Black Sabbath: Tony Iommi Setup REVEALED | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 76 | Thomann

[@user-ql1pc7pi9x]

Just heard on Tony Iommi's channel that Mike has passed away. Very sad to hear - seemed like a really nice person. R.I.P

[@johnpacino4491]

RIP Mike!

[@markusaurelius777]

@@johnpacino4491 Seemed like a really good bloke. RIP Mike.

[@petergrant7332]

R.I.P. Mike, you will never be forgotten .

[@Romano79]

Probably the best video about electric guitars you'll ever see on youtube..

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

🙌 That's awesome Eduardo, thanks! //Kris

[@MAP448]

It's really hard to believe that he was using 8's back in the 60's & 70's, but what do I know? Nothing. But now thinking about how he made those opening sounds on iron man, that would make doing that so much easier. Plus not having the feeling of pain when pushing down behind the saddles with using the leather tips, may be really helpful. Which is such a weird thought that having this disability would offer positive effects. He has overcome so much. What a True Guitar Hero. We love you Tony!

[@Bumbaclot213]

I believe he was using banjo strings back then, as there was not a gauge available to suit his new found style of playing

[@claudiopalma3710]

I was in that South american gig! Was in Santiago Chile and Tony Martin was doing vocals. Kiss was headliner while Slayer and Sabbath openned. The venue was a big old rail station and the reverb was huge there. I recall Tony showed UP with a complete different guitar but I never realized he went out of tune or something hahaha the hall reverb kept all those issues hidden from the crowd's perception!

[@johnsguitarmusicanddemos]

Tony Iommi is definitely a legend and I’m glad you made this video!

[@Ace8Three]

Special thanks to this episode. I'm a huge Tony Iommi fan and just got his signature SG.

[@antonioangeconeb3196]

Damn, did you get his Monkey SG or his epiphone SG line?

[@Ace8Three]

@@antonioangeconeb3196 New Gibson but not the custom shop model 😊

[@miketurnbull7410]

What a lovely man, though I gather he has now passed - RIP sweet man. Great insight and I look forward to watching more.

[@johndamore1]

Best video on KZbin. Bring Mike back for an encore!

[@finnmacdiarmid3250]

This made my day, hearing the intricacies beyond the artistic side of performing is kind blowing. Everything is optimized and it’s like hearing a secret untold to know first hand how the sound is achieved. Brilliant!

[@stesharr]

Went down to Mike's house a few weeks ago,he's just serviced my 2nd gh100ti amp.Lovely bloke.

[@HollisAudioLabs]

Great discussion with Mike! Had the pleasure of meeting him on the 13 tour and talk about Tony's guitars. The JayDee Custom Guitar Pickups are great and have them in a few SG's.

[@MrShadowofthewind]

I was inspired by Tony to make my guitar play as easy as possible, light strings, very low action, yea, it playes like butter, i will use all this info to improve it even more.

[@stanislavmigra]

I was really suriprised, that he uses "Martin's knot" in combination with locking tunners. But it makes perfect sense, when its explained all together. Also glad, that these "techs of legends" still setup guitars "by feel" and not by exact number. Id like to dig in deep into construction of those pickups, as they seems to be very unique. By looks (and sound) of things, they might be very close to actual Firebird pickups. So, you did the impossible and had Tony Iommis tech, so now you need to find way to Brian May's tech

[@edsmith898]

I met Brian's it was awesome I was a local stage crew. When I met him

[@darkness_rises1403]

Wish you all the best and a speedy recovery, Mike!

[@hearpalhere]

This was an absolute pleasure to watch! Kris, you did such a wonderful job - the whole thing felt like a conversation between friends or maybe a slightly older friend who is a mentor showing you a cool trick they've picked up along the way. I wish I could give it more than one thumbs up!

[@remembertheblacksabbath]

Thank you so much Thomanns for having Mike Clement on! Very informative and satisfying for all us Iommi/Sabbath junkies out here!🔥🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Our pleasure! I'm a huge fan too so it was an awesome moment for me. Cheers //Kris

[@fearlesstrooper8536]

I have never thought that Toni plays such light strings. His sound is amazing for this "thin" of strings. Just one word: legend 🤘🙏

[@kurleee]

That is sad to hear Mike has Passed. Just bought an Epiphone LP to restring for some Sabbath songs and saw this video. It's exactly the info I need. Thank you :) Went to see Sabbath twice in The End tour and was blown away. They sounded so good it was unbelievable.

