The Secret to Jimmy Page's Tone

Jimmy Page is one of the greatest masters of guitar tone in the history of the electric guitar. He has set the standard for a variety of unique tones throughout his career. In this episode, I reveal the secret to Jimmy Page's guitar tone...and it's not what you think! You will hear me demonstrate Page's tone by playing the opening riffs for one song off of each Led Zeppelin album using the same gear and guitar. For the episode, I primarily use my '72-'73 Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Deluxe Reverb tube amp (not a Marshall!) and a drive pedal (Bogner La Grange - set to only 25% gain). I supplement that occasionally with a Spark boost pedal, a Ventris reverb pedal and a Nemesis delay pedal. Spoiler Alert...the only other steps in my signal chain that I rely on are the 3 H's! (Head, Heart & Hands)...

Apart from being a composer, educator, and guitarist, Carl Baldassarre is also a respected Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page aficionado.

#LedZeppelin
#JimmyPage
#CarlBaldassarre

[eddie]

my favorite Jimmy Page tone is his solo in the live No Quarter version from the Song Remains the Same album. Pure genius

[milesaway]

If I would’ve had this guy as a guitar teacher when I was 14 my life would be completely different.

[ElrohirGuitar]

I love playing Led Zeppelin, even on acoustic, but when I really want to hear the song, I put on the record. None of us can play as well as Jimmy Page, and if we could, we wouldn't have Bonham playing on drums. You are so right that his sound is from himself. That is what makes him great.

[JackDaniels]

Nice work. One of Page's masterclasses in 'tone' is Since I've Been Loving You. The touch, the feel and then aggression of his playing takes you through the full gamut. It's also a great lesson in what you called using all the guitar. Two pickups, a switch and 4 knobs make the guitar everything you need.. when you've learned how to use them all.

[MWL]

One of my all time favorite JP solos is the one from Ten Years Gone. Holy shit, that solo almost brings me to tears even 45 years later !! Just fantastic !

[TokyoYugen]

I'm a huge fan of Jimmy Page and this is one of the greatest videos I've ever seen in my entire life. I hope it teaches and inspires many guitarists like me, who have spent years buying items that they don't really need, ending up making their sound worse and then feeling frustrated about it. As you correctly explain, everything comes from the head, the hands and the heart. The more you start to remove, the more everything starts to make sense and be unexpectedly beautiful, but you understand this over the years. Thank you for this lesson and thank you for explaining it so well. Less is more, long live music played with the heart.

[VangeliRock]

When contemplating the amount of classic riffs Jimmy wrote, well it's absolutely mind blowing. A guitar player can spend a life time just learning and playing all of Jimmy's stuff from Zep and be completely satisfied.

[TKDunn-qqkd]

Carl, you raise such an important point about halfway through this video - you really have to HEAR the part to really play it accurately. I will often put my guitar down, put on some decent headphones and just loop a part over and over to really understand the nuances of what's going on - this is so valuable. Even a song I've heard a thousand times, it's amazing how your brain can trick you and fill in things that aren't really there (like a lot of gain!) or vice versa... Another great video!❤

[Cincinnatus]

Jimmy Page has lots of tones. The Telecaster, the 59LP, the EDS1275, the Danelectro, the B bender etc. His versatility is what sets him apart

[brucesankey]

The secret is he is Jimmy Page, and only he is he. Only James page has page's hands, attack, and technique. Also the recording process effects the actual original organic guitar tone in the studio.

[traviswyatt]

Best Jimmy Page tone/style analysis I’ve ever seen. I’ve always gotten wrapped up in just trying to learn the licks but as you demonstrate…the music comes more from channeling that Jimmy Page attitude and musical frame of mind. Very insightful!

[mikegreco]

I never really thought of Page's tone as secret. He was just a super skilled and talented player and producer.

[jaykelley]

Using a moderate amount of reverb to add depth to a little bit of distortion is an EXCELLENT strategy. Combined with boosting the mids and treble a bit, along with cutting the bass a bit, I was able to nail Pagey's tone. Awesome video, thanks for the tips!

[chrisjones]

A really big part of the Jimmy Page live tone on the song remains the same is the bridge pickup on his #1 Les Paul. The original paf was replaced for a late 60’s T top Gibson pickup that had an output of just a little over 8k resistance. I have tried over 20 pickups and this nails that sound dead on.

[richieg]

Great Vid as always.. every time I see Jimmy`s riffs torn apart and played correctly, it makes me say my god what a genius he is. All I can say is MORE PLEASE !

[pageluvva]

Love how playing those riffs can still make us all smile. Magic.

[a-nus]

And disregard what others are saying, seeing someone passionate about playing and talking about it is awesome to see.
Your joy bleeds through the screen

[LeeYuha]

No matter what kind of guitar or amp he plays, he sounds just like him and it's marvelous.
Nice video!!

[JasonGlisson]

It's fun to see you smiling while playing these riffs. Out of all of the rock music I've learned over the years, Jimmy Page's guitar solos and riffs are some of the most fun to play. Some of them aren't overly technical, but they have these fun patterns in them.

[deesee]

Page always sounds fresh, even if you’ve heard that particular song thousands of times.The Song Remains The Same and The Rain Song that start off Houses Of The Holy can astound me every time.What a pairing.