"It was only £45 or something, and all the other guitars were getting into the hundreds": Jimmy Page's 5 most iconic guitars, in his own words

When you think of rock legends, few names inspire as much awe and reverence as Jimmy Page. As the mastermind behind Led Zeppelin’s monumental sound, it’s fair to say Page wielded his guitars like no other. From the very first pluck of the iconic opening riff of Whole Lotta Love to the intricate melodies of Stairway to Heaven, the guitars he chose and the stories they tell are interwoven into the very fabric of rock history.

Now, buckle up as we dive into the five most significant guitars of Jimmy Page. We’ll explore how these extraordinary instruments not only shaped his legendary career but also left a lasting imprint on the world of music itself. We’ve sifted through past interviews with the iconic guitarist from our archive, so you can hear the tales of these important rock artifacts straight from the man himself.

And if you're itching to replicate Page's legendary tone in the comfort of your own home, we’ve got you covered. We’ll provide expert guitar recommendations tailored to every budget, from wallet-friendly gems to top-of-the-line models that would feel right at home on stage next to Page.

1. 1959 Fender Telecaster

It’s often joked that nothing has sold more Les Pauls than Jimmy Page's Telecaster, and well, this is the Fender model they are referring to. Originally given to Page by Jeff Beck, the ’59 Telecaster first saw use in The Yardbirds and, in 1967, the future guitar hero sought to dazzle audiences by fitting eight round mirrors to the body.

By mid-1967, Page had stripped the guitar of its original finish and repainted it with a striking ‘dragon’ design, which would go on to be one of the most recognized guitars of all time.

Speaking to Total Guitar back in 2020, Page recalled the origin of the model, saying, “Jeff Beck gave me a Telecaster, one that he played in the Yardbirds for a while, but I was still doing sessions, and he gave me that as a gift. And once I went into The Yardbirds, I was playing that Telecaster. Bit by bit, I started to customize it.

“I put some mirrors on it. I wanted to really make the guitar my own,” he continues. “People had started painting guitars at that point, and I thought, well, I’d like to paint mine and really consecrate it, so that guitar is absolutely my own. So I went about painting it [with the dragon artwork] – all that art school training didn’t finally go to waste!”

In a separate interview with Guitarist, Page recalls how the guitar was used on Led Zeppelin's early work. “The first album is done on the Telecaster, because it is a transition from The Yardbirds to Led Zeppelin, it’s exactly the same guitar. It’s not until 1969 that I get the Les Paul, when Joe Walsh insists on me having this guitar.”

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2. 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard

Now, when you picture Jimmy Page on stage, you most likely think of him with a Gibson Les Paul hanging from his shoulder and a bow in hand. Often called his “Number One” by the man himself, he would have another guitar hero, Joe Walsh, to thank for his gorgeous 1959 Sunburst Les Paul.

The famed 1959 Les Paul is often credited with being one of the most sought-after models of all time, and that's in no small part due to Page’s associations with the instrument.

In a chat with Guitar World, Page details how he purchased the model from the Eagles’ axeman. “Joe Walsh insists I buy this guitar,” he explains. “That Les Paul was a beauty. It wanted a new home, so I took it home. I had it right through to the O2 [2007], and that’s unusual. Most people have got other guitars they’ll play, but no matter what, it’s the same Les Paul.”

Thinking about the impact the guitar has had on his playing, Page ponders, “It’s hypothetical, but I may not have come up with the riff from Whole Lotta Love on the Telecaster. That fat sound on the Les Paul, you’re inspired. Well, I am, and I know other people are inspired by the sound of particular instruments. Suddenly, they’re playing something they haven’t played before, and it’s really user-friendly, and suddenly they’ve got some sort of riff, which is peculiar to that moment. So many things start singing, you know? Really singing.”

We can only imagine what rock ‘n’ roll would have looked like if Page hadn’t succumbed to Walsh’s persuasive sales pitch and not purchased the guitar.