[@TimB335]

These videos are fantastic! The subtleties of a guitar setup have a huge impact on feel and playability and this never seems to get enough focus - great work Thomann!!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Glad you like them Tim, thanks a lot! //Kris

[@mattjohnson6916]

Awesome interview! Tony Iommi is my all time favorite guitarist and the person who inspired me to play guitar. I would love to know how having the zero fret on so many of his guitars has helped Tony keep the intonation right with those lighter strings.

[@metalheadbill]

Tony's live tone is just godly, I would have liked to hear a bit more about his amp and effects settings but great video just the same.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks a lot! I couldn't agree more about Tony's live tone. Well, Mike pretty much told everything we need to know: the core tone is his Laney with all the knobs on 10 and a wireless in front of it. Done. :) Those few effects he's using are for certain parts in songs but not a part of the core sound. Cheers! //Kris

[@stanislavmigra]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses I would like to now, what mod was done on his old Rangemaster. Looks like, no one knows the guy who modded it and what he actualy did. From interviews with Tony, basicaly everything inside was changed, but he never tried to figure it out. From outside point of view, it migh even be changed to silicon transistor, as Tony many times said, it sounded consistent no matter where he played. Also the range seems to be extended, but I doubt it was "full range" mod.

[@torontotonto6189]

@@stanislavmigra there is a iommi pedal, just get that

[@stanislavmigra]

@@torontotonto6189 I want more knowedge, not more gear dammit :D

[@markusaurelius777]

@@stanislavmigra lol

[@bkhawaii]

Thank you for this fantastic interview. Great insight to some great stories, Tony's setup and sound! Mike is truly a living legend.

[@szaki95]

If I'm not mistaken the lighter B string idea comes from Hendrix, a lot of people who are influenced by him (including Tony) does this.

[@michaelward9880]

I'm not a musician, just a music lover. However, I enjoy watching videos that explain to technical side of music. Tony's story is amazing. He showed will power, initiative, and innovation to overcome his accident to become one of the all time greats. RIP Mike.

[@Freudenfreude1]

Amazing job getting Tony’s tech! As a bassist I’d love to hear from Geezer’s tech next!

[@iutchube]

Me too!

[@maximeputigny1135]

Yes, some bass tech tips would be great !

[@iutchube]

By the way, for the bassists out there, I really recommend Rodney McG's channel. He gives some really cool tips there on all things related to (metal) bass. kzbin.info

[@Freudenfreude1]

@@iutchube I’ll second this. Been very recently checking his stuff out and it’s very informative for metal bass stuff. He’s also very responsive to comments and questions. Helpful stuff.

[@iutchube]

@@Freudenfreude1 He is indeed.

[@szaki95]

I have one of those early amps, it has around 700V on the output tubes. The workaround i found without drastically altering the circuit is to put KT77 tubes in it, which handle up to 800V on the plate and screen grids as well and compatible with EL34s.

[@BruceHamiltonmusic]

I’ll use Mikes locking method next time I restring my Jaydee, fascinating to learn about Tony’s sound!

[@remembertheblacksabbath]

It was awesome to listen to Mike talk about Tony’s setup for sure!

[@muaythai4lifelife]

So will I on mine :)

[@generalawareness101]

I wish a separate vid would be made about his locking machine head technique because I was unable to follow that. What I saw was nothing how I do it OR how any video showed it to be done with locking tuners.

[@GingerTomRed]

Brilliant Kris, I can't think of a better one for these interviews. Nice that everything worked. See you soon

[@marcelbr815]

Oh my God, I was on that Monsters Of Rock gig - it was held in Sao Paulo - and I remember Tony getting so pissed off and throwing his guitar to the oblivion with a deadpan expression (a white guitar I suppose) during Mob Rules! I knew it was something related to technical problems, but so many years later we get the full story!

[@MosheAlvarez]

Do you know what tremolo bridge it was?

[@marcelbr815]

@@MosheAlvarez I can’t remember which system it was, sorry!

[@tulyar1043]

Probably a Floyd Rose.

[@DarrenWaters75]

@@tulyar1043 Locking nut says no

[@tulyar1043]

@@DarrenWaters75 Please explain, as Eggles Guitars at that time were available with the MK2 Floyd Rose bridge and locking nut, the bridge having the hardened steel knife edge inserts made by Schaller which are still available today.

