What made Page's Tele so special?

[Vics]

Every time I hear songs from the first Led Zep album I have to keep reminding myself that he's using his Tele. (Or so he's always claimed). To me, that is the heaviest, most "Gibson sounding Tele" I've ever heard. I've heard a lot of guys throughout the years use Tele's in rock bands and it seems that no matter what amp or pedals they use there is always an element of that Tele "twang" in the sound. But not with Page's.

I don't know what year his Tele was, but does anybody know if there was anything differant about his guitar vs. other Tele's throughout the years?

[chuckocaster]

it's supposedly a 59? i used to get to play one like his, only it was string thru on the body. and that thing was SICK! fat, gnarly, i nice tough tone. i think really it is the man himself that made that guitar sound like that.

[phantomman]

Legend has it that Sir Jimmy played that Tele through a Supro Thunderbolt. Might've had somethin' to do wif the tone......

[Gris]

Jimmy used rosewood board Teles. They are less twangy/bright than maple neck Teles. He also used pedals like the Tonebender.

[rockntommy]

From what I know it is '58 with a top loader.
Also, read somewhere that the pup switch was bi-passed
and both pickups were always on. (I forget the source on that one)
I am sure someone with more knowledge will chime in.

[Kap'n]

It's the player.

I find Page's tone rather thin and focused. It needs to be, otherwise there wouldn't be room for the bass and drums. The focused tone and use of space that gives the illusion of big sound.

Ferinstance - Good Times, Bad Times. You've got the intro, half of which is rests. The guitar is actually pretty buried in the mix during the verses, but because it's those punchy chord stabs, they stick out. when you finally get to to the solo, the guitar is big in the mix, but it's loaded in leslie, which gives it a lot of sonic spectrum. Then it's back to the chorus, and the guitar is buried again. Then at the close, it's big again with the leslie, but only when Percy's not singing.

It's the player. It's the arrangement. It's the mix. Not the guitar.

[flintpunk]

My first Tele was an early 90's Am. Std. I used to post about it here. It was the most gawdawful Gibsony sounding thing! I never could get it to sound like a Tele, so I sold it.

[Don]

It's the player. It's the arrangement. It's the mix. Not the guitar.

I agree. I never thought of him as an incredible guitar player, but knowlegable in how to use a guitar and arrange and produce music.

[Huckleberry]

It's the band. I keep trying to tell people "heavy" has little to with your distorted tone & everything to do with how you fit in with the bassist & drummer.

[Gris]

IMO probably as much the amp as anything..........

[surfreak]

There is also that little rumor that he actually used a Broadcaster, with a beefier bridge pickup...

[NeoFauve]

Simply reading about it over the years, especially when Page is so associated with a Lester and Marshalls and heaviness, probably lends that Tele a lot of its mythic powers.

[Gris]

I played a Tele w/ broadcaster bridge PU into a Marshall and some other gainy amp heads a week or so ago. Definitely a hard rock sound.

[jjthinline]

It's the player. It's the arrangement. It's the mix. Not the guitar.

This is true. The amp had something to do with it I guess, but mostly the arrangements.

[chuckocaster]

I played a Tele w/ broadcaster bridge PU into a Marshall and some other gainy amp heads a week or so ago. Definitely a hard rock sound.

i have two that'll rattle your teeth loose. i love esquires, especially with a bridge pup nearing p90 output.

[jerryjg]

It's the player.

I find Page's tone rather thin and focused. It needs to be, otherwise there wouldn't be room for the bass and drums. The focused tone and use of space that gives the illusion of big sound.

Ferinstance - Good Times, Bad Times. You've got the intro, half of which is rests. The guitar is actually pretty buried in the mix during the verses, but because it's those punchy chord stabs, they stick out. when you finally get to to the solo, the guitar is big in the mix, but it's loaded in leslie, which gives it a lot of sonic spectrum. Then it's back to the chorus, and the guitar is buried again. Then at the close, it's big again with the leslie, but only when Percy's not singing.

It's the player. It's the arrangement. It's the mix. Not the guitar.

Wow! HUGE analysis! Thanks Kap'n!

[Middleman]

Page is the master of tone. Listen to the layers of guitars on the LZ1 album. Rythmn guitars round and full, midrange sounding parts that compliment the arrangement and then the addition of stabbing treble solos. His tone on supporting guitars to a track is all over the map in a good way. Fuzzy dark tones behind distortion plus clean melodic sounds all working together in the track.

Second he is the original layer master. His guitar work is a master class in building layer upon layer of guitar parts to support the Bonham beat.

On another level he just writes interesting melodic lines. Not always cleanly played but emotionally charged. All three of these capabilities tend to dwarf your average barrage of notes type player.

The only other place you will find so many layers of sounds and range of tone is on Hendrix albums.

[Raven]

Jimmy is a true Master of his instrument as well as being a Producer. In the short 12 years of Led Zepplin he along with Robert, John Paul and John Bohnam have left us with a catalog of material that maybe be the most prolific of our time. Jimmy had a great pallet of tones and a great ability to place them perfectly in a track.

