How to Play Like Jimmy Page

What guitar player hasn't dreamed of becoming their guitar idol? We certainly have!

If Jimmy Page is on your list of guitar heroes, here's what you need to do to be like Jimmy.

Get The Gear

Calling all the gear heads! Here is the equipment that will help you on your way.

Guitar

While Jimmy Page has played many different guitars over the course of his career, he is best known for playing a Gibson Les Paul.

The good news is that you don’t have to drop $2,000+ to have a guitar with a similar sound.

Check out the Epiphone Les Paul.

Amp

Supro combo amplifiers are the way to get the sound of your favorite early rock songs. The key is that these are all-tube for pure analog sounds. Get yourself a tiny Supro and turn it all the way to get Jimmy’s signature sound.

And of course you can’t go wrong with any Marshall tube amp.

Pedals

As the the Echoplex Preamp product description says, this baby will “recreate the EP-3’s legendary preamp mojo, following the same signal path with FET circuitry and a Gain control for up to +11dB boost.”

The MXR Micro Chorus is the pedal you need to get the old school ’80s chorus sounds you’ll instantly recognize as Jimmy Page-like.

Got the gear? Now, how about the skillz?

Obviously sounding like a rock and roll great like Jimmy Page is going to take more than some gear. You’ll have to beef up your skills by practicing certain scales and techniques. Here’s how you should spend your practice time.

Scales

Master the Minor Pentatonic scale, especially pattern 1, and you’ll be on your way to the first lick from the Stairway To Heaven Solo in Am:

Get to work on the Minor Blues Scale and you’ll be ready for the main riff from Heartbreaker in Am:

Once you have built your confidence in the A Major Pentatonic Scale, you can easily play the opening guitar lick for Black Dog:

Techniques

Pull-offs are a prominent part of the beginning of the guitar solo for Heartbreaker:

The intro and main riff of Communication Breakdown is your place to shine with downstrokes and palm muting:

A feature of lots of great rock songs, when you’ve mastered power chords, the verse of The Ocean will be a breeze:

More Inspiration

Looking for some more ideas? Check out this great video on how to sound like Jimmy on a budget:

Join us!

Whether you're trying to be like Jimmy or you are working to develop your own sound, Bones Jones Music is the place for you.