{"id":98550,"date":"2025-08-27T01:54:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T01:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/98550\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T01:54:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T01:54:16","slug":"i-was-blown-away-with-the-distinct-tony-iommi-and-black-sabbath-sound-i-was-able-to-get-out-of-them-gibson-goes-back-to-the-beginning-reissuing-its-first-ever-signature-pickup-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/98550\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI was blown away with the distinct Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath sound I was able to get out of them\u201d: Gibson goes back to the beginning, reissuing its first-ever signature pickup, the Tony Iommi humbucker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gibson has unveiled a new signature electric guitar pickup<\/a> for the Godfather of Heavy Metal, Tony Iommi<\/a> \u2013 or rather it has unveiled an old one, reissuing the Black Sabbath<\/a> icon\u2019s much loved signature humbucker after a number of years out of production.<\/p>\n

Developed in the late \u201890s by JT Riboloff, Gibson\u2019s then head of R&D Department, it was a piece of history \u2013 Gibson\u2019s first ever signature pickup, and featured in Iommi\u2019s signature guitars<\/a> with Gibson.<\/p>\n

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Is this the ultimate aftermarket mod for anyone looking to give their electric guitar<\/a> (preferably, an SG) a power-up for premier cru riff-work. Paraphrasing Tony Iommi<\/a> here but it\u2019s one to file under \u201cYou know it makes sense\u201d.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited that Gibson\u2019s bringing back my signature humbucker, they were getting pretty hard to find!\u201d says Iommi. \u201cThis pickup came about after a lot of time spent in Nashville, just experimenting with different setups to get that perfect tone and sustain from my favourite guitars.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not exaggerating. At the launch event at the Gibson Garage London, Iommi said Riboloff had them locked in at the Nashville factory for the night. All the other staff had gone home. \u201cCouldn\u2019t we go and get something to eat, just to get out of here?\u201d wondered Iommi. No, sorry. Riboloff was cooking.<\/p>\n

But what he was cooking up was something special, a bespoke wind, inspired by Iommi’s John Birch custom pickups, but reaching for something better \u2013 or at least incremental improvement, the leitmotif of Iommi’s career \u2013 featuring Alnico 2 and Ceramic magnets, voiced for sustain and clarity in high-volume, high-gain scenarios. Like everything in Iommi\u2019s rig, it was tailored to his specifications.<\/p>\n

The Conversation: Tony Iommi & Richie Faulkner – YouTube
\n\"The<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to make sure it worked with my light gauge strings and low tunings, but still pack a punch, and the result has got some serious output,\u201d says Iommi. \u201cThey\u2019re on my signature guitars too, and I couldn\u2019t be more pleased with how they turned out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here. <\/p>\n

Gibson CEO and president Cesar Gueikian<\/a> is a fan of them. He has had them on his guitars for 15 years and counting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was blown away with the distinct Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath sound I was able to get out of them,\u201d he says. \u201cThey have such a great, clean look with the unique pickup cover, and we are excited to bring the Rifflord\u2019s signature humbucker back as we continue to pay tribute to Tony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Iommi: The Godfather Of Heavy Metal – YouTube
\n\"Tony<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

And Gibson is paying tribute to Iommi throughout August, with a documentary series featuring the likes of Scott Ian, Zakk Wylde<\/a>, Steve Vai<\/a> and Iommi\u2019s good friend Brian May<\/a> to debut on its GibsonTV YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to have the first signature pickup from Gibson back, and there really isn\u2019t a more fitting artist than Tony Iommi,\u201d says Lee Bartram, head of commercial and marketing EMEA, Gibson. \u201cTony is synonymous with the Gibson SG, but now the volume, presence, and overall power he produces through his playing can be experienced in other models too, whether at home, in the studio, or on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to Tony for his continued support and trust; these pickups are the result of our constant collaboration, and we look forward to what\u2019s next for our partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 2<\/p>\n

\"Gibson(Image credit: Gibson)\"Gibson(Image credit: Gibson)<\/p>\n

As for the specs, they are wax-potted. Back in the day, Iommi used to horrify Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward as he would wax-pot the pickups himself.<\/p>\n

On one occasion, they were staying in a caravan in Cumbria, Iommi experimenting with wax-potting to try and reduce the noise from his Gibson SG, Laney tube amp<\/a>, and Dallas Rangemaster setup. The smell was overpowering.<\/p>\n

Well, here, Gibson has done all that work for you. Average DCR readings for these are 16k. They come in chrome housings as standard, with four-conductor wiring.<\/p>\n

Available now, priced \u00a3199\/$229, the Tony Iommi Signature Humbucker is available now. See Gibson<\/a> for more details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gibson has unveiled a new signature electric guitar pickup for the Godfather of Heavy Metal, Tony Iommi \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98551,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-98550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}