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"Whole Lotta Love" tone

plaintop

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Jul 15, 2001
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Maybe I used the wrong set of words. I do think that guitar tone is "dry" and the bass and drums really drive the song more. It's a perfect tone for that song. It sounds like the Tele to me. I don't know though.
 

burstone

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Apr 5, 2002
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It sounds more "transistory" compared to Hearbreaker, for example. So, in that sense maybe WLL is a bit cheesy sounding???;)
 

Tone Drone

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Jul 11, 2002
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Tele into Marshall

I think BrianV was correct on the first reply..
From what I remember in an old magazine interview with Jimmy, It was the Tele through a 50 or 100W Marshall head.
 

plaintop

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I hope nobody was offended. It's a cheap tone. It just is. Brilliantly executed! Heartbreaker is round, rich and deep compared to it.
 

burstone

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Nah... Don't worry about it, Brian. So what if it sounds cheap, transistory, solid state amp-sounding, blah, blah, blah... If it sounds good overall, it sounds good no matter what one uses.:dude
 

PatentAppliedFor

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Nov 12, 2001
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It's all about dynamics, I wouldn't have dug em half as much if every JP guitar tone was the same. That said, I think the WLL intro tone is a perfect contrast to the bass & drum lines that come in a few measures later.
 

MelMann

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Jul 16, 2001
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Here's the link, folks.

http://www2.bc.edu/~jamesk/

I haven't updated this page for a long time, and since then a few people have told me they thought the amp in the picture is a Sound City L100. I am still not sure about that.

On the Vox Solid State amp, Page has said in a few interviews that is what he used, there's no mystery about that amp. For the clips I used a Les Paul and that is what Page used (he has also been quoted saying he used a Les Paul for "WLL.") However, I've never seen that he said it was his '58 per se. I think it could have been his Black Beauty as well.

These clips were done just off of a camcorder! I bet I could get closer if I actually used real recording techniques to do them.

I also own a Rick Transonic and that is definitely not what Page used on "WLL."
 

TedB

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Jul 16, 2001
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The head in question may very well be an old Sound City head. These heads looked very similar to a Marshall from afar, and had a long, narrow "Sound City" logo, which in this case, has been removed. When I get home, I can check this.

I used to own an old JMI Defiant, which is the 50w version of the Conqueror, and sounds identical (same circuit but with beefier output). These amps sound nothing like the American made 'Vox' (Thomas Organ), and in fact, the JMI ss amps are undoubtedly some of the most convincing solid state amps I have heard.

Being that I no longer own mine, I would appreciate hearing a clip of the WLL solo played through the amp's internal MRB function, which basically functions like a 3-position fixed 'wah'.
 

MelMann

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Jul 16, 2001
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Ted, that would be great if you could find out what that amp is definitively. I have not come across the right source material.

I can't promise a clip of the WWL solo through the MRB any time soon, as I have a new baby in the house! However I can tell you that the "Lemon Song" clip is with the MRB on its first, or bassiest, setting. I have tried that WLL solo through all the positions on the amp, and I don't really think that was what was used on it. If I may say so, it sounds more like a Vox wah cracked open through maybe a Marshall, to me. It reminds me of the sound he got in "Bring It On Home." I have a bootleg of that song live where he does it by cracking open a wah and it sounds just like it.

FWIW, my Conqueror is a JMI too. As you know, it also has a pretty cool clean sound.
 

TedB

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I might add that the LP burst with Bigsby that Page is playing in the photo is not only virtually identical to the one used by Richards, but is also virtually identical to the one that Clapton borrowed in mid '66 to record "Fresh Cream".
 

plaintop

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Great stuff guy's !!!

FYI,

If you weren't already aware those pictures with the "mystery" head were taking from the April 1969 Paris show. It's a stellar performance!


I found it on Kazza. ;)
 

TedB

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MelMann said:
I have tried that WLL solo through all the positions on the amp, and I don't really think that was what was used on it.

Try it with a Strat if you have one.
 

Dwell

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Jul 18, 2001
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I swear, I read an interview where Page said it was the Rick. Maybe he was fucking with us? Who knows. I can't find mention of the Rick or a Vox anywhere on the net.
 
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Stu

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Jul 15, 2001
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Interesting thread. I read an interview where he said he used a Vox amp for WLL, and the volume was "healthy". I think it might have been in Guitar Player or Guitar World about 10 years ago. It may well have been just the amp, but you can get very close to that tone (and the Lemon Song) with a 3 knob ToneBender.

AFAIK, the Rick amps were only used on the first U.S. tour, and not in the studio.

I think the mystery amp is either a Sound City or maybe an early Hiwatt. The same amp is in shot on the Danish TV footage from late '68. The reason I wonder if it's a Hiwatt is here - check out the amp at the top of Pete Townshend's rig:
http://members.tripod.com/~dcsbulldog/HIWATT_AD-68.jpg Similar?
 

Stu

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Jul 15, 2001
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correction

I just read the copy around that photo & it's a Sound City head that Dave Reeves reworked & badged as a Hiwatt. So I guess it still could be either...
 

Ed A

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Jul 16, 2001
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Hey Brian, no offense taken at all! Yeah the WWL riff tone is quite a bit different than Heartbreaker, I love them both!

Someone mentioned they read that Page said he used a tele for WWL. In all my years of being a diehard Page fan (30 years to be exact), Ive never read once where he uses the words tele and Zep II in the same sentence. Not to say that he didnt use it on the album (I still dont think so!), but Ive never seen it mentioned in interviews.

:dude
 

A Monk

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Oct 13, 2001
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Ed A said:
Ive never read once where he uses the words tele and Zep II in the same sentence. Not to say that he didnt use it on the album (I still dont think so!), but Ive never seen it mentioned in interviews.

:dude

I still think the rhythm on Lemon Song was a Tele...

But anyway, I read somewhere (can't remember now) that Jimmy used to place a mic next to his amp (whichever it was) and another across the room so he could blend the sounds in the final mix...

No idea how true that is mind you.;)
 

Darren

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Jan 18, 2002
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TedB said:
Being that I no longer own mine, I would appreciate hearing a clip of the WLL solo played through the amp's internal MRB function, which basically functions like a 3-position fixed 'wah'.

Ted, the same Jimmy interview that he mentions using a ss Vox for Zep II, he mentions that for the solo to WLL he used a Les Paul, Marshall and a wah pedal set to the treble postion. Sounds about right to me.
 
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