What kind of guitar were you using on the first Led Zeppelin album? Jimmy Page: A Telecaster. I used the Les Paul with the Yardbirds on about two numbers and a Fender for the rest. You see the Les Paul Custom had a central setting, a kind of out-of-phase pickup sound which Jeff couldn’t get on his Les Paul, so I used mine for that.
Was the Telecaster the one Beck gave to you? Jimmy Page: Yes. There was work done on it but only afterwards. I painted it; everyone painted their guitars in those days. And I had reflective plastic sheeting underneath the pick guard that gives rainbow colors.
It sounds exactly like a Les Paul.
Jimmy Page: Yeah, well that’s the amp and everything. You see, I could get a lot of tones out of the guitar, which you normally couldn’t. This confusion goes back to those early sessions again with the Les Paul. Those might not sound like a Les Paul, but that’s what I used.
It’s just different amps, mike placings, and all different things. Also, if you just crank it up to the distortion point so you can sustain notes, it’s bound to sound like a Les Paul. I was using the Supro amp for the first album and still do.
The “Stairway To Heaven” solo was done when I pulled out the Telecaster, which I hadn’t used for a long time, plugged it into the Supro, and away it went again. That’s a different sound entirely from any of the rest of the first album.
It was a good versatile setup. I’m using a Leslie on the solo on “Good Times Bad Times”. It was wired up for an organ thing.
.... Or no amps at all!
