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Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Dec. 02 2008, 09:47 This is aimed only to those who have seen the video version of Jimmy Page & Robert Plant's No Quarter, a.k.a. Unledded, as the particular song I'm talking about is only there (it's not on the CD) and it's obviously only in the video that you can see what Page does. During "The Truth Explodes" a.k.a. "Yallah", which was recorded live (or at least it looks like it) in Marrakech, Jimmy Page goes into some very distorted chords, and then he pushes a stick all the way to the left, on a strange device (the stick slides into a sort-of slit). The device looks kind-of old. When he does, the guitar sound wobbles (I can't describe it in any other way) and goes all around the speakers. What is this? Is it some sort of echo/reverb unit or is it just an external, bigger version of a pickup switch (in which case the going-around-the-speakers effect was created afterwards) ? I don't think I can post the section of the video where Page handles the device, as I don't know how to rip it from the DVD. Some software (which I don't have) would be useful... -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Dec. 02 2008, 13:21 I have seen that video. Its been a long time tho. We all know his Les Paul(s) were modified in many ways. Maybe it was run thru a real Leslie. Those were strange to operate. Maybe they had a theramin on stage and he used a magnet to mess with the antenna. Who knows? Good luck. Jimbo -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Dec. 02 2008, 14:04 It isn't a theremin, as there is no antenna - it's nowhere to be seen - and it doesn't produce any of the typical theremin sounds, it just affects the sound of the guitar. Also, AFAIK Page rarely used a theremin after his Zep days. As for the guitar, it may of course be connected to anything, as whatever equipment it's connected to is off-camera (like all other outdoors No Quarter performances). However, I don't think that a Leslie amp may be controlled through a very small, square-shaped box with a sliding knob (rather than a stick) - unless, of course, it's a custom device that no one other than Page is aware of. However, thanks very much for your answer attempt, Jim. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Dec. 03 2008, 00:54 Possibly this?: Gizmotron: The Gizmotron is a mechanical string bowing device invented by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley. Jimmy called it a "hurdy gurdy type of thing". Two versions were available: 4 or 6 strings (bass or guitar). It works by having a rubber wheel for each string and a key for each wheel; pressing down on the key engages the wheel with a rotating shaft. The shaft rotates the wheel which then excites the string. It may have been used on Carouselambra and In The Evening to get the drone sound. -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Dec. 03 2008, 09:02 Nope. It isn't something he used on the gutar itself. It was entirely separate (laying on a stool), and it controlled the output of the amp, rather than of the guitar. Nice try, tho'. I had no idea that such a thing as a Gizmotron existed. A few years later than that, someone else than Godley & Creme actually built that as a marketable object, and patented it as E-Bow. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

a_r_schulz Group: Members Posts: 425 Joined: Sep. 2001 Posted: Dec. 03 2008, 18:14 Jimmy's equipment at http://www.jimmypage.co.uk/equipment.htm lists a 'Maestro (!) Echoplex' tape delay, which may be the device you're looking for, since it can do really weird sounds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub4ysCT1Lws Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Dec. 04 2008, 16:40 @ A.R. Schulz: Thanks very much, that's it. However, the one used in the video by Page looks quite old, much older than the one in the video you linked. The sounds are nearly the same, tho'. During the "Yallah/The Truth Explodes" performance in the video, Page keeps pushing the knob all the way to the left as strongly as he can, so maybe the 'extreme' effect' is what he was aiming for. EDIT: this looks much more like the actual one in the video. Indeed, the page I took the pic from explicitly says that it was used in the Page & Plant No Quarter video. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

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