[@donald-parker]

Great series! It is actually quite humbling/grounding to find out how basic the setups for the stars really are. No magic ... except in the fingers. Or sometimes even when fingers (or parts thereof) are missing. Maybe we should consider changing the old trope of "the tone is in the fingers" to "the tone is in the mind". I think it is pretty universal that guitarists with super distinctive tone always had a vision for the "the sound" before they achieved it. Brian May, EVH, Hendrix and others all seem to have some common backstory around tone. They had a vision and just kept pursuing it rather than compromising short of the goal or the gear they had at hand.

[@camerongreider6447]

Great point!

[@stoatystoat174]

Inspired by Django Reinhardt a friend brought him and carried on playing with index and pinky After recovery Asked for a fingertip to get made at the hospital by they said nothing could be done “So I’ve went back home, and I got a squeezy bottle and melted it down. Made it into a ball. Got a hot soldering iron. Made a hole in it. And got it down to fit my finger. So I’ve got this big ball on the end of my finger. And I sat there all night filing it down with some sand paper, to make the shape of a thing. Then I put some leather on it, because it wouldn’t grip otherwise. cos it was plastic it’d just slip off the string, but I put some leather on. Which made something like this (holds up fingertip) It’s a plastic and then leather on it, and ah, I use that, And off I went.” Tony Iommi - “Careful With That Axe” 1991 (Guitar Workshop)

[@mymanjimi]

RIP Mike 🤘🏼

[@iutchube]

I was there at that Monsters of Rock concert in Sao Paulo in 94 😍 and remember that guitar detuning. I remember my friends and I looking at each other trying to figure out what was going on. Loved the video. Lots of useful little tips. 🤘

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

No way! :D How awesome is that. I would have loved to be there. Poor Tony with that detuned guitar though... I know the feeling, it's miserable. But what a legendary moment Tony skyrocketing the guitar...😅 Cheers Marcelo, thanks for watching! //Kris

[@michaelgallegos8811]

Hey Chris another great video Bro Omg I can just see That guitar hitting the deck and breaking the neck,Tony is such a huge influence to me,You are Awesome Chris!!

[@jasonhumphries5716]

Loved this one! Anything about Lord Iommi I’m all ears!!🤘🤘

[@TomSJazzBass]

I'm enjoying this series quite a bit more than I thought I would have. Keep these coming. They're super cool

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks a lot buddy, so glad to hear that! Cheers //Kris

[@josearjona3728]

I really love this series and this particularone touched my heart. Great work, dudes

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks so much Jose! //Kris

[@teriakamoto]

Thank You ! Great Channel and 2 really nice fellers with a genuine love for this amazing Instrument. Hasn't broken a String in 25 years !

[@davidlavelle570]

Thanks for that! My absolute favourite guitarist!

[@stanislavmigra]

mine too

[@offroader22]

Great Video. Would be great to see one from Lemmy's tech,Tim Butcher. Get some inside info on his unique bass sound

[@jamiefloate107]

Awesome video!!!! Really enjoying these new ones from HB, great presenting and questions Kris! Mike Clement actually gave me some advice a long time ago about running a multi-amp setup, ended up going to Pete Cornish (who builds custom pedals and switching for Tony) to get a special AB box! Now i'm waiting for delivery of my left hand HB DC 60 Junior, and going to pimp to the max with an original Schaller 456 bridge (like Tony), Bareknuckle Pig 90 pickup, and 50s left hand wiring harness from James' Home of Tone (check them out!). Can't wait to do some shootout videos between the Harley Benton and my pimped Gibson SG Junior 60s with the same mods (except the wiring harness). But... GREAT WORK ON THESE VIDEOS!!!!

[@RiffLair]

Thank you for doing this! Tony Iommi my hero

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

My pleasure, same here! :) My dad introduced me to Sabbath and I was blown away already as a kid. This haven't changed ever since. haha! Cheers //Kris

[@generalawareness101]

WOW, loved all of this and wish a separate vid would be made about his locking machine head technique because I was unable to follow that. What I saw was nothing how I do it OR how any video showed it to be done with locking tuners.

[@OrangeMicMusic]

Thanks for doing this interview 🤘🤘. It blows away the nonsense myth that you need heavy string gauges to get a heavy guitar tone...I mean, if Tony doesn't have the heaviest tone on Earth, then, who else does?

[@chrisparker5278]

Portal

[@Mickcotton]

Mick Mars

[@cherrytreepermaculture756]

I have played 10-52s for decades. I can't imagine playing 8-8-11-18-24-32, I may need to give that a try on my SG.

[@CalvinMagnusMusic]

Tony Iommi aka the Godfather of metal guitar.

