since Blur is so-well known for their “Song 2,” we can’t help but mention the DOD FX76 Punkifier pedal. And this is a rather unusual one. The Punkifier is both an overdrive and a fuzz, which is really weird as overdrive features soft clipping and fuzz has an extremely harsh clipping process.

The DOD Punkifier’s specific character — the harsh, abrasive quality that gives “Song 2” its raw, lo-fi aggression — is not replicable by standard distortion or fuzz pedals. The unusual combination of clipping modes produces a specific texture that is simultaneously fuzzy and overdriven.

The Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz

Coxon uses the Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz — a vintage Japanese fuzz from the 1960s-70s — for specific fuzz tones. He described his use of Japanese fuzz pedals: “a crazy Japanese fuzz called a Sanyi, a DOD FX76 Punkifier.” The Shin-Ei/Companion fuzz circuit is related to the original Univox Super-Fuzz design — a massive, octave-tinged fuzz that was Hendrix’s choice for some recordings.

Complete Mike Hill Pedalboard (Wikipedia Documented)

He uses a custom made Mike Hill pedalboard which over the years has included:

Akai Headrush E2 — Loop sampler; for layering guitar parts live
Boss BF-2 Flanger — The “Girls and Boys” pre-chorus flange; the BF-2’s specific character
Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer — Compression for consistent attack
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay — Primary delay; “Essex Dogs” is the referenced significant example
Boss DM-2 Analogue Delay — Warm analog delay character
Boss OD-3 — Additional overdrive option
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor — Gate for managing the noise from high-gain pedals
Boss PN-2 Tremolo/Pan — Stereo tremolo and panning effects
Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb — Room and reverb textures
Boss TR-2 Tremolo — Additional tremolo option
Boss TU-2 Tuner — Signal chain tuner
Boss VB-2 Vibrato — Pitch vibrato effect
DOD Punkifier (FX76) — The “Song 2” fuzz; combined overdrive and fuzz
Electro-Harmonix HOG (Harmonic Octave Generator) — Multiple octaves simultaneously; for organ and synth-like textures
Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb — Additional reverb, especially for Spring and Hall reverb characters
Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeller — Various filter and modulation sounds
ProCo RAT / Turbo RAT — Primary distortion; always present
Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz — Vintage Japanese fuzz; octave-tinged character
T-Rex Mudhoney Distortion — Additional distortion option

Additional Documented Pedals

BAE Hot Fuzz — Vintage-voiced fuzz (Premier Guitar list)
Wattson FY-6 Fuzz — Companion Fuzz-style circuit (Premier Guitar list)
Carl Martin Echotone — Tape echo emulator
Origin Effects Cali 76 Compact Deluxe — Studio-quality compressor (Premier Guitar list)
Thorpy FX Fallout Cloud — Modern boutique fuzz (Premier Guitar list)
Xotic EP Booster — Echoplex-style preamp boost
Hudson Electronics Broadcast — RCA console-inspired germanium preamp: This Hudson Broadcast — an RCA console-inspired germanium pre-amp/clipping unit — is one of his recent discoveries. (MusicRadar)
TC Electronic Alter Ego — Delay with vintage tape emulation
Suhr Koko Boost — Mid-focused boost

Tone note: Marshall said his plexi was “tons louder than a normal one” and had “this kind of rattle to it” that they couldn’t replicate. He searched “tons” of other 1959 SLPs and couldn’t find one that sounded the same. He has effectively documented a specific amp that is unique — not merely a good example of the model, but a specific unit with characteristics that even the manufacturer couldn’t explain. The rattle is the character. The character is the tone. The tone cannot be purchased by buying any other 1959 SLP.

Strings, Picks & Setup

Strings: Not specifically documented with the consistency of some artists in this series. The Telecaster’s standard-to-medium gauges (.010-.046 or .011-.052) would be appropriate for the playing style.

Picks: Standard picks for the aggressive strumming and pick-scraping techniques; specific brand and gauge not consistently documented.

The GigRig QuarterMaster QMX8: Graham uses his GigRig QuarterMaster QMX8 ‘board to audition effects pedals. The QuarterMaster is a programmable loop switcher — like the Pete Cornish systems used by Andy Summers and David Gilmour — that allows pedal combinations to be recalled with single footswitch presses. Given the complexity of his pedalboard, a switching system is necessary to maintain any performance practicality.

