Does anyone know how to do this? I've read that you need to have your guitar set up a certain way (3 lower strings at one set height and the 3 higher strings at another set height that is lower or higher, so you can play either the high or low pairs of strings), however I don't think this is necessary and i don't think it is what jimmy page did back in the day (although i have no possible way of knowing that for sure). I've tried bowing the strings with plenty of rosin (wax that is used on the bow) and all i get is random string noise and the rare squeal.
Steve-0
The Feb 04 issue of Guitar Player has an in depth interview with Jimmy Page and if I remember correctly he discusses the bowing technique and set up for it in the article
Immature? Of course I'm immature Einstein, I'm 50 and in a Rock and ROll band.
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Please don't tell me you bought a violin bow just to be like Page... :roll:
Page is one of my favorite guitarists and heroes, but I wouldn't go out a buy a frickin' violin bow just because JP uses one, and on one song at that.. I would rather spend my money on strings or something..
*rant over*
I think you need to set it up higher, like slide guitar high. And practice a whole lot, it probably took alot of time for him to master it. Maybe it only works on LPs or guitars with tune o matic bridges... I don't know your guitar though..
Stairway to Freebird!
Please don't tell me you bought a violin bow just to be like Page... :roll:
Page is one of my favorite guitarists and heroes, but I wouldn't go out a buy a frickin' violin bow just because JP uses one, and on one song at that.. I would rather spend my money on strings or something..
*rant over*
No, actually I play violin along with guitar, drums and many other instruments, i just thought it was interesting and i was curious at how it was done.
Steve-0
Well, a violin produces sound through tension on the strings and friction as opposed to a guitarist's pluck and vibrate. I doubt it can be pulled off well in the first place.
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First of all, rosin isn't wax. Second, you probably won't be able to get a good sound when you bow across all six strings. The middle strings won't get enough pressure from the bow. While a string doesn't need much bow pressure, it does need a little, and if you've got too many strings only the highest and lowest will make good contact with the bow. I'd say that three strings at a time is about the maximum for a decent tone, unless you find a way to exert a lot of pressure. The guitar body will probably get in the way. You'll have to find a way to isolate strings. Also, guitar strings are meant to make sounds that bowed instrument strings aren't, so the tone won't naturally be ideal. Playing guitar with a bow will take some practice. Playing anything with a bow takes work.
Some Zulu traditional guitarists have developed a "curious technique using the back of a plastic haircomb to bow and strum the strings, and sometimes to tap the soundboard to add percussion." It's believed that this style developed because violonists (the 3rd ingredient in a traditional Zulu street band together with acoustic guitar and accordion/concertina) were hard to find, so the guitarist did double duty.
Why stop at the bow? Nigel Tufnel uses the violin itself. That along with strumming the strings of another guitar with his feet. "My solos are my trademark".
Love that scene... And then he tunes the violin... 8)
"Trying is the first step towards failure." 
Please don't tell me you bought a violin bow just to be like Page... :roll:
Page is one of my favorite guitarists and heroes, but I wouldn't go out a buy a frickin' violin bow just because JP uses one, and on one song at that.. I would rather spend my money on strings or something..
*rant over*
I think you need to set it up higher, like slide guitar high. And practice a whole lot, it probably took alot of time for him to master it. Maybe it only works on LPs or guitars with tune o matic bridges... I don't know your guitar though..
Well, of course that's why he's doing it. It's not exactly a common thing guitarists do, don't tell me you haven't been curious about doing it yourself. :wink:
Anyway, I don't think the guitar he uses matters so much. If you've got Led Zeppelin "DVD", then you should have (if you watched the extras, 1st disk) seen Pagey use a Telecaster with a bow. Multiple times. And a decent chunk of his bow play involved hitting the strings with the bow rather than rubbing it across them. Watch what he does and it'll clue you in. The DVD has multiple examples of his bowing in the features and I think as background on one of the menus. Get that DVD, it rocks anyway.
As far as technical setup of a guitar, from what I understand he had his action set so the innermost strings had higher action than the outside ones. I don't have any electrics so I don't know how that would work.
If any of you other guys are adventurous you can try a plastic coat hanger as a bow. It works well for bouncing it across/hitting the strings; to do actual bowing you have to press sorta hard to get any sound, but it is possible. Don't ask how I discovered this. :P
-Metaellihead
Don't ask how I discovered this. :P
How did you discover it? :lol: Sorry, I'm just so damn curious... :smurf:
Stairway to Freebird!
I know it involved some form of boredom the rest is just me being nutty.
-Metaellihead
Man, using this pick is hard enough!!!
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