[@aurejones9546]

Great video. I actually just got a Jaydee Old Boy Relic and this is great info. Thanks

[@PooNinja]

🤘🏽Sabbath🤘🏽

[@capzisediam5845]

Yeahhh !!!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Yessss!!! What an honour having Mike on the show. It was SUPER interesting playing Tony's gauges and setup on that SG. 🔥 //Kris

[@PooNinja]

All the 8’s

[@mdub048]

love the appearance by Charlie. 😍😍

[@allboutthemojo]

So cool! Thanks. Tony is one of my all time favorites!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Same here! Thanks for watching it dude, cheers! //Kris

[@nickclement]

What a book Mike could write.

[@mst646]

I have a simple question: I'm curios about what guitar picks does Tony uses? Maybe you can ask Mike?

[@darkness_rises1403]

Yeah, that would be great to know!

[@MrShadowofthewind]

Tony tends to keep that a a Secret, there use to be a very ahort sectoin of a rig rundown, and he shared alot in it except for the pick size.

[@josephhughes9490]

Kris, These tech series with the masters of the craft are great. I enjoy their stories as much as the amazing tips. Great show.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks Joseph, same here! The stories alone would make me want to watch the whole video again. :) And then there's all the great infos from these tech legends. I love making these, needless to say. haha! Cheers //Kris

[@angrytroll27]

RIP MIKE!!!!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

I've heard the news. So tragic. 🖤 //Kris

[@1revwilly]

This was awesome! I have always wondered about how Tony's guitars were set up and then I find this video! I also thought that it was appropriate that Tony's guitar tech has a black cat! lol :-)

[@GothicXlightning]

much love Gothic lord iommi you ll always be my greatest personal Guitar hero of all times and Fying God damn BLACK SG for PRESIDENT

[@phogue1]

Love how Chris is like a kid in a candy shop.

[@kkfurtado]

Rest in peace, Mike!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

What a wonderful human being Mike was. I was so sad to hear that he passed. ❤️ //Kris

[@jeppej4265]

Try Mr. Gibbons next? Thanks for this one as well!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Uhhh sign me up for that! :) Thanks Jeppe, cheers! //Kris

[@seanet1970]

Interesting the story at the end re Patrick Eggle - I've got one of his artist model guitars from PE (got 2 actually, but that's another story), and it's a fantastic guitar. BUT, it doesn't have a tremolo arm, so I wonder if it is one that was retrofitted later, which may have caused the issue?

[@leonardm6858]

Great guest!

[@petergrant7332]

Nice one Clemmo, good to see you looking well , see you at a future curry night .

[@Barry101er]

A good one! Tech guys are great.

[@daveh9335]

Great video thanks for posting

[@jamesatkinson4386]

Mike is a legend and this was a great episode. So interesting. Unfortunately I sold my JD and so regret it. John Diggins produces guitars you can play all styles with. The fretboard was superb to use. I played 10’s tuned to Eb and the neck never needed adjusting after that that, no matter the temp…..24 frets too! Tony and Mike are a top team, thank you for the insights.

[@yankeesrule64]

I love these! How about Nuno Bettencourt's tech, or Adam Day a tech to many.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks! I have them now on the list. :) I'd love to have them on the show! Cheers //Kris

[@kw4555]

Brilliant,great watch👍👍👍✌️❤️😎

[@johncampbell3390]

I think I would kill to hear Bill Ward on Mob Rules. Hearing Bill do a Vinnie song would be awesome.

[@Bumbaclot213]

Is that one of Iommi’s John Birch guitars? The “Old Boy”?

[@kaputme]

Chris. come-On Mike Clement is a Legend, you could have at least asked him a few questions like When and how did he get into being a tech for Tony, what guitars does he play, any other instruments and then after that get into the setup of tony Iommi. Directly jumping to Set up of Tony Iommi was a little uneasy to watch. Just my opinion.. The rest of the show was great!

[@AJC-jo3ds]

RIP Mr. Clement!

[@jayrusnak]

You've got to have an insanely light touch to be able to play 8-38 for C# tuning. I'd pull those strings off the neck in E standard.

[@jayrusnak]

Never mind Eb going 32-28-18-11-8-8. That's some serious spaghetti noodles. And I guess it proves, at least with distorted guitars, that string thickness has zip to do with tone.

[@FizzzieCat]

Unfortunately the conversation got distracted by the finger thimble conversation and he never disclosed what gauge was used for C/C#. I believe Iommi uses a different gauge for C and C#.