Line 6 Helix (recent): Graham is a recent convert to the Line 6 Helix’s amp modelling, looping and effects features and has been rehearsing for his forthcoming one-man-band solo tour of the US with it, using both electric and acoustic guitars. This is a significant shift for an artist whose primary amplification has been a specific irreplaceable vintage Marshall — the adoption of digital modelling for solo touring reflects the practical realities of one-person touring.

Playing Style & Tone Philosophy: Guitar as Saxophone, Chaos as Architecture

Graham Coxon’s playing philosophy is the most openly experimental in the British indie tradition. Where Gallagher and Weller are songwriting-first guitarists who use the instrument to support songs, Coxon is a sound-explorer who uses songs as frameworks for sonic investigation.

The Saxophone Influence

His saxophone training — learned as a child alongside drums, flute, and guitar — produced a specific approach to melodic phrasing on the guitar. Saxophonists think about the line between notes as much as the notes themselves; they think about breath as a shaping force; they approach melody as something that unfolds over time rather than something expressed in individual chord strikes. Coxon’s guitar solos have this quality: they breathe, they develop, they return to themes and vary them the way a wind instrument would.

Premier Guitar captured the synthesis: he fits in the tradition of George Harrison or Johnny Marr — chord players who blur the roles between rhythm, lead, and songwriting — which really takes discipline.

Noise and Feedback as Creative Tools

Coxon isn’t afraid to use noise and feedback as creative tools. In tracks like “Bugman,” his use of controlled chaos adds a layer of unpredictability. The American noise-rock and indie tradition — Yo La Tengo, Pavement, Sonic Youth — influenced him: “There’s an amazing song on Yo La Tengo’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, ‘We’re an American Band.’ I love the guitar solo at the end — it just takes off and gets more formless and drenched in distortion and reverb. It’s a very free and a very American approach that was really inspiring.”

Layering as Composition

He’s not afraid of layering guitars on top of one another, to get exactly the effect he wants for any given song. The studio technique of multiple guitar passes — each differently toned, differently placed in the stereo field — creates the specific dense texture of Blur’s most ambitious recordings. This layering approach, combined with the diverse tonal range of his pedalboard, allows him to construct sonic environments rather than simply play guitar parts.

“I Like to Put the Guitar Under a Certain Amount of Stress”

MusicRadar titled their interview with him: “I like to put the guitar under a certain amount of stress and see what it asks me to do.” This is the complete Coxon guitar philosophy: stress the instrument, listen to what it produces, follow rather than lead. The guitar under stress — cranked amp, aggressive picking, feedback cultivated rather than controlled — produces sounds that deliberate planning cannot. Coxon treats these unexpected sounds as the material of composition rather than problems to be corrected.

How to Sound Like Graham Coxon: The Blur Guitar Tone

The Guitar

Fender Telecaster — ’52 reissue for the butterscotch Britpop sound; Graham Coxon Signature Telecaster for the Gibson-PAF-neck-plus-Tele-bridge combination.

Fender Graham Coxon Signature Telecaster — The most direct authentic choice; Seymour Duncan SH-1 neck, vintage single-coil bridge
’52 Reissue Fender Telecaster — For the classic Blur Britpop character
Any Telecaster with vintage single-coil bridge pickup — The Telecaster’s inherent snap and clarity is the tonal foundation

The Amp

Marshall 1959 SLP Super Lead (100-watt plexi). Two heads, two 4×12 cabinets for the full Blur live experience. The specific unit matters — Coxon’s is apparently unique and irreplaceable — but any 1959 SLP will get closer to his tone than any other amp.

Control	Setting	Notes
Volume I	6–8	The plexi’s natural saturation at working volume
Volume II	Off or very low	Input jumping (both inputs connected) for additional gain if needed
Presence	6–7	The Telecaster’s natural clarity needs presence to cut through
Treble	6–7	Bright — the “brittle, bright sounds on a lot of Blur records”
Middle	4–5	Slightly scooped; the RAT’s midrange adds presence above
Bass	4–5	Controlled; the ProCo RAT adds low-end character

The Essential Pedals

ProCo RAT 2 — The primary distortion; always in the chain for driven parts
DOD FX76 Punkifier — For “Song 2” and its specific combined overdrive/fuzz character; hard to source; alternatives include certain RAT variants at extreme settings
Boss BF-2 Flanger — For the “Girls and Boys” pre-chorus and similar flanged passages
Boss DD-3 — Primary delay; “Essex Dogs” and atmospheric passages

Budget vs Authentic

Budget:

