“It did all those Led Zeppelin tours and all the recordings. It did flippin’ everything”: Jimmy Page reveals his all-time favourite amp

Speaking to Guitar Player, Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page reveals the beloved “main” amp that got him through many live recordings and years on the road. Page crowns a “hot-wired Marshall”, specifically a 1969 Marshall JMP Super Bass 100, as his go-to saviour amp. Modified by amp technician Tony Frank in the late ’60s, it’s a piece of kit that survived “all the way” through the guitarist’s career. 

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“It was just the best amp that I’d ever had in my collection. And it was so roadworthy,” Page says. “It did all those Led Zeppelin tours, and all the recordings,” Page says. “It did flippin’ everything.”

Throughout his career, Page has been known for switching between various amp brands, such as the Marshall Plexi 1959SLP or the modified 1959 Supro Coronado 1690T which can be heard on Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut album.

Reflecting on his use of the Marshall Super Bass amp, Page names Presence, Led Zeppelin’s seventh studio album, as the “best example” of its sound. “It was an album we made in about three weeks, in Munich, Germany,” he says. “So I wanted to work very efficiently, and that entire album is all Super Bass, along with mostly my Number One 1959 Les Paul.”

Last year, Page and Sundragon Amps partnered to recreate the magic of the guitarist’s Marshall Super Bass. 

The Super Dragon takes inspiration directly from Page’s 1960s Marshall amp, featuring recreated transformers, New Old Stock GE 6550 tubes, Allen Bradley and Iskra resistors and Philips capacitors.

The amp also features speakers and a cabinet to help recreate the original sound of the Super Bass. 

Commenting on the collaboration, as reported by Ultimate Guitar, Page says: “The Super Dragon is a faithful recreation of my ‘Number 1’ amp. After recording the first Led Zeppelin record and creating sounds that define rock guitar, I needed an amp capable of reproducing this broad palette of sounds, including the light and the shade in the studio and a live setting.”

He continues, “Not only was the volume and tone important, but it needed to have enough power to hear the subtleties of various aspects of my guitar playing. I experimented with different amps until hearing about a fellow in the USA named Tony Frank who was modifying Marshall amps.”