What's even more special to ponder on is where did the inspiration come from to write so many great songs in such a small period of time and the size of the dent they left on the history of music is beyond astonishing.

[Kap'n]

What's even more special to ponder on is where did the inspiration come from to write so many great songs in such a small period of time.

Willie Dixon, Jake Holmes, Randy California, Muddy Waters, among others.

[NeoFauve]

[Gris]

Randy California, LOL. 'Mr. Skin!'

[Don]

Willie Dixon, Jake Holmes, Randy California, Muddy Waters, among others.

No shit, eh? Had he not succeeded as a musician he would've been a great cat burglar!

[ch willie]

Amateurs borrow; artists steal.

[wingnut1]

What's wrong with doing cover songs, musicians do it all the time.

[Kap'n]

What's wrong with doing cover songs, musicians do it all the time.

The difference is songwriting credit and payment of royalties.

We've been over this recently. Check the search function.

[wingnut1]

I have the Led Zeppelin Boxed set of Tabs and those musicians are credited on many of the songs in the books.

[Don]

Many. Not all. He stole what he could and often got caught.
http://www.thefenderforum.com/forum/...light=zeppelin

[gooman]

Jimmy Page is probably the greatest guitar arranger song writer pioneer and song thief to breathe air,the brits are the best hands down except for maybe that Hendrix dude..........

[Zoso]

The Tone Bender and Echoplex played a huge role in his beefy Tele tone. A Tone Bender has stronger influence on the tone than the amp, IMO. Any low- or mid-watt amp will be instantly in the LZ I ballpark as soon as you turn the 'Bender on. I can get those tones easily with my AC-30.

[nathan f]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1qN4GixSxg

Here's a link to a Supro amp + Tele + Page licks=??

[1/55strat]

I have a '59 tele, and it's the most "bursty" tele I've ever heard by far. An over-the-top screamer. It's my only guitar that compares very favorably to my '58 LP.

[Slammintone]

Looking for pictures of the Dragon Tele used in the Yardbirds and early Zep by Page I found this. http://www.gbase.com/Stores/Gear/Gea...x?Item=1651258
Now that's pretty freakin cool!

[dzguitar10]

I can get a pretty close sound/tone from my CV Tele albeit the pickups aren't stock through my guitar rig. Very big and meaty! The link I'm posting below is a track my band recorded which I engineered, produced and played all the guitar work on. CV Tele was used on all the guitar tracking. Granted this isn't an example of Jimmy P's tone but it shows just how versatile a CV Tele or any Tele can be with the right guitar rig and production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZadMotFYn9k

[Offshore Angler]

I think the recording engineers who set things up, mixed and mastered the recordings may have had a bit to do with the sound we hear too. Just sayin'...

[dzguitar10]

I think the recording engineers who set things up, mixed and mastered the recordings may have had a bit to do with the sound we hear too. Just sayin'...

+1 in fact I'd say they have quite a bit to do with the outcome. Just sayin'...

[bluespckr]

"Dragon" Tele-playing Page with Zep (1969):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T12wRBAhcTY

[Offshore Angler]

+1 in fact I'd say they have quite a bit to do with the outcome. Just sayin'...

Yes, after years of not knowing better, I now finally realize that the recorded sound of my guitar is totally in the engineer's hands. What I hear while playing and on playback are often completely different.

And more often than most people realize, guitar parts wre done directly to the board and post-processed anyway. The Byrds were masters at that. The jangle sound that most people associate with a VOX was just the guitar plugged directly into the console!

[lineboss58]

You have to take into account that the older tele pickups sound nothing like the later ones, they had masses of guts and a huge sound quite unlike tele pickups today.

[Gravity Jim]

Yes, after years of not knowing better, I now finally realize that the recorded sound of my guitar is totally in the engineer's hands. What I hear while playing and on playback are often completely different.

And more often than most people realize, guitar parts wre done directly to the board and post-processed anyway. The Byrds were masters at that. The jangle sound that most people associate with a VOX was just the guitar plugged directly into the console!

Yes, but with a series of extremely high-quality tube compressors in the channel. The sound of that guitar is the sound of multiple stages of smooth, tight compression.

Crediting the Byrds with that sound is failing to give credit where credit is due... the Columbia Records engineers on the early Byrds sessions came up with the console channel + compressor thing.

But it's certainly true that the sound your amp makes is not the sound that goes on the tape (or what passes for tape). I'm recording some lead stuff right now, today, and the sound in the room would cut diamonds, but in the mix, it's just about bright enough.

[blewgrass]

What made Page's Tele so special?

The same thing that made all his guitars special... Jimmy Page

When you read the history of players like Clapton, Page, Springsteen, you find that many of their guitars that are revered as Holy Grails today, are actually damaged rejects, orphans, and pawn shop rescue efforts. Many of these instruments are highly modified as well. I actually love these stories... they inspire!