Mr. Jimmy Page's set up?

[LesPaulZoSo]

Just wondering, on my serch to achieve the master ax mans sound. What Les Paul did page use iv always thought it was a Standard but theres a little flame in that top of his. Also does anyone know of any modifacations Page made to his Paul.
Thank You


Rock Will Rise Agaian :dude

 

[KennyY]

All I know Page had one Standard he kept pretty much stock (the 59 his main axe), another Standard ('58) that had the mods (phase/coil tap switches hidden underneath the pickguard) and neck that was shaved to match the profile of his main axe. He also had one Les Paul that was sprayed candy apple red that was fitted with a B-bender.....got that info reading a Guitar World article 10 years ago....

Page also had a fondness for Fender Teles... Page used a Tele on all the electric guitar parts on Led Zep 1, Living Loving Maid on Led Zep II, the stairway solo on ZOSO.



Kenny

 

[Johnnytone]

Recipe for Jimmy Page sound

1. Les Paul with the pickup selector in the middle position, bridge pickup volume on 8.

2. Amp= tube. Treble 10 , bass 0, middle 0. (sounds weird, but try it.)

3. Overdrive the amp, or if you use a pedal, don't use too much distortion.

4. Upstroke almost every chord.

5. Wah= depressed all the way for a lot of soloing.

This is just the hackers (my) quick, 5-minute recipe for the Page sound. If Ed A. reads this, he can break it down to the last detail.

 

[zoso714]

will the real zoso please stand up........

The '58 was Page's main live guitar through most of the 70's. The '59 from Joe Walsh was the guitar with the micro switches under the pickguard edge. As for the shaved neck business I've heard this too but have my doubts. I know some forum members have dialogged with Mr. Pagey, has anyone seen these guitars in person(other than 40 rows back!)?

 

[pauldeluxe]

I believe both the 58 and the 59 have been modified. One has the coil splitters/in-out phase controls under the pickguard. The other has push-pulls installed in the tone and volume controls. if you listen to Zeppelin bootlegs, you get a pretty good idea of the wide range of sounds he could get using those modifications.

He uses the 58 as his main guitar and the 59 is his spare. Gibson also made him a replica of the 58 and he tours with that one a lot these days.

 

[58Lover]

I had the pleasure (honor?) of going to a rehearsal of the Black Crowes last year when Pagey was playing with them. Hung out with "Binky" who is JP's tech. I was amazed at what I was seeing - the original 6/12 that he recorded/played Stairway to Heaven (I think it was a '61 I believe), his '59, the red LP with the Trem system, his '58 and the Tele he used on a lot of the early stuff of Zep's as well as with the Yardbirds. I never got a chance to handle anything, so I can't tell you if necks were shaved, but I did notice the under pickguard push-pull pots.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime treat... plus it was REAl fun watching Pagey showing guys certain parts of Zep songs that they were doing during the tour. I'll see if I can dig up any photos as I had a digital camera and snuck off one or two shots including a quick one of the guitars....:dude :dude :dude :dude :dude

 

[Ed Rafalko]

Psssst-'58... the 12 string parts on Stairway to Heaven were recorded with a Fender XII. The original doubleneck of Jimmy's is a '72- they built it for him for the tour.

 

[Davepaf]

You lucky bastard!

 

[58Lover]

Ed. you might be right about the Fender XII. When I was there looking, JP had two 6/12's with him. I was pretty sure he said it was a '61, but there was also a newer one there as well.

 

[Ed Rafalko]

It could well have been a '61- I've seen a '59 doubleneck, it had a hugely thick body and a slightly different shape. I can't say I've seen a '61, but I know I've seen one with a mando/bass neck with the name 'Daisy' Miller' inlaid on the necks, that one came from '64.

MY knowledge of Page and his gear isn't anywhere near as extensive as Ed A's, but I am pretty sure he used a Fender XII on the album and had Gibson make him a douleneck for the tour following it- I think they'd stopped making them for a time before then. They were never really production instruments, but they were made whenever someone with enough stroke or cash and good timing asked for one. I woudln't mind owning one myself.