[@mr.timebombman2230]

Tony had to use banjo strings in the early days after his accident because no companies made light guage guitar strings. He would ask all these manufacturers and they would say it wasn't possible at the time. Same with having 24 frets. Gibson would say they couldn't make him one with 24. So of course he had his luthier friend John Birch build them instead.

[@canadiancombatwombatthe3rd782]

Do Tosin next.

[@ruiseartalcorn]

That was awesome!!! :)

[@隠れた]

I used to play with 8 or 9s and tune a half step down and it was sooo slinky I can’t imagine how his guitar feels Not to mention I did this on 25.5 scale length

[@KaddysJamKave]

Sabbath! Hell Yes!

[@JuhaniPaasikangas]

Thank you 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@elinino5275]

What's that little spray can Mike has next to Iommi's guitar?

[@FizzzieCat]

I wish he was asked about the gauges are used for C#. He explained the D# gauge, but not the C#; the conversation didn’t finish.

[@ДмитрийЗерцалов]

Thank you for the movie! Is there a link to the director's cut?

[@VAL_HAL]

Hi, @thomannguitars&basses! Can you please ask Mike about white SG Custom with Floyd rose (he also has the same in black, I believe), he played this guitar in Radio City Music Hall DVD, how they put Floyd in SG body (because it’s too thin for Floyd), do they made body thicker? If so, what kind of Floyd do they used for this particular guitar? How many of them were produced? Is it possible to order same for a lefty player from Gibson? Thanks a lot for fantastic series, I’m watching every part of it ;-)

[@stanislavmigra]

There is "top mounted" version of Floyd rose. The pictures of Tony's SG with floyd are either on John Birch or John Diggins web page (what I remember, the FLoyd sticks out from bottom of his SG).

[@VAL_HAL]

@@stanislavmigra oh, ok, interesting. So, I wonder then, how it works, not like a classical Floyd, right?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, I'll try to ask Mike about that. I'm pretty sure they didn't make the body thicker. There are shorter than usual tremolo blocks for Floyds, I'm pretty sure they were using one of those. Also, since it's not a super strat, the Floyd doesn't have to sit flush with the body's top, which again helps with installing it on such a thin body. I guess the challenge is to keep the two studs stable, since you have to turn them up quite a bit to match the ideal "Gibson bridge height" with the Floyd. I'll come back to you, if I get any additional infos from Mike. Cheers //Kris

[@VAL_HAL]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses thank you so much, Chris)

[@stanislavmigra]

@@VAL_HAL its called Floyd Rose FRTX. Check it, its pretty elaborate system.

[@donsavignano4396]

Is it true that tony down tuned his guitar to get that heavy Sabbath sound?

[@juanmiguelolarte9965]

In the 9,10,12,20,32,42 set can i substitute the gauges 12 and 20 with 13 and 21 gauges?

[@Metal__life_]

Angus young or Hetfield guitar tech please

[@TaoGroovewitch]

Maybe I missed this, but did he mention what size Tony's picks are? My 1.5mm would go though those 8's like ramen 😂

[@elinino5275]

What was the brand of strings? Thanks

[@frontman62]

Very interesting

[@revsharp777]

D# tuning for Iommi: 8 8 11 18w 24 32

[@KozmykJ]

Hey Mike, Koz here (aka John), old techie from Performing Arts ... 👍 Good to see you still 'at it' 😉. Golden Viginia gives the best tone of course ...

[@PintaoLoko]

Sometimes Iommy sounds like 2 guitars making two different riffs or even solo parts or bridges. How?

[@jimmyholloway8527]

Tough to just sit and watch guys change strings but I guess it's kind of like "Hot Ones". Asking questions while trying to do something that requires your attention. You get little nuggets like, The NHS supplies Tommy's fingertips. To me, long time fan of The Sabs, that was maybe the most interesting tidbit. Made me laugh a little.

[@ronnienose8608]

Thank you Kris and Mike, loved this!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thank you Ronnie! //Kris

[@FizzzieCat]

RIP Mr Clement.

[@arkbandeira4656]

Ace Frehley pls!

[@MosheAlvarez]

What tremolo was on the guitar that didn’t stay in tune?

[@tulyar1043]

Probably a Floyd Rose. Some early Eggles had them as standard fitment. This being the one with the hardened steel knifedge inserts.

[@saarangnarayan123]

I didn't know Kris was a fan of the Winchester boys!

[@robertblanks9602]

Awesome!👏👏👏👏☑️👍

[@sonofromel]

Geezer you're next!