Page/Zeppelin - How much of that tone is D.I.?

[ECase]

I was listening to Physical Graffiti yesterday, and I really was struck with how many of the tones sounded like they were Fuzz + straight into the board.

I know that there's a lot discussed about his live rig, but do any of the tone hounds out there have any insight as to how much of the recorded stuff -- ESPECIALLY SOLOS -- is simply direct? (Seems to me a lot of the mid- to late stuff has that quality).

Looking forward to the insight!

[Suproman77]

There are some notable tracks recorded this way like How Many More Times and Black Dog, but I'm not sure of any on Physical Graffiti. I've heard that Page mostly used a AC30 on that album...listening to songs like Custard Pie, In The Light, and Kashmir, it sounds believable to me.

[zep41]

There are some notable tracks recorded this way like How Many More Times and Black Dog, but I'm not sure of any on Physical Graffiti. I've heard that Page mostly used a AC30 on that album...listening to songs like Custard Pie, In The Light, and Kashmir, it sounds believable to me.

Black Dog you can just tell. Plus in and interview Page verified its straight fuzz into the board.

Which songs do you hear this on in PG? I hear some fuzz on a couple tracks but it sounds like its thru an amp rather than direct.

[darth_vader]

Well a decent chunk of LZII was supposedly recorded using some Vox solid state amps.

I believe the solo to Good Times Bad Times was DI, but I'm not aware of anything on PG that was straight in.

[The Golden Boy]

Well a decent chunk of LZII was supposedly recorded using some Vox solid state amps.



I'd heard that most of LZII was done with Page's touring rig at the time.

[eBay]

I used to have an old tape deck (all tube) in the 60's that got that fuzzy tone on Black Dog direct in. You'd just over saturate the tape and it sounded really mellow. I didn't even think about that tone until now. OMG! I was onto something without even knowing it. I had no idea how to put it into a context back then.

So I'm going to chime in and say that it's possible that was a direct sound.

[joseph]

I believe the solo to Good Times Bad Times was DI, but I'm not aware of anything on PG that was straight in.


The solo on Good times bad times - that's just such a tremendous track, Bonham's rhythm and syncopation, never heard anyone duplicate it (including him)- the solo's thru a leslie.
Although how many more times does have that 'direct' sound, it could be a small cranked tube amp (valco, etc) both close-mic'd and room mic'd.
He did that a lot.

[hahavishnu]

how does JP set his delay to get that subtle musical "bloom" to his solo sound?
sorry 'bout the hijack.

[Suproman77]

how does JP set his delay to get that subtle musical "bloom" to his solo sound?
sorry 'bout the hijack.

In an interview when asked specifically about the Dazed and Confused solo, Page said that he used old EMT plate reverbs. Once they were layed down on tape, they were machine delayed.

I would assume this is how it was done on many solos throughout the albums.

It's a great trick really which can be replicated completely digitally and when you do it, you instantly recognize that sound.

[hahavishnu]

In an interview when asked specifically about the Dazed and Confused solo, Page said that he used old EMT plate reverbs. Once they were layed down on tape, they were machine delayed. I would assume this is how it was done on many solos throughout the albums.
very interesting,thanks.

[Suproman77]

Well a decent chunk of LZII was supposedly recorded using some Vox solid state amps.



I'd heard that most of LZII was done with Page's touring rig at the time.

From what I gather, you're actually both right. LZII is a mixture of at least 3 amps and maybe more...Vox Solid State (probably the UL7120, but it could have been a Super Beatle), Rickenbacker Transonic (used for Heartbreaker), and Marshall SLP...all of which were used on the road at some point.

[JDW3]

So, which amp was used for The Lemon Song? Which sounds exactly like the lead guitar tone for Traveling Riverside Blues? Love that tone. Always figured a small amp cranked.

[Suproman77]

So, which amp was used for The Lemon Song? Which sounds exactly like the lead guitar tone for Traveling Riverside Blues? Love that tone. Always figured a small amp cranked.

Probably the Vox solid state...it has that mid-range boost (half-cocked wah) thing going which was a feature on those amps.