What fuzz box did jimmy page use on the first album?

Answer 1

my best bet would be either a Gary hurst mk 1 modified by roger mayer or a Gary hurst mk2...again, modified by roger mayer...

regarding the mk 1, i doubt that very much was done to it...however, i have been able to replicate the "you shook me" fuzz (including that crackling 6 string bass note) by changing all transistors to silicon, modifiying the input bias network and installing a diode to change the input characteristics...this would have been a diode that would be switched in and out to requirement...

clearly, there are overlapping parts to the song where either two fuzz boxes were used, or some kind of gating effect was brought into use as a means of controlling noise...during separate overdub sessions...

the amplifier referred to as being used by page was a supro, yes, but not the one as stated...i have maintained this position for years...

add in the mysterious eq technique (aka "Q mapping") and with a couple of hours of experimentation, one could come extremely close to the "you shook me" sound...additionally, some of the adsr circuits could add overtone harmonics and a slight buzzing effect during decay of the guitar note...

hope my input has been helpful...

hingethunder64@Yahoo.com

Answer 2

The fuzz box that Jimmy Page used for the first Led Zeppelin album Led Zeppelin, was one that was custom made for him by an engineer who worked for the UK Admiralty named Roger Mayer; who also made fuzz boxed for Jimi Hendrix later on his career. The box was based of an old Gibson unit that was one of the first, and was overlooked and woefully susceptible to damage and other breakdown, like most effects from the late 1950s and early '60s. Mayer offered to make Pagey anything he wanted, and this fuzzbox was one of them. This was before he had even joined the Yardbirds, when he was doing session work, and was trying to replicate the sound on the record "The 2000 pound bee." This is why it has similar characteristic to the other units, but can't be pinned down as one. There is a designation for it, and Mayer did make boxes (and possibly still does?) for retail sale and custom orders, thought they were never saturated through the market like Ibanzes, MXR, VOX, et. al. and probably were all handmade with printed circuits, boutique items like Alembic Guitars or Matchless Amplifiers et. al.

Bib.

Davis, Stephen. Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga. Penguin; NY, NY.

1986. p.17.

* Roger Mayer does now produce a fuzz pedal called the Page 1, which is a replica of the one he made him. Pricey though, at over $300.00 typically.

after years of experimentation, and many wild goose chases, i have finally come to settle on a couple of possibities for the fuzz box or boxes that may have been used by jimmy page on the first album...

i know there are those who will strongly disagree with me, but he MAY have used a modified sola sound mk2, or an original maestro fz1, or a tonebender mk 3...or interchangeably, all three...

i say this because there are elements of all three fuzz boxes in the album...though i probably lean more toward a rebiased sola sound mk2...used interchangeably with the maestro unit, or if used at the time, the page 1...probably not the bottom line anyone may have been looking forward to...

i have learnt that it is futile to place any stock in heresay...there are too many different versions of what the source of the led zeppelin sound may have been...i have come to my conclusions based only on what i heard on the album...

there is a studio equalisation technique known as "Q" mapping wherein at least a couple of microphones or perhaps several are strategically placed to alter ambient sound characteristics...another term for this might be "time-delay" recording...or perhaps any one of several other possible terms...this technique in itself is a vital element...

guitar tuning, and guitar technique (this would include constant knob tweaking as page was known to do) as well as the type of guitar and especially the choice of amplifier used all contribute to the overall ambient sound character...something as simple as a wah pedal pushed forward in an altered "Q" environment can have some amazing results...as can an overdrive unit plugged into a maestro box...

the supro corsica amplifier comes extremely close to the sound, even when used with a gibson les paul custom...which may work much more effectively with most early fuzz boxes...

on the song "you shook me" from the first album, there is some evidence of over-dubbing on one of the guitar passages...to me, this lends the possibility of an opportunity, if only briefly, to change to another fuzz device...

BUT:

i am concerned that there is so much focus placed on what fuzz box may have been used...yes, a fuzz box was used, but the peripheral considerations seem to be overlooked...any actual fuzz box was only a small part of the mystery...somehow, the led zeppelin sound has created an interest in a black-box fuzz device that may in fact, not really exist...it is more likely that the arcane science of microphone placement and critical adjustments thereof are proof that a stand alone fuzz box was not the last word in the signature zeppelin sound...

i think, as i contribute this response, the common mistake everyone has been making (myself included) is that the led zeppelin sound and the mystery fuzz box are one and the same effect...they are not, and they need to be separated one from the other...

quite honestly, there were at least several well-designed fuzz boxes available during the 60's, and any one of them could have been some other band's black-box...which one is this, that one is that...it may not really matter...

many of the sonic anomolies i believe could easily have come from a combination of fuzz signals and perhaps anomolies in the actual engineering console...as well as the studio "Q" environment itself...amplifier included...

a tube-type preamp and adsr system will have a radical effect on the overall quality of the resultant processed signal...one can only experiment with an open mind to explore the possibilities...try not to get stuck on any one approach...listen, listen and listen to what you hear...forget about trying to solve a mystery, instead ask yourself how you would accomplish the effect...and keep in mind that any electronic system can be operated in unconventional ways to produce unexpected results...

the 60's studio environment was a unique setting...very different from today's systems...this is yet another consideration...

if i were hard pressed to decide which fuzz page used, i would probably say 51% for the sola sound mk2, and 49% for the maestro fz1...this is my contribution for what it may be worth...best wishes...