AmpRecipe

Stairway to Heaven guitar tone

Compressed, cranked-amp overdrive with Telecaster bite

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How the Stairway to Heaven tone sounds

A compressed, cranked-amp overdrive with a biting single-coil edge. It suits Led Zeppelin IV, recorded 1970-71, and covers Jimmy Page's solo. Page played his 1959 Telecaster, the Dragon Tele, through a modified 1959 Supro 1690T Coronado, whose pair of 10-inch speakers was replaced by one re-coned Oxford 12-inch. No pedal is evident. Tip: the drive comes from the amp running hard, so keep the gain on the amp rather than adding a pedal.

Amp settings

Guitar Rig 7 Pro, in signal order. Dial each one by hand.

  1. Amp AC Box

    • Brilliant Volume, 7 of 10
    • Brilliant Bass, 4.5 of 10
    • Brilliant Treble, 6.5 of 10

Cab: Matched Cabinet Pro, the one that loads with AC Box

Signal chain
AC Box → cab
Key knob
Sets how hard the cranked amp compresses and drives
Guitar
Two single coils, bridge pickup. Volume 10, tone 10.

Questions about the Stairway to Heaven tone

What amp did Jimmy Page use for the Stairway to Heaven tone?

Modified 1959 Supro 1690T Coronado, into Single re-coned Oxford 12-inch.

What are the amp settings for the Stairway to Heaven tone?

On AC Box in Guitar Rig 7 Pro: Brilliant Volume 7, Brilliant Bass 4.5, Brilliant Treble 6.5.

Is the Stairway to Heaven tone a rhythm or a lead tone?

A lead tone, on the amp's crunch channel.

Can I get the Stairway to Heaven tone without a Modified 1959 Supro 1690T Coronado?

Guitar Rig 7 Pro has no Modified 1959 Supro 1690T Coronado, so this setup uses AC Box with the settings above.