It was fall 1970, and having finished much of the work on Led Zeppelin’s now-iconic Led Zeppelin IV, Jimmy Page turned his attention to a slew of upcoming tour dates beginning March 5, 1971. Though the album would not be released until November ’71, the band planned to debut future classics like “Black Dog,” “Rock and Roll,” “Going to California,” and the evocative piece that was to become their signature song: “Stairway to Heaven.” There was just one catch.
“I was so involved in creating the guitar parts for ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ on the acoustic guitar and two [tracks of] electric 12-string” Page recalls in Jimmy Page: The Anthology, “that I hadn’t been thinking about how I was going to perform it all live. That’s where the Double-Neck came in.”
Gibson had been making a model designated as the EDS-1275 SG Double-Neck since 1963 (Elvis Presley even totes one in his 1966 film Spinout), and while the guitar fell off Gibson’s price list in 1968 (only to be re-continued in 1974), Page was able to custom-order one, which he received in early 1971, just in time for the tour.
It’s this very same 1969 EDS-1275 that provided the model for last year’s limited-edition run of the Gibson Jimmy Page 1969 EDS-1275 Double-Neck Collector’s Edition. Custom-aged to the original’s exact wear detail by Gibson’s in-house Murphy Lab, only 50 Collector’s Editions were made, each hand-signed and actually played by Page himself, all for a tidy $49,999.
While those have sold out, Gibson is soon to announce its plan to begin producing the Gibson Custom Jimmy Page EDS-1275 VOS, with some differences in specs, starting this December, at the more manageable price-point of $9,999.
It’s worth noting that the Collector’s Edition, as well as the forthcoming Jimmy Page VOS model, are not mere approximations of Page’s instrument. Instead, using advanced 3D scanning technology, in tandem with CAD diagrams and CNC machining equipment, each and every component of the guitar, including the mahogany body, the ABR-1 bridges, and even the headstock logos, are scanned and then tooled to duplicate the parts on Page’s EDS to the minutest detail. And that’s not even to mention the minutiae behind replicating Page’s original T-Top pickups, where readings for ohm resistance, gauss (the magnetic charge in a pickup), number of winds, and more were all duly registered.
“All of the parts will match exactly what was used in 1968/’69,” explains Mat Koehler, Gibson’s vice president of product, “down to the precise material of the chrome-plated bridges, the exact saddle contour and shape, the butyrate [speed] knobs and even how the reflectors are mounted within those knobs. We now have what’s known as a five-axis CNC machining tool, which allows us to do incredibly intricate carvings, and this means a lot more attention to detail.”
Calling Page’s original EDS “the lightest solid-body double-neck I’ve ever played,” Koehler says his other first observation of the guitar when he met with Page at his home near London last year to conduct the scans was its overall condition. “Especially for a guitar that saw as much touring as Jimmy’s did, his EDS is in excellent shape,” Koehler says. “It was obvious that he’s very proud of it, and that he’s been a really great caretaker.”
SPECIFICATIONS
1969 Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Double-Neck Collector’s Edition
Body Material One Piece Mahogany
Body Finish Murphy Lab Aged Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Scale Length 628.65 mm / 24.75 in
Fingerboard Material Indian Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius 304.8 mm / 12 in
Neck Material Mahogany
Nut Width 42.8625 mm / 1.687 in
Tuning Machines Kluson Double Line, Double Ring with Keystone Button
Neck Pickup Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Custombuckers, Double Black Bobbins, Alnico 5
Bridge Pickup Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Custombuckers, Double Black Bobbins, Alnico 5
Controls 2 Volume, 2 Tone; Hand-wired with CTS Potentiometers and Period-correct Ceramic Disc Capacitors
Pickup Selector 3-way Switchcraft plus 3-way Switchcraft Neck Select Switch
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