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
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.

Latest in Guitars
Buddy Guy [left] smiles as he takes a solo on his Fender Stratocaster. He wears a red jacket and black hat. Billy Gibbons [right] wears shades, a wide-brimmed hat and a red blazer as he plays his custom SG-style electric with the V-style headstock.
Billy Gibbons on the tip Buddy Guy gave him after they jammed a T-Bone Walker classic
 
 
Ibanez Alpha Series: 7 and 8-string guitars with an all-new shape, metallic finishes, and photographed here in profile against a dark gradient background.
Stylistically radical, Ibanez’s multi-scale Alpha series might just be the 21st-century prog-metal player’s favourite new guitar – but do you get the 7-string or the 8?
 
 
EarthQuaker Devices ZEQD-Pre Tube Pre Amp
EarthQuaker Devices and Dr Z team up for a tube-driven preamp that might just be the cure for whatever ails your tone
 
 
Brian May [left] leans back and feels a chord as he performs live with his Red Special. Steve Vai [right] wears a ballcap and looks pleased as punch as he shows off his custom 'Green' Red Special that May had built for him.
Steve Vai once played Brian May’s guitar “like a baby giraffe on roller skates” – now the Queen icon has gifted him his own ‘Green’ Red Special
 
 
Funny Little Boxes Caught By The Fuzz: inspired by Supergrass, this two-knob fuzz has a white enclosure, blue dials, and a comic graphic of someone being apprehended in a police car.
"Its simplicity is a selling point": Funny Little Boxes Caught By The Fuzz review
 
 
Fender CEO Edward "Bud" Cole wears a dark blue suit jacket and white open-collar shirt as he poses with a Telecaster
“To lead Fender is the honour of a lifetime”: Fender announces Edward “Bud” Cole as its new CEO
 
 
Latest in News
Bob Weir in 2023
"There is no final curtain here, not really": Bob Weir, Grateful Dead co-founder, dies aged 78
 
 
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 4: American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker Prince (1958-2016) and American guitarist, singer-songwriter and member of the Revolution Wendy Melvoin perform onstage during the 1984 Purple Rain Tour on November 4, 1984, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images)
How Prince and The Revolution turned the bare bones of Purple Rain into a lighters-in-the-air epic
 
 
 Iconic female rap group Salt-N-Pepa members Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper)
"Did not establish they ever owned the copyrights to their sound recordings": Salt N Pepa lose legal battle with Universal
 
 
DAVID BYRNE AND OLIVIA RODRIGO
“I actually cried when I heard his version of this song”: Olivia Rodrigo on David Byrne's cover of Drivers License
 
 
Pat Smear performs onstage during the FIREAID Benefit Concert for California Fire Relief at The Kia Forum on January 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California
“In the classic tradition…”: Pat Smear is out of upcoming Foo Fighters dates after “bizarre gardening accident”
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Raye performs onstage during All Points East at Victoria Park on August 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
Producer Mike Sabath reveals the surprisingly limited instrumentation in Raye's Where Is My Husband!
 
 

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...