WAH WAH ZEPPELIN

[McSeven]

In how many songs does Zep use the Wah Wah in, off the top of your head?

How important was the Zep sound tied to Wah Wah effects?

To me that what made Zep special in my eyes. The Wah Wah really made their sound out of this world.

Mc7

[Tripmender]

In the studio? Off the top of my head, only No Quarter springs to mind.

I wouldn't say the wah-wah was all that important to JP or to LZ's studio sound - live, perhaps, but I'd say phasing was more important to JP in the studio.

IMO, wah-wah is generally used to disguise boring guitar-playing, something JP was never guilty of. Now, Eric Clapton on the other hand....

[Ronzo]

In the studio? Off the top of my head, only No Quarter springs to mind.

I wouldn't say the wah-wah was all that important to JP or to LZ's studio sound - live, perhaps, but I'd say phasing was more important to JP in the studio.

IMO, wah-wah is generally used to disguise boring guitar-playing, something JP was never guilty of. Now, Eric Clapton on the other hand....

I don't know Trip....here's some info that I found with a quick flick of the mouse and I agree with and, I do play guitar:

Vox Cry-Baby: This wow-wow is quite heavy and can be heard on How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin) and Living Loving Maid (she's a woman) (Led Zeppelin II).

And:

Jimmy Page of the band Led Zeppelin sometimes used a wah-wah pedal in an unorthodox manner. Instead of rocking the pedal to produce the wah tone, Page kept the pedal depressed, producing a wah tone that was much sharper. He does use the wah in a more traditional manner on songs like "Dazed and Confused" from Led Zeppelin's first album, the solo in "Whole Lotta Love from the album Led Zeppelin II, "No Quarter" from the Houses of the Holy album, and "Custard Pie" from the album Physical Graffiti.

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HMMT is obvious.

The second part is important because it's not always obvious when it's used fully depressed or half open as some players do. Another song that should be mentioned is "The Rover" and I only feel sure about that because of how it sounds when I play it with the flanger/phase effect.

I've been going through some rough times recently (haven't we all) and I sold some of my gear. The wah is the one pedal I wouldn't part with. It's all in how you use it.

Please don't take offense. I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm just telling you what I know and will stand corrected if I'm shown to be wrong.

[McSeven]

I don't know Trip....here's some info that I found with a quick flick of the mouse and I agree with and, I do play guitar:

Vox Cry-Baby: This wow-wow is quite heavy and can be heard on How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin) and Living Loving Maid (she's a woman) (Led Zeppelin II).

And:

Jimmy Page of the band Led Zeppelin sometimes used a wah-wah pedal in an unorthodox manner. Instead of rocking the pedal to produce the wah tone, Page kept the pedal depressed, producing a wah tone that was much sharper. He does use the wah in a more traditional manner on songs like "Dazed and Confused" from Led Zeppelin's first album, the solo in "Whole Lotta Love from the album Led Zeppelin II, "No Quarter" from the Houses of the Holy album, and "Custard Pie" from the album Physical Graffiti.

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HMMT is obvious.

The second part is important because it's not always obvious when it's used fully depressed or half open as some players do. Another song that should be mentioned is "The Rover" and I only feel sure about that because of how it sounds when I play it with the flanger/phase effect.

I've been going through some rough times recently (haven't we all) and I sold some of my gear. The wah is the one pedal I wouldn't part with. It's all in how you use it.

Please don't take offense. I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm just telling you what I know and will stand corrected if I'm shown to be wrong.

Thanks for your insight. We are friends here if you need to vent, please message my inbox.

McSeven

[Tripmender]

Please don't take offense. I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm just telling you what I know and will stand corrected if I'm shown to be wrong.

Take offence? At what? Don't be silly.

Anyway, all I meant was I don't think he relies on wah nearly as often or as obtrusively as certain other 'top' guitarists. I already mentioned EC; another example, again off the top of my head, would be Kirk Hammet.

And you're quite right with the LZ examples you quote - I wasn't thinking hard enough, though to be fair it was very early in the morning when I posted - but they're all relatively SUBTLE, which is the key. I just think OVER-use of the wah-wah is a smokescreen to hide poor guitar playing - and I should know

[tom kid]

I love the Wah in the live versions of D&C from '73 onwards, when he used it in the 'San Francisco' or 'Woodstock' sections of the song.