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3. 1960 Gibson Les Paul Custom

Page isn’t associated with only one Gibson singlecut; he is also known to use a rather unique Black Beauty from 1960. This jet-black Gibson was used as his main guitar during his session work in the early stages of his career. Now, the model would go missing in the 1970s, after it was stolen from Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport after a Led Zeppelin concert in Minnesota. Thankfully, Page would be reunited with the three-pickup beaut in 2014.

Jimmy tells Guitarist he bought his black Les Paul Custom in a London music shop in the early '60s. “I remember going in, and there was a sort of cash desk, and the guys behind it, and right up on the wall was this Custom. I said, ‘Oh my god, let me try that!’ It was, oh, this is just… I fell in love with the bloody thing.”

When quizzed about the instrument by Guitar World, Page recalls his early memories of the model. “The first time I played it, I had such a connection with it. I thought, ‘This is it. After all this searching and going through guitar shops, this is the one.’ I got it before I went to art college, so when I started doing studio work as a session player, that’s the electric that’s used on pretty much all of that work.”

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4. Danelectro 1961 'shorthorn' 3021/DC59

Moving away from Page’s Fender and Gibson models for a moment. We need to talk about his beloved Danelectro. Jimmy bought this guitar sometime in the mid-’60s, and like the Les Paul Custom above, it was used heavily on his early studio work and would also be the guitar that he would use to pen the epic riffs of Kashmir.

Page tells Total Guitar how he first got the model, saying, “Selmers was the big showcase shop, and I don’t know how they got away with it, but they sold every brand of guitar in there – Gibsons, Gretsches, Fenders. I don’t know how they did it, but they did.

“Suddenly, the Danelectro guitar appeared in there, and [John] Entwistle had got the bass with horns on it, and this salesman was saying they had this guitar, it was only £45 or something, and all the other guitars were getting into the hundreds. I said,’ Let’s have a go on it,’ and it sounded pretty great. Because, of course, it’s hollow-bodied, put together with plywood. It sounded phenomenal, and I could afford it, so I thought, ‘I’ll have this as a sort of second guitar.’”

Speaking on how it inspired one of Led Zep’s most popular tracks, he recalls, “I started to write things on it like Kashmir because I was used to playing it in the DADGAD tuning, so Kashmir came out on that guitar, and In My Time of Dying. They’re both on [Physical Graffiti]. So clearly I was using it in [altered] tunings.”

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5. 1969 Gibson EDS-1275

For many, the most iconic image of the electric guitar in the 1970s will always be Jimmy Page brandishing his EDS-1275 double-neck to perform the mighty Stairway to Heaven, but while this massive twin-necked behemoth would become the face of the Led Zep mega-hit, it would be a Fender and Vox that committed the jangly tones to tape.

When it came time to record the classic Stairway to Heaven, Page would employ the use of two 12-string guitars – a Fender Electric XII and the Vox Phantom XII. Now, while these guitars will forever be cemented into the annals of rock history through a recording, they wouldn’t get a taste of the limelight when it was time to perform the song live.

Instead, Page would use a Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck to ensure he could perform the intricate fingerpicking parts as well as the face-melting solo.

Page tells us how he recorded the famous song with his two 12-string guitars. “The Vox one, I had that in the Yardbirds, so a lot of the stuff in the Yardbirds – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor and all those things – were done on that. And then I got the Fender a little later. I think I got that when I came back from America the first time I visited.

“So basically, I had two electric 12-strings, and on Stairway, I wanted to use both, so I’d have one [panned] left and one right. There is a slight difference, obviously, in the sound of them, so that bit in the fanfare that leads into the solo with all the 12s, that’s tracking both the Vox and the Fender.

“I thought, what’s the guitar, how to do this on stage? And it was just obvious that the only way to do this, with the sort of fragile guitar of the opening style and the more racy sort of pickups for the solo, the double-neck is the only way I’m going to do it.

“When I recorded the song, I wasn’t thinking about how I was going to do it live. So, in actual fact, the song demanded the guitar. There was no other way to do it. When you think about it, it was the only way to actually replicate that song, apart from jumping from one guitar to another on stage!”

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