"Whole Lotta Love" tone

shamster · Nov 11, 2002

Any tips on how to nail the tone put out by Jimmy Page on "Whole Lotta Love"? Which amp/settlings, etc should I bear in mind when going after that tone?

Thanks!

plaintop · Nov 11, 2002

It sounds like the Tele through a Marshall or a 6V6 amp. Maybe a little slap-back delay from the board or reverb.

burstone · Nov 11, 2002

I hear Tonebender in there, too.

Dwell · Nov 11, 2002

WLL was a solid state Rickenbacker amp.

plaintop · Nov 11, 2002

Dwell said:
WLL was a solid state Rickenbacker amp.

Where did you find that information?

Skoorb · Nov 11, 2002

What I heard (literally -an Mp3 at the VABB) was a SS VOX amp. I can´t remember if it might have been called a Conqueror or something like that. It really sounded closer than anything I have ever heard before at getting that tone. YMMV, IMBAL etc.

Mike Shaw · Nov 11, 2002

I heard that too. Some guy had a website w/ soundfiles and he completely naited that sound with the Vox SS amp. Go figgure!

Dwell · Nov 11, 2002

brianV,
I don't recall, but it was one of those Rickenbacker odd-shaped stacks that he briefly endorsed (you see them in photos in that era). It was Rick, not Vox, though their circuitry wasn't too dissimilar.
Doesn't really matter- most of that guitar sound is the bleed into the drum mics in a very large room. You can't get the whole sound with just a guitar and amp.

Heritage 80 · Nov 11, 2002

I remember reading Page interviews where Page said WLL was his '58 thru a solid state with his Roger Mayer fuzz (is that the Tonebender?). I seriously doubt we'll ever know. JP's memory is probably a little foggy from that time.

LesPlucker · Nov 12, 2002

The solo part of that song, when Page kicks in after the cool percussion and Plant's vocal "shadow boxing", sounds like it is run through a wah-wah that is put all the way up on treble boost and left there -- no modulation. Listen to the way the note trails off when he hits that big bend -- that note wheezes like a 40-year smoker. It's a cool sound.

Dwell · Nov 12, 2002

Rickenbacker Transonic was the amp.

Mike Shaw · Nov 12, 2002

I don't think is was the Ric. I seem to recall it was a Vox with some kind of distortion built in. The guy who posted it was saying he just pick the amp up for cheap.

plaintop · Nov 12, 2002

This is a cool thread. :hippy

Whatever he used it was effective as hell. It's a very light almost "chessy" tone. The way it blends with the bass is perfect. Very different from the other songs on LZII. LesPlucker, I agree. The lead sounds more distorted than the rythym. Just the wah addition, same amp? Might that be a different amp? Sounds like he opened up the wah just a little bit on that first bend.

TedB · Nov 12, 2002

I seem to recall reading an interview years ago where he mentioned a blue Fender (Strat) used in that solo. He used that guitar quite a bit in "Presence", so that seems plausible. BTW, reading that was the first time I ever heard about that guitar. As far as accuracy of his statement, I cannot comment further.

May have been a JMI solid state Vox, but I don't believe it was one of those Transonics. If you've ever heard one, you'd agree.

FWIW, Page's Tele was not a '58. It was more like a '63.

lpnv59 · Nov 12, 2002

I always read that Pages Tele was a '59 w/ rosewood board that Jeff Beck owned when he joined the Yardbirds. Beck gave Page the '59, when he got the Esquire that now belongs to Seymour Duncan.

Heritage 80 · Nov 12, 2002

TedB said:
I seem to recall reading an interview years ago where he mentioned a blue Fender (Strat) used in that solo. He used that guitar quite a bit in "Presence", so that seems plausible. BTW, reading that was the first time I ever heard about that guitar. As far as accuracy of his statement, I cannot comment further.

May have been a JMI solid state Vox, but I don't believe it was one of those Transonics. If you've ever heard one, you'd agree.

FWIW, Page's Tele was not a '58. It was more like a '63.

The blue Strat was sold to Page (much later than LZll) by a forum member!

TedB · Nov 12, 2002

The Strat in question is not the Lake Placid Blue instrument that appears much later, but was a different, metallic blue pre-CBS guitar.

With regard to his Telecaster, the slab rosewood board didn't appear until mid '59. Also, in the closeup color footage I believe it to be a model where the strings anchor through the body, as I believe I see the strings passing through holes in the bridge. If so, it would have to be a '60 model or later. I think it has the single layer pickguard, which would make it a '60-'62.

60pinstripe · Nov 12, 2002

Page used a "Supro" amp on many of his early recordings.

GeetarGoul · Nov 12, 2002

60pinstripe said:
Page used a "Supro" amp on many of his early recordings.

And he miced the shit out of it. From his sesssion daze Jimmy was a master of room dynamics and positioning microphones.

Ed A · Nov 12, 2002

The Supro was used for most if not all of Zep I. We dont know for sure how much, if at all, it was used on Zep II. I doubt the Transonics for used on Zep II either. By the time the album was recorded, Page had switched to the Marshalls live. He mentions in an article that Heartbreaker was the first time for the Marshall. He has mentioned using solid state too and yeah somebody here swears its a Vox and I think the guy nailed the tone. Brian, I dont agree that the WWL riff is light and almost cheesy, sounds heavy and thick to me. LP and SS Vox is my best guess.

"Whole Lotta Love" tone

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