Jimmy Page has had a significant impact on rock and roll music. As the co-founder of Led Zeppelin, Page is also responsible for a variety of famous guitar riffs when he worked as a session musician, as well as part of Led Zeppelin. Page has used a variety of brands over the decades, but Les Paul is one of his most trusted brands when it comes to shredding on guitar. Gibson’s Les Paul electric guitar debuted in 1952, named after renowned blues guitarist Les Paul, who endorsed the model.
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Check out the variety of Les Paul’s Page has used over the years.
1. Jimmy Page Les Paul Custom VOS Electric Guitar with Bigsby
Perhaps Page’s most famous guitar is the VOS Electric Guitar with Bigsby. Known as “Black Beauty,” Page used the guitar during the 1960s when he was working as a session musician, including the No. 1 hit “Diamonds” by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan. The Who and the Kinks are among the other acts Page’s guitar work is featured on throughout the ’60s. Page also used it while on tour with Led Zeppelin in 1970 and 1971.
“The Gibson ‘Black Beauty’ Les Paul Custom. I was one of the first people in England to have one, but I didn’t know that then,” Page explains in an interview with Ultimate Guitar. “I just saw it on the wall, had a go with it, and it was good. I traded a Gretsch Chet Atkins I’d had before for the Les Paul.” Unfortunately, the guitar was stolen in 1971 that was later returned.
2. Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar
Like the original Les Paul model from the ’50s, the Standard Electric Guitar has a gold finish that makes the instrument shine. Weighing between nine and 12 pounds, the guitar suits a variety of genres ranging from blues to heavy metal. Page can be heard playing a Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar on Led Zepplin’s massive hit 1969 single, “Whole Lotta Love” which features the famed guitar riff created by Page.
“To get my guitar to sound surreal, I detuned it and pulled on the strings for a far-out effect,” Page described in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “I was playing a Sunburst 1958 Les Paul Standard guitar I had bought from Joe Walsh in San Francisco when we were out there on tour. The Standard had this tonal versatility, allowing me to get a blistering high pitch.”
3. Gibson Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul
Page didn’t just play the “Number Two” Les Paul, he also had a hand in creating it. The “Number Two” modified Page’s classic 1959 Sunburst Les Paul Standard to establish a “heightened performance.” This custom-made instrument had a limited release with two levels of aging. “This guitar captures the look, feel, sound, and versatility of one of the greatest artist-owned Les Pauls of all time,” Gibson said at the time of release.
4. Gibson Les Paul Traditional Goldtop
According to Jeff Strawman’s book, Led Zeppelin Gear: All the Gear from Led Zeppelin and the Solo Careers, Page first started using the Goldtop in 1991 when he and former Whitesnake lead singer were recording the collaborative album, Coverdale–Page, was released in 1993. Page can be seen playing the guitar in the video for “Pride and Joy,” the album’s third single. He also used it in the 1994 UnLedded performance with Led Zeppelin bandmate Robert Plant and when he and Plant embarked on their 1995 world tour, as well as the Led Zeppelin reunion concert in 2007.
“Jimmy Page has always looked to explore new frontiers, and he found a worthy partner in that journey with the TransPerformance automatic tuning system,” Strawman writes, adding that the guitar “allows you to store over a hundred different tunings. That opens all kinds of possibilities.”
5. Gibson Les Paul Junior 1954
Though Page is a master guitar player, even legends have to start somewhere. Released in 1954, Gibson created the Les Paul Junior for beginners at a reasonable price, complete with a mahogany frame and dot inlay fingerboard to help the player figure out the correct notes. “Response to the guitar was very strong, and by its second year of production, it was Gibson’s most popular instrument,” according to Vintage Guitar. Page can be seen playing the guitar live onstage in this throwback photo.
Photo by Ian Dickson/Redferns
