Riff Tone

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Guitarmetal1970s

Original Gear

Guitar1965 Gibson SG Special (heavily modified, likely John Birch custom pickups, tuned to C#)

AmpLaney Supergroup LA100BL 100W head with Laney 4x12 cabinet

PickupsJohn Birch custom humbuckers (exact model unknown, likely P90-sized humbucker or Superflux)

Amp Settings

gain8.5

bass6.5

mid7.5

treble6

reverb0

presence6.5

Effects & Signal Chain

boostDallas Arbiter Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster (modified)

Notes

Studio recording, 1973. Guitar tuned to C#. Used a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster into the Laney Supergroup amp. No evidence of additional pedals or effects for the riff section. Settings and gear are for the studio recording, not live.

Tone Character(10)

thick and saturatedmidrange-heavy crunchaggressive low-end punchtight, percussive attackfuzzy wall of soundsustained power chordsraw and uncompressedBritish amp distortionmenacing and heavyno audible modulation or time-based effects

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, aggressive palm muting and precise timing, but does not involve advanced lead techniques or complex chord voicings.

Sources

What gear did Tony use on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath? - Reddit Tony Iommi's classic Black Sabbath guitar tone: secrets behind the sound | Guitar World Will a big muff sound like Black sabbath or are you better ... - Reddit

This tone has been researched 12 times by the community

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