Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts at the Kensington Gore Hotel, where they staged a mock-medieval banquet for the launch of their new album 'Beggars Banquet', 5th December 1968
Singles And Albums “This is where we had to pull out our good stuff. And we did”: Beggars Banquet – the album that made the Rolling Stones
Yes backstage
Artists Unpacking the technical genius behind one of the most iconic rock songs of the 1980s
Michael Jackson's original handwritten lyrics
Singles And Albums “I don’t think any of us knew how huge it was going to be”: The production tricks behind Michael Jackson's Billie Jean
Justin Hawkins
Artists “He wanted it to sound tinny, so he literally put the mic in a tin”: When The Darkness teamed up with Queen’s producer
The Power Station
Artists “The most expensive bit of drumming in history”: When stars of Duran Duran and Chic formed a decadent ’80s supergroup
Van Morrison
Artists How Van Morrison recorded his greatest song
Vanilla Fudge
Artists “We could have been as big as Led Zeppelin”: The heavy rock innovators whose drummer was a star before John Bonham
Paul McCartney
Artists “It's a sad song because it's all about the unattainable”: The ballad that sparked the breakup of The Beatles
Davey Johnstone and Elton John are back-to-back as they perform live, with Johnstone playing his Captain Fantastic Les Paul Custom
Artists Davey Johnstone on the making of Elton John’s 1975 masterpiece, Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
Tom Waits
Artists The DIY attitude that led to Tom Waits’ greatest album
DarWin
Artists “Most pop music is rubbish now”: Legendary drummer Simon Phillips on producing supergroup DarWin
The Rolling Stone The Last Time cover
Singles And Albums “It gave us a pathway of how to do it”: Sixty years of The Last Time – the Stones’ big breakthrough
Bon Jovi
Artists “When I brought up the talk box, everybody in the band laughed at me”: How Bon Jovi created their signature rock anthem
Bowie
Artists How David Bowie created one of the greatest songs of all time
Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush
Artists How Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush brought one of the most emotive songs of the 1980s to life
More
  • "The most expensive bit of drumming in history”
  • JoBo x Fuchs
  • Radiohead Daydreaming
  • Vanilla Fudge
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Guitars

TG215: The making of 'Led Zeppelin IV'

News
By Matthew Parker published 13 May 2011

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

New issue on sale now!

New issue on sale now!

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale now. Featuring a detailed look at the making of ‘Led Zeppelin IV’, Devin Townsend, Rise Against, Dennis Coffey (of Motown Funk Brother fame), New York Dolls, Children Of Bodom and Brian Setzer. Browse our gallery to see what else is inside!

Buy Total Guitar for iPad, iPhone and iPod

Buy a digital copy of Total Guitar magazine
(US readers click here)

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
The making of Led Zeppelin IV

The making of Led Zeppelin IV

40 years after its release, TG revisits what is arguably Led Zeppelin’s greatest album and interviews legendary engineer Andy Johns – a man who’s CV also includes Hendrix, Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones.

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Monitor

Monitor

All the people, news and noise emanating from guitar land. This month we have an exclusive look at some very famous guitars from the Hard Rock Café vault, a chance to win Sonisphere tickets, a Queensryche studio report and a first-look at some new Boss stompboxes... And that’s just for starters!

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Access All Areas: Kyus Lives!

Access All Areas: Kyus Lives!

TG caught rebooted stoner gods Kyuss Lives! on their recent UK tour. Read our review of the show and check out our interview with new guitarist Bruno Fevery, who’s faced with filling the big boots of Josh Homme.

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Devin Townsend: A Man Of Extremes

Devin Townsend: A Man Of Extremes

The former Strapping Young Lad returns with two albums that reveal dual sides of this fascinating player.

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Dennis Coffey: The psychedelic Funk Brother

Dennis Coffey: The psychedelic Funk Brother

He painted Motown psychedelic and then disappeared. Now this one-time Funk Brother is back and funkier than ever.

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
String 'Em Up: Children Of Bodom

String 'Em Up: Children Of Bodom

The clap, copycat guitars, ‘Malmsteen wannabes’… it’s all par for the course when Finland’s metal messrs get strung up!

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Learn to play…

Learn to play…

Read the stories behind the songs, get the sound with any setup and play along with backing tracks on the CD. Click the links for associated video lessons.

Full Tabs:
Nirvana ‘Heart-Shaped Box’, Machine Head ‘Halo’, Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘Breaking The Girl’ and Seasick Steve ‘Walkin’ Man’.

Video Lessons:
Led Zeppelin ‘Rock And Roll’
, Muse ‘Supermassive Blackhole’, The Police ‘Walking On the Moon’ and Black Stone Cherry ‘White Trash Millionaire’ (riff, no backing track)

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Huge gear reviews section

Huge gear reviews section

This month you can read reviews of the Sterling by Music Man JP100 (pictured), Hardwire SP-7, Peavey HP Single Cut SC-3, Group Test: Electro-acoustics under £300, Way Huge Green Rhino MkII, Fender Mustang V head, Head to head: Charvel San Dimas Wild Card Vs Rasmus By Suhr Standard S100, Airline Tux Deluxe, T.Rex Tonebug Chorus + Flanger, Tascam DR-05 and more!

