What guitar did Jimmy Page use on the Stairway to Heaven solo?

Surprisingly, Page used a Fender Telecaster for the iconic solo, not his Les Paul. The Telecaster's brighter tone gives the solo its cutting, singing quality that soars above the mix.

What amp is used on Stairway to Heaven?

Page used a Supro Coronado 1690T for the clean intro sections and a Marshall Super Lead for the overdriven solo. The Supro's warm clean tone and the Marshall's singing sustain create the song's tonal journey.

How do I get the Stairway to Heaven solo tone?

Use a cranked Marshall-style amp or high-gain channel. Set gain to get smooth sustain without fizz. Mids around 6, treble 5-6. Use a bridge pickup and add a touch of delay. The key is smooth, singing sustain.

Classic Rock1971Led Zeppelin IV

Stairway to Heaven Amp Settings

by Led Zeppelin

Stairway to Heaven's guitar tone evolves from delicate clean arpeggios to one of rock's greatest solos. Jimmy Page used a Supro amp for the clean intro and switched to a Marshall for the blazing solo, creating a dynamic journey through multiple tonal textures.

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What Makes This Tone Iconic

The genius of this tone is its evolution. The song builds from fingerpicked acoustic-electric cleans through crunchy rhythm to a soaring, sustaining lead tone for the solo. Page's use of a Telecaster for the solo gives it a brighter, more cutting quality than you'd expect from a Les Paul player. It's proof that great tone serves the song's emotional arc.

Key Tone Elements

Supro Coronado for clean intro (small tube amp pushed gently)
Marshall Super Lead for the solo section — full, singing sustain
Fender Telecaster on the solo for brighter, more cutting tone
Dynamic buildup from clean to crunch to full drive across the song
Reverse echo on the solo for ethereal depth

Original Recording Settings

EstimatedResearched tone data for "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin

Original Gear

Guitar: Late-1950s Fender Telecaster ("Dragon" Tele) for the solo, with Harmony acoustic and 12-string electric layering elsewhere in the arrangement
Pickups: Vintage-style Fender Telecaster single-coils (bridge for the solo voice (estimated))
Amplifier: Supro combo for the solo (widely reported; exact model uncertain)
Channel: single-channel combo input
Tuning: standard
Pickup Selector: bridge
Strings: 0.009-0.042 (estimated)

Jimmy Page has directly tied the solo to his Telecaster, while multiple reputable summaries associate the recorded solo tone with a Supro combo. The exact model remains uncertain, so this row keeps the amp family explicit and the settings estimated.

Amp Settings

Gain

6.0

Bass

4.0

Mid

6.0

Treble

6.0

Presence

5.0

Master Volume

6.0

Volume

6.0

No exact knob recall was located. These values are a defensible estimate for a mid-forward, singing British/American combo overdrive that keeps the Tele solo articulate in a dense arrangement.

Effects Chain

→

none

→

1.none — No specific stompbox chain for the core studio solo was confirmed in the checked sources; the space is primarily from the recording and mix.

Playing Technique

Keep the lead phrasing lyrical and climbing, with smooth bends, broad vibrato, and enough pick attack to keep the notes biting without turning harsh. The part should feel sung rather than rushed.

Sources+

Louder / Classic Rock - Jimmy Page interview excerpt on the Stairway solo and Telecaster use.
Guitar Player - summary of the Harmony acoustic, Fender Electric XII, Telecaster, and live doubleneck arrangement.
MusicRadar - Andy Johns on Led Zeppelin IV-era recording context and Page amp preferences.
Wikipedia - Stairway to Heaven metadata and production context.