During a conversation with Uncut Magazine, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page looked back on the time he was introduced to a distortion pedal, way back when guitar players had no ability to create the now-renowned effect without cranking their amps to ear-piercing volume levels.
The guitarist explained:
“It was a pivotal moment for my sound. I met this guy called Roger Mayer at a gig in Surbiton. He worked for the Admiralty and he was a boffin, really, into his music.
“He asked me if I needed anything for my guitar. He came over to my house one day and I played him a song with electric distortion and said, ‘I want to find a way to sustain it.’
“He went away and came back with this box with an on/off switch – that meant you could control the distortion.
“It was phenomenal. When I started taking it to sessions, the other guitarists were blown away. The blood drained from their faces – but the guys doing the arrangements loved it.”
Jimmy also said that he was no so impressed by Mayer’s “other box,” a modulator, saying:
“It was difficult to control in the studio from the guitar, so I said it wasn’t for me.”
Thanks to Music Radar.