[dazedjeffy]

Trampled Underfoot

[Ronzo]

Take offence? At what? Don't be silly.

Anyway, all I meant was I don't think he relies on wah nearly as often or as obtrusively as certain other 'top' guitarists. I already mentioned EC; another example, again off the top of my head, would be Kirk Hammet.

And you're quite right with the LZ examples you quote - I wasn't thinking hard enough, though to be fair it was very early in the morning when I posted - but they're all relatively SUBTLE, which is the key. I just think OVER-use of the wah-wah is a smokescreen to hide poor guitar playing - and I should know

Thanks Tripmender.

I never realized about leaving it on half or fully depressed until I did it the first time by accident. Then, I found out that Page and others had done this and it is subtle like you say but, it makes a difference. I like to play Paul Simon's stuff on my acoustic and could never figure out why I couldn't get stuff that sounded easy 'til I discovered.........................THE CAPO! That's all I was missing. I've only had a computer for about four years and I always just played stuff by ear. Now, I have all this info at my fingertips. I also discovered how so many tab books are WRONG. Imagine the smile on my face when I learned the correct tuning for "The Rain Song". Playing the outro and hearing that last chord resonate through my room almost brought tears to my eyes. Page belongs in the top tier for that piece alone.

One more thing I must admit, if anyone thinks Jimmy was sloppy in '77 ought to hear me! I have my good days though and they are truly spontaneous. If I'm not in the right frame of mind I can pick up a guitar and play the most uninspired shit you ever heard. Give it to me on a good day and I'll play the exact same piece and it will sound great. One to many beers......................done, no matter how good a mood you're in.

[Ronzo]

I love the Wah in the live versions of D&C from '73 onwards, when he used it in the 'San Francisco' or 'Woodstock' sections of the song.

Hi Tom.

When I bought my wah pedal some years ago, can you guess the very first thing I did with it?

bum...bum,bum,bum,bum,..................................WAHH, WAHHHHHHHHWAHWAHWAHWAHWAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tripmender]

Hi Tom.

When I bought my wah pedal some years ago, can you guess the very first thing I did with it?

bum...bum,bum,bum,bum,..................................WAHH, WAHHHHHHHHWAHWAHWAHWAHWAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What - not Voodoo Child (Slight Return) intro? That was my first wah-wah attempt.

So then - The Rain Song. What is the correct tuning? My 'Remasters' 2-volume tab set has it in standard. And it's not that hard to play that way...??

[Flyingzepp]

wah-wah is generally used to disguise boring guitar-playing, something JP was never guilty of. Now, Eric Clapton on the other hand....

hahahahahaha well said.

[Ronzo]

What - not Voodoo Child (Slight Return) intro? That was my first wah-wah attempt.

So then - The Rain Song. What is the correct tuning? My 'Remasters' 2-volume tab set has it in standard. And it's not that hard to play that way...??

No, not VC. I love Hendrix also but I truly am Zep #1 but, VC did come shortly after. I know it might be a bit lame but I did the wah mixed with some chorus for Crimson and Clover pretty early on. Hey.....I have a lot of different tastes in music.

First time I had an electric in my hands it was WLL and heartbreaker riffs.

Now...The Rain Song:

Studio Tuning: D G C G C DLive Tuning: E A D A D E (One step higher)

Studio is acoustic like this....low E DOWN to D...A DOWN to G...D DOWN to C...G=same...B UP to C...E DOWN to D.Live is electric low E=same...A=same...D=same...G UP to A...B up to D...E=same.

Here is a tab if I'm allowed to post this link:http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/l/led_zeppelin/the_rain_song_tab.htm

Here is a great site that makes things even easier but, you have to pay:http://www.actiontab.com/

Learn to play TRS in this way. Especially the acoustic version. Once you get the hang of it, you will not want to play it in standard again. Trust me!!!...this IS how Page does it. The action tab site rules but, I'm kind of broke right now so I'm not up to date with all they have but, it's a pretty cool site for guitar players.

[DragonTelecaster]

1. Trampled Underfoot
   
2. In My Time of Dying
   
3. The Ocean
   
4. Dazed and Confused
   
5. All of My Love
   

All these come to mind...

DT