The guitar Jimmy Page needed to do ‘Stairway to Heaven’ justice
During the recording of ‘Stairway to Heaven’, Jimmy Page utilised more than a single guitar to create his masterpiece. Starting off with a delicate acoustic line, the Led Zeppelin classic goes through six-string acoustic, twelve-string acoustic, and six-string electric parts before the song reaches its epic conclusion. For Page, it was a matter of using his hard-earned skills as a session man and producer to create something completely new.
The idea that Led Zeppelin would be performing ‘Stairway to Heaven’ live presented a logistical problem for Page. With its complex structure and multiple different sections, Page utilises a different guitar for each passage. How was he going to recreate that live? The answer came in the form of the double-neck Gibson EDS-1275, which Page had to have custom-ordered due to the model no longer being in production by 1971.
“The double neck was there as a necessity,” Page told Telerama. “I thought the only way to replicate it properly, to do it any justice, was getting a guitar that will give you 12 strings on one neck, six strings on the other. So I got the double neck as a result of recording ‘Stairway to Heaven.’”
“It’s an impressive instrument,” he added about the double neck. “It looks great. It’s a sexy woman with two necks.” For the rest of Led Zeppelin’s live career, Page dutifully pulled out the double neck for ‘Stairway’. He even extended the use of the instrument in order to play ‘The Song Remains the Same’, the album opener to 1973’s Houses of the Holy which would frequently open concerts at the time.
“It needed more texture than just one guitar,” Page recalled in 1985. “And the double neck seemed like the perfect compromise, really. So I ordered one from Gibson – it was just after that point when we had recorded ‘Stairway’ – and it’s sort of been here ever since. I hope it doesn’t get stolen!”
During the actual recording of ‘Stairway’, Page reached back into his arsenal for an old friend: the Fener Telecaster that had been gifted to him (or left to him) by his former Yardbirds bandmate Jeff Beck. After being painted by Page himself in a psychedelic design, the Telecaster was Page’s main guitar on the first Led Zeppelin album before the Gibson Les Paul took over that role. ‘Stairway’ would be the Telecaster’s final main appearance on a Led Zeppelin song, with the guitar falling into disrepair soon after.
Watch Led Zeppelin play ‘Stairway to Heaven’ down below.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.