Riff Tone

Communication Breakdown

Led Zeppelin

Guitarrock1960s

Original Gear

Guitar1959 Fender Telecaster with rosewood neck

Amp1959 Supro Coronado 1690T (12-inch Oxford speaker re-coned with Pulsonic cone)

PickupsSingle-coil (Fender Telecaster bridge pickup)

Amp Settings

gain7.5

bass6.5

mid7

treble7.5

reverb0

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1968. Guitar World and MusicRadar confirm Telecaster (bridge pickup) into a cold-biased Supro Coronado 1690T with no pedals for the riff. The amp was modified and mic'd at a distance. No fuzz or wah on the riff section; wah used only for solo. Minimal gear due to demo-like recording budget.

Tone Character(10)

tight and punchyaggressive and percussivebright and cuttingraw amp-driven cruncharticulate note separationminimal sustainfast decaydynamic responseno pedal colorationhigh output, bridge pickup bite

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, consistent alternate picking and aggressive downstrokes at a high tempo, with precise muting and articulation to maintain clarity and punch. The speed and stamina required push this above intermediate difficulty.

Sources

The secrets behind Jimmy Page's guitar tone on Led Zeppelin's Communication Breakdown | Guitar World “It had so much weight. So much power”: How Led Zeppelin’s Communication Breakdown set the template for heavy metal and inspired a legendary punk guitarist | MusicRadar

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account