Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV (Remaster)

Jimmy can be seen in this picture playing a Fender Electric XII 12-String.

Jimmy used this 1965 Fender Electric XII 12 string guitar in the studio to record “Living Loving Maid”, “Stairway to Heaven”, and later on “The Song Remains The Same” from Houses Of The Holy released in 1973. This Fender Electric XII model was introduced in late 1965, and it was a purpose-built 12-string guitar with individual saddles for each string. The guitar had a Jazzmaster-shaped alder body, rosewood neck with “hockey-stick” headstock, and two split single coil pickups.

In the book Secrets from the Masters, Jimmy Page discusses his use of the Supro Thunderbolt. On page 176 he states, "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."

The mentioned model was Supro 1690T modified with a small 12 inch speaker.

Two were used in series for "Black Dog", as stated by producer Andy Johns in this Universal Audio interview. The article is accompanied by a photograph of Johns with three 1176LNs.

Would you like the “Black Dog” guitar tone story?

Absolutely! Which Led Zeppelin album was that?

That is the fourth one, the really, really big one. “Stairway To Heaven,” “When The Levee Breaks,” and “Black Dog.” It sold about 18 million — something bloody ridiculous. Who would have known, you know? I had been trying to get this sound from Buffalo Springfield for a long time and I met Bill House. He said, “I just put two of them in series.” He didn’t really want to let me know what “they” were.

It was a direct sound and I thought that I knew what to do. There were three guitars on “Black Dog” so I triple tracked it. When I mixed it, these three guitars were down here and the rest of the tracks were up here. Since the sound was so loud, it gave me much more room for the other stuff. Anyways, he meant two 1176s in series, one of which has the compression buttons punched out, so it is like an amp. You hit the front of the next compressor really hard and make the mic amp distort a bit with the EQ —a bit of bottom to make it sing. So “Black Dog” has a direct Gibson Les Paul Sunburst 52 or something, going right into the mic amps on the mixer, which is going through two 1176s, and it sounds like some guy in the Albert Hall with a bunch of Marshalls. I couldn’t have done it without the 1176s. There is not another compressor that will do that, because you can take out the compression stuff.

According to The Gear Used By Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin IV, Jimmy Page’s 1961 Danelectro 3021/DC59 was fitted with a Leo Quan Badass Wraparound Bridge, replacing the stock bridge.

Used for "When the Levee Breaks", as mentioned by sound engineer Andy Johns in this MusicRadar interview published October 31, 2013.

"I used two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones and I put a couple of limiters over the two mics and used a Binson Echorec echo device that Jimmy Page had bought. They were Italian-made and instead of tape they used a very thin steel drum.

"Tape would wear out and you'd have to keep replacing it. But this wafer-thin drum worked on the same principle as a wire recorder. It was magnetised and had various heads on it and there were different settings. They were very cool things!

"And so playing at that particular tempo on 'Levee the limiters had time to breathe and that's how Bonzo got that 'Ga Gack' sound because of the Binson. He wasn't playing that. It was the Binson that made him sound like that. I remember playing it back in the Stones' mobile truck and thinking, 'Bonzo's gotta f**king like this!' I had never heard anything like it and the drum sound was quite spectacular."

Used for "When the Levee Breaks", as mentioned in this January 12, 2018 Vintage King article.

Back in the truck, [sound engineer Andy] Johns compressed those two room mics with a pair of Helios F760s. The compressed drum tone was then sent through Page’s Binson echo unit to help give that ambience and slapback effect.

Used for "When the Levee Breaks", as mentioned by sound engineer Andy Johns in this MusicRadar interview published October 31, 2013.

"I used two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones and I put a couple of limiters over the two mics and used a Binson Echorec echo device that Jimmy Page had bought. They were Italian-made and instead of tape they used a very thin steel drum.

"Tape would wear out and you'd have to keep replacing it. But this wafer-thin drum worked on the same principle as a wire recorder. It was magnetised and had various heads on it and there were different settings. They were very cool things!

"And so playing at that particular tempo on 'Levee the limiters had time to breathe and that's how Bonzo got that 'Ga Gack' sound because of the Binson. He wasn't playing that. It was the Binson that made him sound like that. I remember playing it back in the Stones' mobile truck and thinking, 'Bonzo's gotta f**king like this!' I had never heard anything like it and the drum sound was quite spectacular."

The Keyboards of Led Zeppelin & John Paul Jones website covers John Paul Jones's use of the Hohner Electra Piano:

Jones preferred recording with the Hohner instead of the popular Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, as he liked its stiff keyboard action better. John Paul Jones didn't use the ElectraPiano live; only in the studio. This is because its wooden casing was more like home furniture, and was not too portable. It's sound was not clear live. "It didn't really cut through. Plus, it wasn't really built for road work. It was the sort of thing you'd have in your front room. I think that's what it was designed for," said Jones.

"Stairway To Heaven" is Led Zeppelin's most famous track, and the Hohner piano is played in a supporting role beginning at 2:14. Jones recalls playing directly into the console and using the Hohner for the piano chords with left hand bass. The part is very subtle, a supportive texture underneath the guitar tracks that follows the chord progression.

Following "Stairway To Heaven" on Zeppelin's fourth album is "Misty Mountain Hop," a bouncing heavy rock song that is based around a strong syncopated ElectraPiano riff. The riff continues throughout the song and is heavier sounding than the "Stairway To Heaven" piano, as it was recorded through its amp and speaker, not directly to the console.

Led Zeppelin's most obvious "keyboard" song comes from the Houses of the Holy album. Beginning with a long electric piano instrumental, "No Quarter" was Jones's featured solo section in the live show for many years. The Hohner is processed through an EMS VCS3 synthesizer to create a 'wobbly' sound. In concert, Jones extended the song with lengthy improvisations and duets with Jimmy Page on guitar.

"Down By The Seaside" is another Hohner ElectraPiano song, with Jones playing a traditional country-pop piano arrangement.

"Bought for $250 to keep up with his heavy load of work as a session musician, Jones’s sunburst 1962 Jazz Bass was his main axe for his work with Led Zeppelin.

Jones used this bass on almost every Led Zeppelin track live and in the studio up until 1975, where he had to retire the instrument due to issues with the action and electronics.

Later on, JPJ would revive his love affair with the Jazz Bass for his work in the studio with Them Crooked Vultures, and would occasionally bring it out for live appearances."

Source: https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/gear-rundown-john-paul-jones/

Jones confirmed that he used a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass in an interview with Vintage Guitar, stating "I was just never that particular about keeping things original. Even my old Fender bass that I used in Zeppelin has gone through many re-sprays and this and that. I probably shouldn’t have, but it’s a ’62 Jazz Bass which I bought new. I bought it to play, not to hang on the wall; I hate instruments hanging on walls. They’re hanging on all my walls, but I use them all."

Source: https://www.vintageguitar.com/2898/john-paul-jones/