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Which Guitar Did Jimmy Use For The Rain Song In 1980?


rebeldhipi

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Jimmy only played The Rain Song on the six string part of the double neck, right?

So, which guitar did he use for the song in 1980 when it was played between In The Evening (Strat) and Hot Dog (black/brown tele). Did he use the double neck like he did in 1979? And if so why do you think he used the double neck when only six strings were needed? Best sound for the song?

Or did he actually play a section with the 12 string and im a utter idiot :D

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Jimmy used the double neck for The Rain Song in 1980 and only used the six string neck of the double neck for it -- ever.

The alternate tuning used for "The Rain Song" on the 6-string neck was Asus4 (E-A-D-A-D-E) - a step higher than the album cut, which was tuned to "Open page" alternative guitar tuning Gsus4 (D-G-C-G-C-D). The likely reason the alternate tuning was used in live performances is that while it required Plant to sing in a higher key, it necessitated a tuning change of only two strings (the B and G) on the EDS-1275, whereas the song's original key would have required the tuning of five strings. As this same guitar would later be used in the show for "Stairway to Heaven", the six-string neck would then need to be returned to standard tuning—the alternate "Rain Song" tuning allowed this to be achieved with relative ease. 

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To further elaborate why Jimmy used the double-neck guitar for "Rain Song" in 1979 and 1980 even though he only used the six-string part and the song was no longer immediately following "The Song Remains the Same" in the setlist... 

Apart from sparing his guitar tech from having to tune one of his regular six-stringers (the Les Paul or the Strat) to the strange E-A-D-A-D-E tuning and back again in a short time, the main reason Jimmy liked using the double-neck for "Rain Song" is that while playing the six-strings, he would also leave the 12-string pickups on so that the 12-strings would resonate in sympatico, embellishing the sound.

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To further elaborate why Jimmy used the double-neck guitar for "Rain Song" in 1979 and 1980 even though he only used the six-string part and the song was no longer immediately following "The Song Remains the Same" in the setlist... 

Apart from sparing his guitar tech from having to tune one of his regular six-stringers (the Les Paul or the Strat) to the strange E-A-D-A-D-E tuning and back again in a short time, the main reason Jimmy liked using the double-neck for "Rain Song" is that while playing the six-strings, he would also leave the 12-string pickups on so that the 12-strings would resonate in sympatico, embellishing the sound.

That and it looked freaking cool as hell... ROCK & ROLL!!!

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To further elaborate why Jimmy used the double-neck guitar for "Rain Song" in 1979 and 1980 even though he only used the six-string part and the song was no longer immediately following "The Song Remains the Same" in the setlist... 

Apart from sparing his guitar tech from having to tune one of his regular six-stringers (the Les Paul or the Strat) to the strange E-A-D-A-D-E tuning and back again in a short time, the main reason Jimmy liked using the double-neck for "Rain Song" is that while playing the six-strings, he would also leave the 12-string pickups on so that the 12-strings would resonate in sympatico, embellishing the sound.

I see. Thanks for the reply. 

Leaving the 12 strings pics on didnt cross my mind, makes sense. Nice touch.

 

While we are at it, does someone know why Jimmy used a white telecaster for All My Love when it was in the same tuning as Hot Dog? Or was the white one a backup for the brown tele? That was only used on that Munich gig?

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I see. Thanks for the reply. 

Leaving the 12 strings pics on didnt cross my mind, makes sense. Nice touch.

 

While we are at it, does someone know why Jimmy used a white telecaster for All My Love when it was in the same tuning as Hot Dog? Or was the white one a backup for the brown tele? That was only used on that Munich gig?

White was the backup. The brown one probably had a broken string. 

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To further elaborate why Jimmy used the double-neck guitar for "Rain Song" in 1979 and 1980 even though he only used the six-string part and the song was no longer immediately following "The Song Remains the Same" in the setlist... 

Apart from sparing his guitar tech from having to tune one of his regular six-stringers (the Les Paul or the Strat) to the strange E-A-D-A-D-E tuning and back again in a short time, the main reason Jimmy liked using the double-neck for "Rain Song" is that while playing the six-strings, he would also leave the 12-string pickups on so that the 12-strings would resonate in sympatico, embellishing the sound.

I believe this was only for Stairway to Heaven because he used both necks in the one track. You have to be very careful not to hit the 12 Strings with you arm while playing the six strings. He more than likely just had the pickups for the six strings active because he only used the six strings.

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There is an interview where Jimmy Page mentions leaving the pickups on...it's an old one. Could be the Steve Rosen 1977 interview or one of the Trouser Press or Creem interviews. But I definitely remember reading Jimmy mention it.

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  • 1 month later...
On January 6, 2016 at 7:47 PM, Strider said:

There is an interview where Jimmy Page mentions leaving the pickups on...it's an old one. Could be the Steve Rosen 1977 interview or one of the Trouser Press or Creem interviews. But I definitely remember reading Jimmy mention it.

Yes you are right however I believe he was referring specifically to STH, though I don't see why he would not do the same for RS as it would add to the overall chordal resonance which would only add to the piece.

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