No. 0311969·hard-rock·3 blocks
Whole Lotta Love
The grinding, heavy riff tone that opens Whole Lotta Love. Jimmy Page's Les Paul through a cranked Marshall Super Lead produces a thick, aggressive overdrive with singing sustain. The riff is played in standard tuning with the neck pickup for extra fatness, then the solo sections use the bridge pickup for a more cutting tone. Page also used a theremin and backwards echo for the psychedelic middle section.
Led Zeppelin IISignal path · input → output · 4 blocksLive values · Pedalboard
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Standard (1959)
Pickups
HH
Tuning
neck
Strings
standard
Marshall Super Lead 1959 (Plexi)
Marshall 4x12 Cabinet (Greenback)
Shure SM57
Marshall Super Lead 1959 (Plexi)
preamp
Presence
7
Bass
6
Middle
8
Treble
7
Volume I
10
Volume II
0
Engineer's note
File 031
The grinding, heavy riff tone that opens Whole Lotta Love. Jimmy Page's Les Paul through a cranked Marshall Super Lead produces a thick, aggressive overdrive with singing sustain. The riff is played in standard tuning with the neck pickup for extra fatness, then the solo sections use the bridge pickup for a more cutting tone. Page also used a theremin and backwards echo for the psychedelic middle section.
— Jimmy Page
Sources · Verified by
Field notes for this tone
All field notes →AC/DC Rhythm Tone Recipe: Angus Young Amp Settings, Gear Breakdown, and How to Nail It
AC/DC guitar tone settings for both eras; the SG, the Marshall, amp dials by era, and how to approximate it on Helix and Quad Cortex.
Marshall ST20H Studio JTM vs. SC20C Studio Classic: JTM45 or Plexi Inside the Studio Line
Both run real Marshall circuits in 20-watt format, but a JTM45 with KT66s and a 1959 Plexi with EL34s are different amps. Here's which Studio you should buy.
Marshall SC20C Studio Classic vs. SV20H Studio Vintage: Plexi or JCM800 Inside the Studio Line
Both are 20-watt small-format Marshalls with the original Marshall circuits inside, but a 1959 Plexi and an 800 are different amps. Here's which Studio you actually want.
