One of rock’s biggest guitar tones came from no amp at all.
For our latest sound recreation, Noam Wallenberg and Jake rebuild Jimmy Page’s snarling, almost fuzz-like tone from Led Zeppelin’s "Black Dog." The basic recipe is deceptively simple: record the guitar direct, then run it through two 1176 compressors used in ways their designers never intended.
The first 1176 has its compression switched off, leaving its input and output controls to drive the hardware into distortion. Used this way, it behaves less like a compressor and more like a fuzz pedal.
The second is set to the famous "all-buttons-in" mode, engaging every ratio button at once for an aggressive combination of compression and distortion. Together, the two units transform the DI signal into a wall of sound that still has enough bite to make each note hit.
Noam and Jake build the chain one stage at a time, adding a Neve 1073 for gain and using broad, Helios-style EQ moves to bring up the low end and tame the highs. They also demonstrate how the 1176’s attack control changes the guitar’s perceived depth: A fast attack pulls the sound backward, while a slower setting lets through more teeth and pushes the riff forward.
The original part is famously double-tracked, though Noam suspects a quieter third guitar may be reinforcing the center. Jake tests the theory with a Telecaster, adding a subtle middle track to give the isolated guitars more width and glue.
Next, they recreate the chain with two UAD 1176 plugins. Matching the hardware settings produces a darker, bassier sound, but some substantially different EQ moves bring the two versions surprisingly close. Of course, once two 1176s work, the logical next question is whether four might work even better.
Their "super analog" rig alternates distortion and all-buttons-in compression across four hardware units. The result is spongier, more extreme, and far more usable than it has any right to be. To finish, Noam level-matches the original two-1176 setup, the plugin recreation, and the four-unit chain for a blind test. Can Jake identify which is which—and does the historically accurate version actually sound best?
Watch the full video to hear all three and make your own pick.