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Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and Equipment
Who Plays What - Who Plays What
Sunday, 23 September 2007 09:56

Tony Iommi is a guitarist best known for his tenure in the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He is the only person to have remained in Black Sabbath throughout the band's entire lifespan. Iommi, bandmate Geezer Butler and former Black Sabbath members Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice, have also toured under the name Heaven and Hell.

Let's look at what gear and equipment has been seen in Tony Iommi's Guitar Rig.

Tony on Gibson SG guitar

CoolClick the gear images for more info & to specs at Musician's FriendCool

Guitars

- Jaydee Custom SG aka No. 1, The Old Boy

- '91 Gibson Sg (Floyd Rose, made by J.T. Riboloff)

- '97 Gibson Custom Shop SG (black - 1st Iommi signature prototype SG)

- '97 Gibson Custom Shop SG (red - 2nd Iommi signature prototype SG)

- Epiphone P94 Iommi Model

- Epiphone Riviera 12 String

- Epiphone G-400 Tony Iommi signature model

Epiphone Tony Iommi Signature G-400 Electric Guitar Black

- Fender Stratocasters

Fender American Vintage '62 Stratocaster Electric Guitar Olympic White

- Gibson Barney Kessel

- Gibson Black SG Standard

Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar Black

- Gibson Red SG aka Monkey

Gibson SG Classic Electric Guitar with P-90 Pickups Heritage Cherry

- BC Rich guitars (1980's Custom BC Rich Ironbird, etc...)

- Gibson Tony Iommi Signature Pick-up

Gibson Tony Iommi Guitar Pickup Chrome

 

 


Amps and Cabinets

- Eddie Van Halen 5153 amp head (used in studio with WhoCares - he mentions this in the Oct 2011 Guitar world. Also seen using live)

EVH 5150 III HD Guitar Amp Head Black

- ENGL Powerball Head (preamp only)

Engl Powerball 100W Guitar Amp Head

- Laney Amp heads (Laney GH100TI Tony Iommi model)

- Marshall JCM800

Marshall JCM800 2203 Vintage Series 100W Tube Head

- eight Laney 4x12” cabs loaded with Celestion G12H model speakers

Laney GS412I 320W 4x12 Guitar Extension Cabinet Black Angled Laney GS412I 320W 4x12 Guitar Extension Cabinet Black Straight


{mosimage}

 

 

Effects and more

 

Tony's Heaven & Hell touring Effects

- Line 6 MM4

Line 6 MM4 Modulation Guitar Effects Pedal

- Boss RCE-10 Chorus Ensemble

- Boss OC-3 Super Octave

Boss OC-3 SUPER Octave Pedal

- Chicago Iron Parachute Wah (Tycobrahe Para-pedal clone)

- Korg SDD-1000 Delay

- Korg DLR8000 Delay (used for chorus)

- Roland SDE-3000 Digital Delay

- MXR Flanger

- Samson UHF Synth 5 system

- Sennheiser ew 500 G2 system

- Furman rack power distribution

- Hybrid John Henry's/Backroom Buck Booster mains distribution

 

 

 

Here is other gear that has been seen in Tony's rig over the years

- Tycobrahe Wah Pedal
- Shure ULX Professional wireless guitar system

Shure ULXS14 Wireless Instrument System

- Shure SM57 microphone (live guitar mic)

Shure SM57 Instrument/Vocal Mic

- Boss Over Drive

Boss OD-3 OverDrive Pedal

- Peavey AddVerb III Reverb

- Ernie Ball 6166 Mono Volume Pedal

Ernie Ball 6166 Mono Volume Pedal

- Pete Cornish Custom Foot Controller
- Digitech ME-14 Dual Equalizer
- Drawmer LX-20 Compressor
- H&H V800 Power Amplifier
- Klark Teknik DN3600 Programmable Graphic Equalizer
- Korg DTR-1 Rack Tuner

Korg DTR-1000 Rackmount Digital Tuner

- Rocktron Guitar Silencer

Rocktron Hush Super C Guitar Noise Reducer

- MXR stereo 15 band rack EQ

<MXR M-108 Ten Band Graphic EQ

- MXR Phase 90

MXR M-101 Phase 90 Pedal

- AnalogMan Chorus
- DOD Octave divider
- Ibanez flanger

Ibanez FL9 Flanger Reissue


- Boss delay

Boss DD-6 Digital Delay Guitar Effects Pedal

- Jim Dunlop Rotovibe

Dunlop JD-4S Rotovibe Expression Pedal

- Jim Dunlop Univibe
Dunlop Uni-Vibe Effect Pedal

 

 

 

 

Strings and picks
- black Dunlop picks

Dunlop Tortex Pitch Black Standard Guitar Picks 1 Dozen 1.0Mm

- La Bella guitar strings

Here are Tony’s string gauges on the live guitars:

For the D# tuning,
.008p, .008p, .011p, .018w, .024w, .032w.

For the C# tuning,
.009p, .010p, .012p, .020w, .032w, .042w.


