Jimmy Page is collaborating with Fender on replica models of a 1959 Telecaster that he personally decorated and used during his stint with The Yardbirds and during Led Zeppelin 's early years.
Page was gifted the guitar in 1966 from fellow British rock legend Jeff Beck as a thank-you for Jimmy recommending that The Yardbirds hire Beck as Eric Clapton 's replacement. Initially, the guitar featured a standard white-blonde finish, but in early 1967, Page added eight circular mirrors to the body. Then, a few months later, Jimmy removed the mirrors and personally repainted the body with a mystical dragon design. The "Dragon Telecaster" became Page's go-to instrument, and he used it to record Led Zeppelin's 1969 self-titled debut album and on the band's tours that year.
Page continued playing the Telecaster until 1970 , when a friend decided to repaint it as a present for Jimmy, but unwittingly ruined its wiring.
Fender is creating multiple replicas of Page's telecaster for release in 2019, including models featuring the dragon design and the circular mirrors.
Two models will be produced by the Fender Custom Shop under the moniker the "Limited Edition Jimmy Page Telecaster Set," and only 50 units of each will be made available. These models will feature personal touches from Page, including a handwritten signature and hand-painted decorations added to the dragon design. Jimmy worked for more than seven months with the Custom Shop's master builder on the replicas.
In a promotional video for the guitars, Page notes, "I wanted to recreate the original guitar so that it would travel beyond what it originally was." He adds that the replica is "so absolutely as it is, as it should be and as it was. [Fender] really got it 110-percent right."
For full details, visit Fender.com .
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Comments