Kathamandu- Growing up, Slash aspired to play the guitar like Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. The Guns N’ Roses guitarist has admitted that watching guitar greats like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Rolling Stone Keith Richards play the famed instrument motivated him to pick up the Les Paul. The “Welcome to the Jungle” rocker still considers Zeppelin’s album “Zeppelin II” to be “one of the coolest records ever created,” having heard their 1976 smash “Whole Lotta Love” when he was just seven years old.
“I specifically remember hearing ‘Whole Lotta Love’ from ‘Led Zeppelin II’ when I was seven years old. And I attributed that sound – from what I felt was the coolest record I’d ever heard at that point in my life – to the Les Paul. Still, to this day, I’d say it’s one of the coolest records ever made. And I knew it was a Les Paul making those guitar tones because I saw pictures of Jimmy Page holding one – so that’s what made me associate the Les Paul with that kind of sound. Looking back now, I think that connection was pretty accurate! So I knew I was attracted to the sound of a Les Paul. I had that copy for a while and eventually it broke. I went through a myriad of different guitars to see what they sounded like, just exploring when it came to my tone. I ended up going back to the Les Paul and I’ve been with that ever since.”
