LZFord Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Does anyone know exactly what he used? I believe they were .008 guages, but anyone know the brand and material? Also, where can I buy a bow without having to buy a violin with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agamemnon Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 He has said Ernie Ball Super Slinkies, and I heard somewhere that he used .009s from 1975 on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Poobah Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Does anyone know exactly what he used? I believe they were .008 guages, but anyone know the brand and material? Also, where can I buy a bow without having to buy a violin with it? He uses Ernie Ball Slinkys, which are nickel-plated steel. I've also heard heard he uses .008s. Any music store can sell you a bow, whether or not they sell violins. I'd suggest a cheap one -- you're gonna tear up the hair by using it on roundwound strings. My store sells starter bows for about $25.00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep4life Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 He uses Ernie Ball Slinkys, which are nickel-plated steel. I've also heard heard he uses .008s. Any music store can sell you a bow, whether or not they sell violins. I'd suggest a cheap one -- you're gonna tear up the hair by using it on roundwound strings. My store sells starter bows for about $25.00. ive currently got ernie super slinkys on my strat and extra slinkys on my Les Paul. Both of which are excellent strings. One thing i do have problems with is the rate you really need to replace them. I only put the extra slinkys on 3 weeks ago and theyre aleady going out of tune. The extra's are also the ones that are 8 guage, ridiculously bendy, good sound, top strings. But just abit impractical if you aren't a musician. I'm still gonna use them but 10 bucks and a restring every 3 weeks.... and i guess if you were playing more than i am it would have to be much less time than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieshoes Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 He used 8's up until 75-77 and then switched to 9's. As for brand, he used whatever he could find on tour and whatever his guitar tech put on. The brand of strings are never the secret. The playing and technique is. Sure, you want to get 8's, but the brand doesn't matter whatsoever. You're going to wear the strings out in a week anyway. So, buy whatever brands you can until you find the one that does the "sound" enough for what you're doing. And, if you want to go the Page imitation route, then you need to get a Cello bow, not a Violin bow. He most definitely used a Cello bow, which are larger and longer than Violin bows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No1ZeppelinFan Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 He used 8's up until 75-77 and then switched to 9's. As for brand, he used whatever he could find on tour and whatever his guitar tech put on. The brand of strings are never the secret. The playing and technique is. Sure, you want to get 8's, but the brand doesn't matter whatsoever. You're going to wear the strings out in a week anyway. So, buy whatever brands you can until you find the one that does the "sound" enough for what you're doing. And, if you want to go the Page imitation route, then you need to get a Cello bow, not a Violin bow. He most definitely used a Cello bow, which are larger and longer than Violin bows. I'm sure it is and always has been a Violin Bow as David McCallum Sr was the one who showed him the Bow trick. Someone will elaborate more I'm sure? David McCallum Sr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieshoes Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I'm sure it is and always has been a Violin Bow as David McCallum Sr was the one who showed him the Bow trick. Someone will elaborate more I'm sure? David McCallum Sr. Nope, it's a cello bow. Check the size and thickness. As for where he learned the trick, it's obvious that Page copied the trick from Eddie Phillips of the band Creation. Their hit "Makin' Time" was released in 1966, a full year before Page had anything to do with a bow on the guitar. And, at the time, it was a popular hit. And Phillips and the Creation were very popular and well-known in the London pop scene as well, at the time just as popular as the Kinks or the Who. It just so happened that the Creation never went much further, success-wise. Page was immersed in all the same music as everyone else at the time. He got on board with copying the 50's-60's blues just as everyone else did, he went psychedelic just as everyone else did, and he went folk just as everyone else did. So, there's no chance that he just hadn't heard the song, or didn't know the group. The story about Page having "just so happened" to have stumbled on the trick from a session with McCallum is one of many Page/Zeppelin myths, spread around by the band to give their act a sense of originality. Up there with the lack of proper songwriting credits for songs they covered, and the numerous stories about the band which were put out there for one reason or another (see the Mudshark incident, or the story about Plant's voice still being able to be heard in the venue after his mic died). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kashmir96 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 He has said Ernie Ball Super Slinkies, and I heard somewhere that he used .009s from 1975 on. they are really good guitar strings i have them. eric clapton,angus young,joe perry and jack white use them as well as jimmy page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookytooth Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 First off, it's a cello bow. Second if you're paying $10 for a set of Super Slinkys you need to find a new music shop. The MSRP is only $8.50 and no one (except you) pays suggested retail. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ernie-Ball-222...780-i1122277.gc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Poobah Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 The brand of strings are never the secret. The playing and technique is. Sure, you want to get 8's, but the brand doesn't matter whatsoever. You're going to wear the strings out in a week anyway. So, buy whatever brands you can until you find the one that does the "sound" enough for what you're doing. I used to think the same thing. I use GHS, so when I bought my Les Paul a couple of years ago the first thing I did was to swap the strings for some Boomer 10's. I liked the gauge better than what had been on there, but the new strings sounded too brilliant and lacked the warmth of the original strings. Next I tried Gibson Vintage Reissue, but that wasn't what I was looking for, either. Then came d'Addario EXL110s, then DR Tite-Fits, but still no match. The last thing I tried was a set of Regular Slinkys. Bingo! Perfect match. Now I buy Slinkys for my LP, and GHS Boomers for everything else. Everything else you've said is spot-on. Good tone starts with the hands. Guitars, strings, pickups, cables, amps and effects all have an influence, but not nearly the influence as the player, himself. And, like you said, strings will mellow after a few days, making it more difficult to hear the differences between the brands. But there are differences, subtle at times, dramatic at others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Poobah Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 The worst strings I've ever used are GHS. The strings from one set to another are visually heavier are lighter. Seriously? I've used them for years and never noticed any inconsistency in gauging. I get a string with an imperfection every now and then, but I could say the same of most brands, not just GHS. That reminds me of an amusing story. My former Marshall rep used to work at a music store in Dallas, and whenever Eric Johnson was in town he would stop by to pick up some strings. Instead of buying them by the pack, he bought individual strings, taking each out of its envelope, uncoiling it and feeling it for imperfections. Occasionally he would find a hump or a tarnished spot and would call my rep over with panicked cries of "You see?!?! You see?!?!" My rep would feel the string and say, "You're absolutely right -- but you're gonna go nuts!" So where are they now? Eric Johnson is a world-famous guitar virtuoso, and my rep is enjoying his retirement touring the vineyards of Europe. Neither sounds like a bad deal if you ask me, but it goes to show just how far perfectionism can get you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep4life Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 First off, it's a cello bow. Second if you're paying $10 for a set of Super Slinkys you need to find a new music shop. The MSRP is only $8.50 and no one (except you) pays suggested retail. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ernie-Ball-222...780-i1122277.gc If ur talking about me paying 10 bucks maybe you outta check where im from before insulting me. 10 aus dollars is about 7.50 US dollars so yeh... what was that u were saying about suggested retail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookytooth Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 If ur talking about me paying 10 bucks maybe you outta check where im from before insulting me. 10 aus dollars is about 7.50 US dollars so yeh... what was that u were saying about suggested retail? Not insulting you mate, just your music shop. No matter where you are from, you shouldn't be paying more than $5 for a set of slinkys. Buying in bulk will save you on shipping. It's nice to support the local economy, but if they are robbing you blind, screw em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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