Tony's personal recording studio (aka Tone Hall) mics:
- Shure KSM 44 and Shure SM 58 for vocals

Shure KSM44 Studio Microphone Shure SM58 Mic

- Shure KSM 32 for drum overheads and ambience

Shure KSM32/SL Condenser Mic

- Shure KSM 137 for hi hats

Shure KSM137/SL Cardioid Studio Condenser Microphone

- Shure Beta 52A and Beta 91 for bass drum (and bass guitar - 52)

Shure Beta 52A Kick Drum Mic Shure Beta 91 Bass Drum Microphone

- Shure Beta 98 for toms

Shure Beta 98/S Supercardioid Condenser Microphone for Instruments

Last Updated on Friday, 02 December 2011 09:48
 

Comments 

 
0 #18 Tony Iommi's ampsMike Z 2011-12-30 14:41
I just recently watched the metal evolution series episode involvIng black sabbath and they showed a concert of them and they wer all playing through Park amps which were made by Jim marshall
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0 #17 RE: Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and EquipmentDylan 2011-11-17 02:50
For the answer to your question about the 5150's,I'm pretty sure they were 5153's. Here's a video of him using one. Ignore the horrible vocals.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSEVKEz-Q00
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0 #16 RE: Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and EquipmentDylan 2011-11-17 02:45
Quoting Joey-Pagan:
Actually, back in the day (as in Paranoid days) He used Orange amps!!! I'd guess AD30's...


He never used Orange. He hates them. He only used them because the show that was used for the Paranoid and Iron Man music videos supplied them the amps as a backdrop. If you go back and watch some Beat Club videos in the early-mid 70's, EVERY band has an Orange amp or cab.
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0 #15 RE: Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and EquipmentDylan 2011-11-17 02:43
Quoting Bradley:
Quoting Stoneman:
What did the greatest guitarist in metal history use when they recorded Black Sabbath?


Unfortunately, I only know the guitar answers to this question. He used a Fender Stratocaster to record most of it, but one of the pickups (I think the neck pickup. Neck or middle.) failed and he switched to the backup Gibson SG. Unfortunately, that's all I know. I wish I knew more because the sound of the self-titled album was the one that I've been wanting to base any and all sound of mine off of since eighth grade. :sad:


Its actually pretty well known. Fender stratocaster, Gibson SG with P90's, a Laney Supergroup head with everything dimed except for the bass (put to 0), and a Dallas Treble Booster
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0 #14 RE: Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and EquipmentBradley 2011-08-23 02:10
Quoting Stoneman:
What did the greatest guitarist in metal history use when they recorded Black Sabbath?


Unfortunately, I only know the guitar answers to this question. He used a Fender Stratocaster to record most of it, but one of the pickups (I think the neck pickup. Neck or middle.) failed and he switched to the backup Gibson SG. Unfortunately, that's all I know. I wish I knew more because the sound of the self-titled album was the one that I've been wanting to base any and all sound of mine off of since eighth grade. :sad:
Quote
 
 
0 #13 RE: Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and EquipmentBlackPest 2011-04-30 12:26
in this video he uses a BC Rich

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiAUgz_uO1U

ps: sorry if you already know this information
Quote
 
 
0 #12 RE: Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and EquipmentIan 2011-01-08 06:25
Quoting Joey-Pagan:
Actually, back in the day (as in Paranoid days) He used Orange amps!!! I'd guess AD30's...


AD30, or the whole AD series for that matter, didn't exist til the late 90s. The amps in the Paranoid/Iron Man videos were OR120s.
Quote
 
 
+1 #11 RE: Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and EquipmentDylan 2010-12-20 20:05
They weren't theres. Beat-Club always supplied Oranges as a backdrop. I guess Beat-Club had some deal with them.

But yeah, in the 70's, he used Laney Supergroups with Range Master treble boosters.

PS: I think I read somehweres that Iommi hated the sound of Oranges.
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0 #10 RE: Black Sabbath - Tony Iommi's Guitar Gear Rig and EquipmentArmitage 2010-11-14 12:21
:-*

Black Sabbath used Orange Amps that were supplied for a show and TV shot. They weren't theirs.
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-1 #9 Ian 2010-09-01 23:26
Watch the videos for Iron man or Paranoid. Both Tony and Geezer are using Orange
Quote
 
 
0 #8 BurkeyHope 2010-08-26 05:50
About 6:15 in, you can see Tony using some orange amplifiers : www.youtube.com/.../
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+1 #7 irocn man vidfanfan 2010-02-28 08:33
int his iron man vid i think he uses orange
www.youtube.com/.../
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-1 #6 Prove itpt 2010-01-17 05:15
Prove it, photos videos, gimmie evidence
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+2 #5 Iommi\'s Old rigJoey-Pagan 2010-01-16 23:25
Actually, back in the day (as in Paranoid days) He used Orange amps!!! I'd guess AD30's...
Quote
 
 
+1 #4 Casey 2009-05-01 08:38
Tony probably used his SG and plugged it into a Laney amp with a Dallas Arbiter Rangemaster Treble Booster in the chain. Tony plugged the SG into the bass input of his amps.
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+3 #3 Guitars...MaestroJericho 2009-04-04 18:21
Tony does not use the Epiphone.
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+1 #2 Here it isStar Riffs 2008-08-13 06:47 Quote
 
 
0 #1 Slave to the master Tony IommiStoneman 2008-03-24 14:01
What did the greatest guitarist in metal history use when they recorded Black Sabbath?
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