Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page built Led Zeppelin's sound from the studio out, treating recording technology as an instrument equal to his guitars. His 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard through a Marshall Super Lead — later supplemented by a Supro amplifier for specific tonal textures — produced the definitive hard rock guitar tone. His use of a violin bow on a Les Paul, a theramin for live performance effects, and a Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck for Stairway to Heaven live performances made him the most theatrically inventive guitarist of his era. As a former session musician and producer, Page understood microphone placement, ambient recording, and phasing techniques that gave Zeppelin records a sonic depth their contemporaries could not replicate. His Danelectro 3021 tuned to open tuning produced Kashmir's drone, and his Fender Telecaster from the Yardbirds era was the instrument that recorded Stairway to Heaven in the studio.