Riff Tone

Stairway to Heaven

Led Zeppelin

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Electric XII 12-string

AmpSupro Thunderbolt (model 1690T, modified with 12" speaker)

PickupsFender split single-coil (12-string, neck and bridge positions blended)

Amp Settings

gain3.5

bass6

mid7

treble7

reverb2

presence5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1970-1971. The main riff and intro were tracked with a Fender Electric XII 12-string into a Supro Thunderbolt amp. No evidence of pedals or additional effects on the riff section. Live, Page used a Gibson EDS-1275, but this was not used on the studio recording for the riff.

Tone Character(10)

chiming 12-string claritybright and articulatelush, layered texturecrystal clear top endslight amp breakup at peaksstudio double-trackedopen, ringing chordsnatural sustainclassic rock shimmerno audible overdrive or fuzz

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate skill due to the need for clean, even picking across a 12-string, accurate chord transitions, and maintaining clarity without noise or string muting issues.

Sources

Jimmy Page's guitar gear: everything you need to nail the Led ...Led Zeppelin IV (Remaster) - Gear & Equipment Used on the Album

This tone has been researched 30 times by the community

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