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Head to head: Charvel VS Rasmus

Head to head: Charvel VS Rasmus

Forged in the 80s, the humbucker, twin singlecoil design dominated an age. Can these respins blast the past to shreds? Find out when we pitch the Charvel San Dimas Wild Card and the Rasmus By Suhr Standard S100 against each other.

Total Guitar issue 215 is on sale 13 May to 9 June

Subscribe to TG :: Buy TG215 :: Buy TG215 digital edition :: Where to buy TG

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Matthew Parker
Matthew Parker

Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.

Read more
Donovan
“We can’t let a wild boy like Hendrix in!”: Donovan and the song that connects him to Hendrix, Zeppelin and The Beatles
 
 
Davey Johnstone and Elton John are back-to-back as they perform live, with Johnstone playing his Captain Fantastic Les Paul Custom
Davey Johnstone on the making of Elton John’s 1975 masterpiece, Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
 
 
Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts at the Kensington Gore Hotel, where they staged a mock-medieval banquet for the launch of their new album 'Beggars Banquet', 5th December 1968
“This is where we had to pull out our good stuff. And we did”: Beggars Banquet – the album that made the Rolling Stones
 
 
NEW YORK: Todd Rundgren posed at a studio mixing desk in New York in 1974 (Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)
“Sometimes it’s best not to meet your idols”: Todd Rundgren’s Top 5 favourite album productions
 
 
Derek Trucks wears a gray blazer as he takes a solo at Red Rocks, Colorado, in 2015. A couple of months later he would be revisiting the Mad Dogs tour of 1970 with Leon Russell as Tedeschi Trucks Band headlined LOCKN' Festival with a historic set and reunion of the Joe Cocker and Russell-led band.
Derek Trucks on the unlikely triumph of Tedeschi Trucks Band and Leon Russell’s “intense” Mad Dogs & Englishmen set
 
 
Alter Bridge record in 5150 Studios, the studio that the late Eddie Van Halen built, courtesy of an invite from his son and friend of the band Wolfgang Van Halen
Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti on recording at the studio that Eddie Van Halen built
 
 
Latest in Guitars
Dirty Boy SilverBOY: This high-end all-analogue preamp pedal was inspired by a digital plugin
Dirty Boy turns the tables on guitar’s digital revolution with an all-analogue preamp pedal inspired by a plugin
 
 
Mark Tremonti plays a big chord on his signature PRS electric guitar as he performs a 2025 live show with Creed
“If I sit down with a Dumble, the last thing I’m going to do is do any kind of fast techniques”: Mark Tremonti on why he is addicted to Dumble amps
 
 
EVH Gear Hypersonic 5150III 6L6: The new all-digital modelling combo offers the same stylings and super-hot tone as its all-tube predecessor but is 16kg lighter
EVH Gear turns “holy grail” Eddie Van Halen amp Hypersonic with super-lightweight 5150III 6L6 digital modelling combo
 
 
Adrian Belew with the Fender Stratocaster that he and Seymour Duncan relic'd in the back garden
Adrian Belew on how he and Seymour Duncan made one of the first relic’d guitars
 
 
The Electro-Harmonix ABRAMS100 is a compact, guitar amp head with 100-watts, 3-band EQ, effects loop and bright switch, and it has a yellow control panel and black dials.
Electro-Harmonix presents 100-watts of solid-state power in a compact guitar amp head weighing just 2.5lbs
 
 
Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performs during a concert at Federation Square on April 11, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia
Flea teases his first solo album with a seven minute jazz rave single
 
 
Latest in News
Breland takes part in the panel Country Music In The UK: Growth And Influence at Shoreditch Town Hall during SXSW London 2025 on June 04, 2025 in London, England
People were asleep at the wheel”: Country star Breland lambasts record companies over their investment in AI
 
 
Green square on a cream background
"This record shouldn’t, strictly speaking, be possible at all”: Here's Autechre – reinterpreted on acoustic guitar
 
 
Lead singer and guitarist Robert Smith of The Cure performs on stage at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands 25th November 2022
“A run of shows to dream about”: Robert Smith announces line up for his first run of Teenage Cancer Trust concerts
 
 
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
“The whole thing that AI can do – if you think about it, it’s just really creepy”: A warning from Aerosmith's Joe Perry
 
 
soundtoys
"This is our way of saying thank you": Soundtoys is giving away six free plugins this Christmas, starting with Little PrimalTap
 
 
ALM Busy Circuits Pamela's Disco module
ALM Busy Circuits new Pamela’s Disco module lets you sync a Eurorack rig to a CDJ or mixer
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...