If there’s one band that truly punched a hole in the fabric of rock and roll music, it’s Black Sabbath.
They opened the doorway for a whole spectrum of much harder sound that was unheard of at the time. One man that really influenced the way Black Sabbath was perceived was Tony Iommi.
His riffs are some of the most legendary in the history of rock, and this man alone showed many of us that perseverance in face of seemingly impossible situations can pay off.
Iommi almost gave up on music early in his career when he lost finger tips on his right hand. Not only did he manage to overcome this accident, but he ushered in a whole new age of rock and roll music while doing so.
Today we’re going to take a look at Tony Iommi guitar rig, and see what he used and still uses to achieve his signature sound.
Gear
When you look at his gear, Tony Iommi appears to appreciate simple stuff. There are no complicated effects chains, or anything like that. He uses very basic gear to achieve a powerful sound. First we’re going to take a look at his guitars.
Guitars
There’s one model of guitar that is synonymous with Tony Iommi, and that is Gibson SG series. The horns of rock were made popular by him as much as his colleague Angus Young. With that said, it’s no wonder that Iommi uses many different models of Gibson SG.
If you look at his guitar rack, you will find guitars like SG Standard, Black Gibson custom shop SG, Red Gibson SG, Jaydee Custom SG and many more variations of the same guitar model.
We understand why he is so loyal to this brand and this particular guitar. It was right by his side throughout his whole career. That old saying, ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it’ really applies in this case. However, Gibson SG is not the only guitar he uses. There are some Epiphones there as well. You will find P94 Iommi model along with Riviera 12 string.
Amps
In terms of amps, Iommi is a fan of Laney. He has a custom made amp that was made using his input and Laney’s hardware, which is the main part of his setup at the moment. When it comes to cabs, there is only one requirement he has. The speakers have to be Celestion.
Other than that, throughout his career he used a variety of Laney and Marshall cabs. You are probably wondering why there are no effects pedals listed. Well he just doesn’t use them. Only thing we know for sure is a pert of his setup is the Tychobrahe Wah pedal.
By and large
Tony Iommi is the perfect example of someone who managed to flip the rock and roll world upside down, using nothing but bare minimum.
You can easily recreate his sound without having to purchase a ton of effects pedals or anything similar. All you need is a good Gibson SG and a decent tube amp.
