By David Gedge
JIMMY RE-SLAYS THE DRAGON
Yardbird Telecaster
Jimmy Page Fender Signature Guitars
Most casual fans will recognize Jimmy
Page's Gibson guitars he played in Led
Zeppelin's heyday. However when Zep
formed in 1968 a Fender was his guitar of
choice.
Last month Fender announced it is col-
laborating with Page – to recreate his
famous 1959 Fender Telecaster 50 years
after Led Zeppelin formed in October
1968. Among music’s most iconic guitars is
Jimmy Page’s Telecaster, known for its two
“mirror” and “dragon” designs. It helped
launch Page’s career in The Yardbirds and
Led Zeppelin, and the guitar was used to
Led Zeppelin along with countless hit songs
on world-renowned albums. To celebrate
the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin and
54 illinoisentertainer.com december 2018
Page’s storied career as a guitar icon,
Fender will release four artist signature
guitar models throughout 2019, giving
fans and collectors the chance to own a
piece of history. Two models will be made
on Fender’s production lines, and two will
be produced in the Fender Custom Shop –
dubbed the “Limited Edition Jimmy Page
Telecaster Set.”
“It’s an incredible honor that one of the
most-respected rock legends has entrusted
Fender to recreate one of his most-prized
guitars,” said Mike Lewis, VP of Product
Development at Fender Custom Shop.
“Some of the most-esteemed artists in the
world work with the Fender Custom Shop,
because it is the pinnacle of craftsmanship
for the Fender brand and the guitar-build-
ing community.”
“This unique Fender Telecaster has an
amazing backstory and helped inspire
some of the greatest rock music of all time,
both in the later years of The Yardbirds
and at the genesis of Led Zeppelin,” added
Justin Norvell, EVP Fender Products.
“Now we’re giving a new generation of
players access to two great instruments in
honor of Jimmy, his storied career and
amazing musical body of work created
and performed on this guitar.”
Page originally received the Telecaster
in 1966 from Jeff Beck, who gifted it to
Page for recommending him to The
Yardbirds. Through the years, the
Telecaster took on several looks and per-
sonas, as Page customized it aesthetically
and sonically. When he first received it, the
guitar was undecorated in its factory white
blonde finish and remained that way until
February 1967, when he added eight circu-
lar mirrors to the body. Page played his
mirrored Telecaster only briefly in the final
years of The Yardbirds, and by mid-1967
he was ready to change the look. He
removed the mirrors, completely stripped
and repainted the instrument himself, this
time hand-painting a mystical dragon on
the body.
When Led Zeppelin was formed in
October 1968, the Dragon Telecaster
became Page’s go-to instrument and he
played it on stage and in the studio until
1969. It was also the main guitar used on
the legendary Led Zeppelin I album. Page
went on tour in 1969, and upon his return,
he discovered a friend had kindly stripped
the body and painted over the dragon
paint job. The paint job compromised the
sound and wiring, leaving only the neck
pickup working. He salvaged the neck and
put it on his brown string bender Tele, and
has since re-stripped and restored the
body in full.
“This guitar is so special and has so
much history, so I approached Fender to
see if they’d be interested in recreating it,”
Page said. “They really got it 110 percent
right, or 150 percent right. It's so absolute-
ly as it is, as it should be, and as it was.”
“Visiting the Fender Custom Shop to sign
and paint the guitars with Paul Waller was
a real thrill,” he added. “To see all those
absolute gems on the wall, it's a pretty
amazing experience.”
Among the four artist signature models
will be two highly collectible, limited edi-
tion Fender Custom Shop versions master-
built by Fender Custom Shop Master
Builder Paul Waller – one with mirrors and
the other with the painted dragon. For
nearly eight months, Page has worked
closely with Paul Waller, Master Builder at