From Planet Rock.
When the world was first introduced to Led Zeppelin with two echoing chords in ‘Good Times Bad Times’ back in 1969 few people, let alone Jimmy Page himself. would have been able to predict the effect the band would have on rock music.
And the sound of that album was all largely down to one guitar, as Jimmy explains in a new video shared by Fender, who have recreated the mirrored / dragon Tele (one guitar, two incarnations, in case you’re confused) as an extremely limited edition, available only in runs of 50.
Jimmy Page’s custom mirrored & dragon guitar ⓒ Fender
The film tells of how Jimmy was gifted the plain white Telecaster by Jeff Beck after Page had recommended him for the position of lead guitarist in The Yardbirds.
The extravagant animations, partnered with Jimmy Page’s narration, go on to recount how Jimmy began customising the Tele, first with mirrors to catch stage lights, and then later by stripping it and putting his art school skills to good use, painting the vibrant dragon design, and adding a reflective pick guard.
Fancy snaring yourself one? Well, you’ll have to do some hunting to find the dragon issue for sale, listed as it currently is with no price. But the mirrored version is yours for a snip at $2,500.
And whatever happened to the original dragon Tele? Well, that’s actually a bit of a sad story, as Jimmy told Guitar World in 1998: “I still have it, but it’s a tragic story. I went on tour with (a) ’59 Les Paul that I bought from Joe Walsh, and when I got back, a friend of mine had kindly painted over my paint job. He said, ‘I’ve got a present for you.’ He thought he had done me a real favour.
As you can guess, I wasn’t real happy about that. His paint job totally screwed up the sound and the wiring, so only the neck pickup worked. I salvaged the neck and put it on my brown Tele string bender that I used in the Firm (in 1985 and 1986). As for the body, it will never be seen again!”
Lucky for Jimmy, and for us, there are now faithful replicas ready to take its place for generations to come.
Watch the behind-the-scenes making of the custom guitars below:
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- Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door - 1st D - Complete - Shrink - UK - vinyl LP - £125.00, $156.25, €150.00 (New Item) (arrived 23-Nov-2024 18:00)on November 24, 2024 at 12:21 pm
LED ZEPPELIN In Through The Out Door (1979 UK 7-track vinyl LP, housed in picture sleeve 'D' (still in shrink!) complete with unmarked 'magic wash' inner which has not been submerged and remains near mint, original custom printed brown paper outerbag, showing only light wear, the sleeve has only the lightest of shelfwear and the vinyl remains barely played - fantastic copy about as nice as they come! SSK59410)
- Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £195.00, $243.75, €234.00 (New Item) (arrived 21-Nov-2024 09:53)on November 24, 2024 at 12:21 pm
LED ZEPPELIN Led Zeppelin III (Rare 1970 UK first press 10-track stereo vinyl LP, with the sought after Peter Grant label credit below the album title & 'Do What Thou Wilt'/ 'So Mote It Be' hand-scratched into the run-outs. Comes housed in theoriginal die-cut laminated gatefold picture sleeve with top & bottom opening rotating wheel [later issues discarded this]. The sleeve is graded VG [with some 'crinkling' to the laminate, mainly to the back] & the rotating wheel is in full working order; there is also some discolouring to the edges and a very small area of paper loss to the interior pocket. The vinyl has been professionally cleaned & grades VG/VG+ with several light paper scuffs & hairlines either side which have little affect on play)
- Led Zeppelin - Coda - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £45.00, $56.25, €54.00 (New Item) (arrived 19-Nov-2024 15:25)on November 24, 2024 at 12:21 pm
LED ZEPPELIN Coda (1982 UK first press 8-track LP with 'Manufactured in the UK' on the labels, comprising a collection of unused tracks from various sessions during their twelve-year career. Comes housed in the original textured & embossed gatefold sleeve complete with the album credits inner. The sleeve & vinyl are in superb Excellent condition minimal signs of wear and justlight hairlines scuffs to show play A0051)
- Led Zeppelin - Coda - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £45.00, $56.25, €54.00 (New Item) (arrived 19-Nov-2024 18:00)on November 24, 2024 at 12:21 pm
LED ZEPPELIN Coda (1982 UK first press 8-track LP with 'Manufactured in the UK' on the labels, comprising a collection of unused tracks from various sessions during their twelve-year career. Comes housed in the original textured & embossed gatefold sleeve complete with the album credits inner. The sleeve & vinyl are in superb Excellent condition minimal signs of wear and justlight hairlines scuffs to show play A0051)
- Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains The Same - Deluxe 4-LP Vinyl 180 Gram - Sealed - UK - vinyl box set - £169.99, $212.49, €203.99 (New Item) (arrived 20-Nov-2024 10:12)on November 24, 2024 at 12:21 pm
LED ZEPPELIN The Song Remains The Same (Deluxe 4-LP Vinyl Edition 2018 UK/EU limited edition box set of the legendary 1973 live performance at Madison Square Garden remastered and pressed on four 180-gram black vinyl records. Originallyreleased in 1976, these remastered recordings capture the band during their three-night stint at New York's Madison Square Gardens on 27th to 29th July 1973, newly expanded with 6 additional tracks which did not appear on the original release.Complete with a 28-page booklet featuring photos of the band, stills from the film and an essay by Cameron Crowe. Housed inside a lift-off lid picture box with silver-foil titles, hype sticker & factory sealed!)
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