 

[burstin'don]

Page's bursts

HI Just thought I would add a few things about Page's bursts.. His main guitar, No.1 was the 1958 sunburst and his No.2 was the modded 1959.. The unknown fact about No.1 was that it had suffered a headstock/neck break and has a completely grafted on new headstock, hence no serial number...No.2, serial number 9 1703 was a gift from Joe Walsh, having a shaved neck and modified tone controls. As for Page's doubleneck, it's serial number 911117 probably dating around 1969... Hopefully this post will be a helpful or interesting to you guys Regards D

 

[A Monk]

As far as the doubleneck goes, it has to be pre '72 as the album was released '71 and "Stairway..." was demo'd in Belfast that year - the BBC Sessions album has that performance.

 

[Ed Rafalko]

I knew about the Belfast performance, I've heard it. I thought he used the XII for that performance.

 

[A Monk]

The notes on the CD inlay card say that Page was using the doubleneck. I also have a book on Zep which also says the doubleneck was used.

 

[lpnv59]

the notes are wrong!

Ed was right, Page had Gibson custom make the 6/12 so he could perform "Stairway to Heaven" for the tour in late '71 . He recorded the BBC show in late '71 using the doubleneck, the album version was recorded with either a borrowed Rick or a Fender 12.

 

[Ed A]

Im not sure he ever used the Fender XII live, Ive never seen any pix. But he definitely used the SG for the first time during the European tour early '71, there's plenty pix of that. And on the boots you hear him go from the 12 neck to the 6 for the solo.

As far as his other stuff. Yeah, the no serial #'58 has always been his main guitar, the '59 his live backup. The '59 has the push-pulls and the switches under the pickguard. As far as I know all during the Zep years his main '58 didnt have any push-pulls. Ive never seen him yanking on one and the boots only have the 3 tones, neck, middle and bridge. But NOW he has a push-pull in the '58. I saw him yank on it with the Black Crowes. If you listen to Live at the Greek (Lemon Song solo is a good example), you will hear the two different middle tones when he's pulling on the knob.

As far as HOW to get his sound, that can be debated forever. I still cant get his Zep '58 middle-tone exactly and Im using real PAFs which get you a lot closer. Yeah, you need the amp set bright, and yeah you could approximate it with volume settings, but how he got it is still a bit of a mystery. HE didnt have his volume set at different levels. Thats obvious when watching him soloing wide open (Dazed, good example). Yet he got that slightly phasy middle tone. Also, soloing with a wah wah on stuck in one position is not the answer either. He put the wah on for wah effects, otherwise it was not on. Of course you could use one if it gets you closer to that wierd Page tone, but that wierd live middle tone is not from a wah. We know its not from a flipped magnet either because that would be TOO out of phase sounding. Im guessing (its only a guess), that its his particular combination of PAFs, wood, pickup heights, amp settings and very importantly, picking technique. Did you ever notice that he gets a very similar middle tone from the double-neck? Check out the live Stairway solo. I dont think that thing is modded either.

I swear I will get this info someday (maybe soon) direct from his mouth (if he can remember half of it!)

 

[Johnnytone]

Ed, I knew you couldn't resist this thread

As far as the wah goes, what I meant was—for solos such as on Communication breakdown, stepping on that sucker really gets you close to his super-treble sound.

 

[Davepaf]

I read in an interview someplace many braincells ago that he recorded that solo with the amp in a closet or somthing, with the mic at the end of a length of pipe stuck through the door. Im a Page fanatic myself, but Ive got nothing on Mr Ed A!
You rock Ed!:dude

 

[fallout]

Interesting to hear that he still carries around the 1275. I read in an interview some time around '98 that he had to give up touring with it as it was too heavy for his (now aged) back to carry...

Anyone heard him play recently? How's he doing (really?) Fans only please heh

 

[pauldeluxe]

For the record, the LP that Jimmy got from Joe Walsh was not a gift. Jimmy paid him $500 for it, which he recently said was "the right price at the time." You're not kidding, Jimbo!