Jimmy Page’s Marshall 1959SLP Super Lead Amplifier

The Marshall SLP 1959 has been one of Jimmy Page’s main amps since the 70s. Up until recently, many believed that this as THE amp that Jimmy used as his main with Led Zeppelin, but it has been recently revealed that his main amp was actually a Marshall Super Bass.

The first time Jimmy ever used a Marshall was around March 1969, but he didn’t start using them regularly until 1971. From around late 1971 it was basically all Marshalls, with an occasional Orange – at least live.

It’s unfortunately uknown to which extent he used the Super Lead compared to the Super Bass, but it seems that on most occasions he would have both of them on stage. Sometimes he even had two Super Leads and one Super Bass. But on occasions where he only had one Marshall on stage, it would be impossible to tell whether it was a Super Bass or a Super Lead since they obviously look identical from the front.

Mods, Metropolitan Museum Exibit

During the 2019 Metropolian Museum Exibit two of Jimmy’s original Super Lead could be seen on display. One of them had a serial number “11901” while the other had “1939”. Aside from them, a Super Lead with a serial number SB/A 10053 could also be seen.

Based on the information posted by the museum, the Super Bass was Jimmy’s main studio and live amp, and it was only amp of the three modified by Tony Franks. This lead to some confusion, because in a 1977 interview with Guitar World magazine, Jimmy stated that he used Marshall 100s, all of which were customized by Franks with KT88 tubes.

Marshall 100’s which are customized by Tony Franks in New York (he customized Hendrix’s amps too actually) so they’re about 200 watts, KL88s, or whatever they call them.

Jimmy Page – Guitar Player interview, 1977

Jimmy’s statement doesn’t go well with what was posted by the Metropolian Museum, but it could be that the amps that were shown on display at the museum were simply not the same amps that Jimmy used in the 70 – at least the two Super Leads.