Guitar: Squier Classic Vibe ’50s Telecaster (butterscotch) or Fender Player Telecaster
Amp: Marshall DSL40 (plexi-voiced, more accessible) or Orange Rocker 32
Pedals: ProCo RAT 2 + Boss BF-2 + Boss DD-3

Authentic:

Guitar: Fender Graham Coxon Signature Telecaster or ’52 American Vintage Reissue
Amp: Two Marshall 1959 SLP Super Lead heads (×2) into two Marshall 1968 4×12 cabinets
Pedals: ProCo RAT 2 + DOD FX76 Punkifier + Shin-Ei FY-2 + Boss BF-2 + Boss DD-3 + Boss VB-2 + Boss PN-2 + Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail

Influence & Legacy: The Architect No One Could Hear

Graham Coxon’s influence on British guitar playing is the influence of someone whose work was embedded in commercially successful music without being the most immediately audible element of it. The hooks were Albarn’s. The songs were co-written. The guitar was Coxon’s — the specific sonic architecture that gave Blur their character was his construction, even when it wasn’t the first thing listeners noticed.

The documented influences and tributes:

Noel Gallagher — “One of the most talented guitarists of his generation”; the Oasis/Blur rivals period didn’t prevent genuine musical respect
BBC poll (2010) — Voted 15th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years
Every British indie guitarist who learned guitar from Blur songs — The specific Telecaster-and-Marshall approach, combined with the diverse effects palette, became a template for ambitious British indie guitar playing
The art-pop guitar tradition — Coxon’s visual art practice (album art, painting) combined with his sonic experimentation places him in the lineage of guitarists who treat the instrument as a conceptual as much as a sonic tool

He was voted 15th. He should probably be higher. The plexi that Marshall says is “tons louder than a normal one” is the instrument of someone operating at a level that conventional description barely captures. He plays guitar like a saxophonist. He puts the instrument under stress and sees what it asks him to do.

What it asks him to do is extraordinary.

Tone note: He received the Marshall and it “totally changed his life.” He has been unable to find another one that sounds the same. Marshall told him it was “tons louder than a normal one.” He auditioned “tons” of replacements and found none satisfactory. He uses the original. This is the gear story of someone who found the specific combination that works and has been unable to reproduce it — not for lack of trying or resources, but because the specific unit is genuinely unique. Some gear can only be found once.

A Marshall plexi that Marshall themselves said was “tons louder than a normal one,” with a rattle nobody could explain. A 1968 Telecaster with a Gibson PAF in the neck position, bought from Vintage and Rare Guitars, that became the basis for his Fender signature model. A DOD Punkifier for the specific combined overdrive-and-fuzz of “Song 2.” A Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz for when the Punkifier wasn’t Japanese enough.

He plays guitar like a saxophonist. His “restless playing style — all chord slides, rapid pulloffs, mini-arpeggios and fractured runs — seems to owe more to his saxophone training than to any conventional guitar tuition.”

Noel Gallagher called him one of the most talented guitarists of his generation. He was right.

Put the guitar under stress. See what it asks you to do.

If Graham Coxon’s Telecaster-and-Marshall architecture — the ProCo RAT, DOD Punkifier, Boss BF-2, and the irreplaceable plexi — has you exploring the British Britpop guitar tradition, check our complete guide to Noel Gallagher’s guitars and gear — the Oasis guitarist who was Blur’s Britpop contemporary and called Coxon “one of the most talented guitarists of his generation” despite them being on opposite sides of the defining British chart battle of 1995.

And for the next guitarist in this series — an artist who approached the acoustic guitar as a vehicle for intimate, introspective compositions in the tradition of English folk — don’t miss our breakdown of Nick Drake’s complete gear guide.

