How to Sound Like Jimmy Page – Led Zeppelin I
Click here to listen to the album while reading.
The depute album of Led Zeppelin is undeniably one of the best rock albums to this day. The album was recorded in late 1968 (September-October) in London at the Olympic Studios. It was produced by the founder and guitarist of the band Jimmy Page and was mixed by Glyn Johns. The album cover artwork was designed by George Hardie.
Page used an innovative technique while recording his guitars. Up to this point, producers used to mic the amplifier right in front of the amp, but Page blended a room mic to capture the ambiance of the room giving some natural reverb to his guitar tone.
He did the same thing while he was recording John Bonham on drums, blending close up mics with a room mic to give this distinct sound we all know and love.
Right, let’s get into the gear he used for this album.
What Guitars Did He Use?
The rig was pretty straight forward, as it was for the most albums back in the day. No massive pedalboard and 6 amps.
Jimmy used his 1959 Fender Telecaster in a blond finish and a white pickguard as his main electric guitar and a 1963 Gibson J-200 for the acoustic parts.
His ’59 Telecaster has an interesting story.
Jeff Beck gifted this Telecaster to Jimmy Page because Page recommenced Beck to replace Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, and later he would join them.
Jimmy got the guitar in 1966 and it was his main guitar until 1969 (replacing it with his Number One ’59 Les Paul). It was his main guitar with the Yardbirds and he used it in the early Led Zeppelin era.
Jeff Beck in 1965 with the “1959 Fender Telecaster”
In 1967, Jimmy stripped the finish of the guitar and started experimenting with some Day-Glo paints, he replaces the pickguard with a reflective one.
How about the amp?
Jimmy Page is known for using big Marshall stacks on stage, but this isn’t what he used at the Led Zeppelin I. He’s known for using small tube amps pushing them to break up so he can get a nice overdriven tone. This was the case with Led Zeppelin I.
He likely used a Supro Thunderbolt with a pair of 6L6GC tubes and a Jensen 15-inch speaker or a Supro 1690TN Coronado with a 12-inch speaker (replacing the stock 10-inch speaker).
Did he use any pedals?
Jimmy was one of the first people to use a tone bender before he started mass production. He used a Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII on tracks like “Dazed and Confused”, “You Shook Me” and “How Many More Times”.
For the wah-wah tones, he used his Vox “Wah-Wah” Grey Wah.
Here Are Our Suggestions to Get His Sound:
Budget #1:
Budget #2:
We recommend the Boostache for a great overdrive tone.
Budget #3:
We recommend the Boostache for a great overdrive tone.
Of course, Jimmy Page’s tone was expressed by the gear he used, but it’s really important to break down his playing if you want to sound exactly like him.
Sometimes we tend to forget that great tone needs a great guitar player and gear won’t fix that (although sometimes it might help!)
I hope you liked this article and make sure to share it with your friends!
I will see you at the next one,
Dimitris for Vintage Guitar Nerds.
PS: If you have any more info about the gear or anything related, feel free to add a comment down below! This information came from a variety of sources collected in one article that sums up everything we’ve read/heard about the topic. If you see anything that doesn’t feel right, make sure to contact us at info@vintageguitarnerds.com so we can refine the information!
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