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New Jimmy Page telecaster from Fender

J.D.

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My guess:

jimmy%20page%20led%20zeppelin%205.jpg
 

Bruce R

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My guess:

jimmy%20page%20led%20zeppelin%205.jpg

You are right about the Tele shown in this photo, especially since Fender only has old photos to base their reproduction after since the original body is long gone. This is one of the better pictures I have seen, but there must be more out there. Jimmy still has the neck on his brown B-bender Tele body.

The article goes on to state that Fender will also be offering a "pre-Dragon" incarnation of this Tele as it appeared with the original finish and attached round mirrors at some point next year. I personally don't see much of a market for this one as it can be replicated fairly easily by adding your own mirrors on any blonde rosewood fretboard Tele, especially compared to what Fender will probably be asking for their version. Maybe if Page were to be signing them, but he's not.

Am I correct in recollecting that his Tele is top-loaded, and not through the body?
 

fernieite

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Not quite. His had the body ferrules to string through the body - as were most, if not all slab rosewood neck teles. But his was an early one (1959 or 60) that had a bridge drilled for both normal and top loading. He seemed to prefer the top loading way of stringing though...
 

J.D.

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I've seen Yardbirds photos of him with it without the custom paint job, so probably a number of years. I'd speculate this was the guitar used to record Zep 1.
 

The Shifter

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I think just 1967 to mid 1969. He got his #1 Les Paul in April of 1969, I believe. It shared the stage with the Dragon Tele for a bit, and then it was all Paul after that.

Lord in heaven this Tele will probably cost as much as the GDP of a small country.
 

fernieite

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Well, according to the article - he got the Tele in 1966. It was his main guitar until 1969, as stated above.

He also used it in the studio in about 1970 or 71 for the recording of the solo in STH. Who know, he may have used it on other tracks as well?

He then used the only functioning part of the guitar- the neck, quite extensively with the Firm and other things after Zeppelin ended...
 

F-Hole

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Who know, he may have used it on other tracks as well?

Yes, he did.....and was absolutely gutted when the artwork was ruined. I looked over the prototypes with him before it was announced, it's a cool project.
 

J.D.

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I don't know the story of the guitar/body. Can someone summarize?
 

Bruce R

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Not quite. His had the body ferrules to string through the body - as were most, if not all slab rosewood neck teles. But his was an early one (1959 or 60) that had a bridge drilled for both normal and top loading. He seemed to prefer the top loading way of stringing though...

Yes, that's it! Thanks for clarifying.

I am anxious to see the reissues when they arrive. I have never really seen any decent closeups of the Dragon Tele paint job, so am hoping JP was able to provide some. He mentioned that he "stripped" the mirrored version before he painted it, but the body still appears to be a blonde color in the photo below. Perhaps he just meant the mirrors and hardware? Whatever. Should be nice, and pricey!
 

J.D.

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Yes I've read the interweb banter over the years but it's a bit vague on what exactly happened to the original body. It was a bit of an attempt to get John to offer up some first-hand info.
 

Bruce R

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Yes I've read the interweb banter over the years but it's a bit vague on what exactly happened to the original body. It was a bit of an attempt to get John to offer up some first-hand info.

Gotcha. I have only read that Jimmy "got rid of it."

Here's a better photo. You can see that the finish has been stripped off.


p5Uppqj.jpg
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J.D.

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Yep he removed the original finish and mirrors and then painted the "dragon" finish himself. At some point it appears someone other than him attempted to refinish it, and in the process screwed up "something" that in JP's world was significant enough to retire it and move the neck to another body. What exactly that was, and where that body is (JP may have it?) is a mystery to me.
 

F-Hole

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The guitar was stripped by a friend looking after his house when he was away on tour. Friend thought he was doing him a favour, but alas not. JP still has the body.
 
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