Slash Shares Secret To Dodge Jimmy Page Comparisons

Slash recently discussed how he tried avoiding being a Jimmy Page look alike by carefully picking his guitars and how he wished not to resemble the Led Zeppelin guitarist on stage while chatting with Guitar World.

Existing in a rock scene where Page and his peers, such as the late Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, defined what a model guitar player should be like, was surely challenging for the GN’R icon to establish his unique style in the industry, especially when people loved nothing more than to compare rockers to one another.

So, when Slash needed a 12-stringed-guitar while hitting the road for the ‘Use Your Illusion’ tour, the first thing that came to his mind, like any average rock fan, was the figure of a young Jimmy Page, standing on stage with a confident smirk while handling his famous double neck Les Paul and carving the iconic moment into the archives of rock history.

With that image flooding the GN’R guitarist’s mind, he soon realized he didn’t want to resemble Jimmy in any way, but that would be challenging while using a double-neck, considering Page’s name was almost synonymous with the instrument. However, the rocker was in luck as his guitar tech, Adam Day, found a way to overcome the challenge.

As Slash searched for the right instrument, Day told him all about an available black double-stringed guitar, and the guitarist quickly looked up the instrument to see what it was like. After a brief search, he realized it had his unique style and character, so the GN’R icon decided to bough it, which ultimately became the right choice.

He used that guitar, a 1966 EDS-1275, on stage while performing ‘Knockin’ On Heavens’ Door’ during their infamous tour in the ’90s, managing to easily click off with the instrument. The rocker continued by remarking he’s been playing with that guitar ever since, hinting that he has established his own image enough not to be compared to the Led Zeppelin icon while rocking it.

Slash on his black double-stringed guitar:

“The color is one of the reasons why I bought it. I really needed a 12-string for application purposes. I wanted to avoid a switching guitars kind of situation if I could, so the 12/6 felt like a great idea. But at the same time, Jimmy Page made that guitar famous, and I didn’t want to look like I was trying to be him by using the exact same guitar because it’s so recognizable and unique.

Adam told me about this double-neck that was available, and it was black, so I looked it up. It had its own kind of character and look to it, so I ended up buying that and have been using it ever since.”

Well, it’s hard not to resemble Page while playing a double-stringed Les Paul, but with the help of his guitar tech, Adam, Slash managed to find a way. And while he surely got a few looks about Jimmy’s use of a double neck, the pair wasn’t as compared to one another as they would’ve been.