FAQ: Graham Coxon Guitars & Gear

What guitars does Graham Coxon play?: Coxon has primarily used Fender Telecasters throughout his career — specifically a ’52 reissue American Vintage series Telecaster throughout the main Blur years, and an early 1970s Telecaster Deluxe from the 2009 reunion onward. His Fender Graham Coxon Signature Telecaster is based on a 1968 Fender Telecaster he acquired from Vintage and Rare Guitars, with a Gibson PAF humbucker in the neck position (the production model uses a Seymour Duncan SH-1 equivalent) and a vintage single-coil bridge pickup. Other key instruments include an 1980s black Gibson Les Paul Custom (used from Blur’s earliest albums through the 1997 self-titled record), a 1967 Fender Jaguar, a 1962/1961 Fender Jazzmaster, a 1960s Gibson SG Special, a 1960s Fender Bass VI (formerly owned by Sly Stone), and a heavily modified Fender Musicmaster seen in the “Beetlebum” and “Coffee & TV” videos.
What amplifier does Graham Coxon use?: Two Marshall 1959 SLP Super Lead 100-watt heads (“plexis”), each running into individual Marshall 1968 4×12 cabinets. His primary Marshall has a specific character that he has been unable to replicate: he told MusicRadar that when Marshall themselves heard the amp, they said it was “tons louder than a normal one” with a distinctive rattle they couldn’t explain. He searched for replacements by auditioning “tons” of other 1959 SLPs and was never satisfied with how any of them sounded. He continues to use the original. He has also used a Marshall 1962 Bluesbraker combo and Orange Rocker 30 for solo touring, and recently adopted the Line 6 Helix for one-man-band solo touring.
What pedal does Graham Coxon use for Song 2?: The DOD FX76 Punkifier — an unusual American effects pedal that combines overdrive and fuzz simultaneously (normally opposing clipping methods) for a specific harsh, aggressive character. The Punkifier produces the raw, lo-fi distortion quality of “Song 2.” Coxon also uses the ProCo RAT 2 as his primary distortion across most other Blur material. His full documented pedalboard also includes a ProCo Turbo RAT, Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz, Boss BF-2 Flanger (Girls and Boys pre-chorus), Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, Boss VB-2 Vibrato, Boss PN-2 Tremolo/Pan, Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb, and Electro-Harmonix HOG, among others.
What is the Graham Coxon Fender Signature Telecaster?: A production Telecaster based on a 1968 Fender Telecaster with a Gibson PAF (Patent Applied For) humbucker in the neck position, which Coxon purchased from Vintage and Rare Guitars. The production signature model uses a Seymour Duncan SH-1 (a PAF-voiced humbucker) in the neck position and a classic vintage-styled single-coil in the bridge position — giving the guitar both humbucker warmth at the neck and the Telecaster’s characteristic snap at the bridge. The design is based on a ’69 Telecaster body style. Damon Albarn also uses the Coxon signature Telecaster when he plays guitar during Blur performances.
Why is Graham Coxon’s guitar style compared to saxophone playing?: Because he learned saxophone as a child alongside guitar, drums, and flute. Q magazine critic Adrian Deevoy wrote: “Coxon is an astonishing musician. His restless playing style — all chord slides, rapid pulloffs, mini-arpeggios and fractured runs — seems to owe more to his saxophone training than to any conventional guitar tuition.” Saxophonists approach melody as an unfolding line shaped by breath, phrasing, and the space between notes rather than as individual struck notes or chord shapes. This approach — applied to guitar — produces the specific character of Coxon’s playing: melodically continuous, rhythmically individual, with a wind instrument’s sense of how a phrase breathes.
What Blur songs best demonstrate Graham Coxon’s guitar technique?: Several showcase different aspects: “Girls and Boys” features the Boss BF-2 flanger in the pre-chorus and his specific rhythmic approach to the main riff. “Song 2” demonstrates the DOD Punkifier’s specific aggressive fuzz combined with aggressive picking. “Essex Dogs” showcases his use of delay as a compositional element. “Coffee & TV” demonstrates his melodic lead sensibility on the modified Fender Musicmaster. “Bugman” demonstrates the controlled chaos and feedback approach. “No Distance Left to Run” shows his more restrained, sparse side on the Gibson ES-335. The 1997 self-titled Blur album — particularly “Song 2,” “M.O.R.,” and “Beetlebum” — is the most concentrated demonstration of his willingness to use noise and distortion as expressive tools.
How do I get Graham Coxon’s Blur guitar tone?: Fender Telecaster (Graham Coxon Signature, ’52 reissue, or any vintage-spec Tele with single-coil bridge). Into a Marshall 1959 SLP Super Lead (or the closest affordable alternative — Marshall DSL100 or DSL40 in bright/vintage voicing): Treble 6-7, Middle 4-5, Bass 4-5, Presence 6-7, Volume at working level for natural saturation. ProCo RAT 2 before the amp for the primary distortion. Boss BF-2 Flanger for “Girls and Boys” and similar flanged passages. Boss DD-3 for delay-based passages. DOD FX76 Punkifier specifically for “Song 2” (hard to source; no exact substitute, but an octave fuzz like the Electro-Harmonix Nano Octave Multiplexer at extreme settings can approximate). The philosophy: put the guitar under stress, use noise and feedback as creative tools, and approach the melodic lines as if you were playing saxophone rather than guitar.