Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath

On my vacation, I went record shopping and picked up a few things. One of which was a vinyl version of Black Sabbath’s classic “Vol 4″ album. This album is already one of my favorites as it features awesome riffs and great all-around playing by the whole band. It is arguably, (along with Sabbath’s Master of Reality), THE landmark album for the “stoner rock” genre.

For me though, the star of the band has always been guitarist Tony Iommi. Most people know by now that Iommi basically created the heavy metal riff. All the members are great, but it’s Iommi’s overall vibe that carries the songs. I’d definitely love to have Iommi’s tone, and on a limited budget, as I know he uses something crazy, like 6 Laney amplifiers on-stage.

Regardless, his sound is pretty stripped down aside from the loudness of his live setup. The most impressive sounds he gets on this record are the pure Gibson SG with overdrive and wah run through a tube head, just straightforward. I am sure his setup has changed drastically over the years but this record really reminds you how awesome he is. It also has the cleanest sound of the classic first 4 Black Sabbath albums. If you haven’t heard it, pick it up at some point.

His setup at guitargeek.com (not sure of the accuracy of it)…

Tony Iommi’s Live Setup Circa 1971

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