Tony Iommi
Latest Tony Iommi news, guitars, gear, music, performances, and collaborations covered by Guitar Radar.
Guitar Radar has 2 stories about Tony Iommi, tracking new music, tours, collaborations and gear. Most of it sits under music. The most recent story, from Oct 5, 2026, is “Tony Iommi sends ‘Stormwatcher’ into the dark with Jørn Lande and an animated video”. Coverage here goes back to Aug 30, 2026.
About Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi is the guitarist and main riff-writer of Black Sabbath, and a founding figure of heavy metal. As a teenager he lost the tips of fingers on his fretting hand in a workplace accident, which shaped how he plays and how his gear is built. He capped the fingers with thimble-like tips and moved to very light strings: sets of .008s for half-step-down tunings, put together at first from banjo strings until the UK maker Picato made them for him.
His best-known guitar is the 1965 Gibson SG Special known as "Monkey", with a P-90 in the bridge and a John Birch single-coil in the neck; later versions of it were refitted with humbuckers. He has also long played custom SGs built for him by John Diggens of JayDee Guitars in Birmingham.
Laney amps were his core amplifier from the start. Laney 100-watt, EL34-powered Supergroup heads were used for much of Sabbath's history, usually with the bass rolled off and middle, treble and presence turned up, and he later used Marshall gear as well.
Sources: Louder: How to sound like Tony Iommi · Reverb: Sound like Tony Iommi · Mixdown: Gear Rundown, Tony Iommi
Stories
Tony Iommi sends ‘Stormwatcher’ into the dark with Jørn Lande and an animated video
The second single from From the Dark pairs Iommi’s heavy central riff with Lande’s maritime lyric and a stark animated voyage.
Oct 5, 2026
Tony Iommi Announces First Solo Album in 20 Years, From the Dark
The Black Sabbath guitarist teams with vocalist Jorn Lande for a 10-song record out October 23.
Aug 30, 2026