Question:
I got an Iommi shorly after they came out and put it in an SG Standard. Pretty nice overdriven tone…absolutley awful clean tone. should have checked Harmony Central first, because others have had the same experience. I still have it sitting in a drawer if anybody wants to buy it. Maybe I’ll stick it on Ebay. My point…it popular because of good marketing. The tone is very specific, though, and I suspect there a a few more disappointed users out there than just me. I didn’t wire it for split coil, so I can’t comment. My guess is that it would not sound too good. McT
I have to agree about the specific tone, and about being disappointed with the clean tone. I’ve since discovered that the tone knob does alot to affect the tone of this pickup. Sounds stupid, but the tone knob was useless with my stock epiphone pickup. I always played with the tone and volume at "10". With the Iommi, I’ve found that I can get good clean tone, but I gotta play with the knobs. (Does anyone know why that is?) I will be coil tapping, I’ll let y’all know how it works out. Regarding Harmony Central, I should have checked there as well. I DID read a lot of reviews that rated the Iommi a solid 10 out of 10. Ah well, the tweakage continues…
Response:
I got an Iommi shorly after they came out and put it in an SG Standard. Pretty nice overdriven tone…absolutley awful clean tone. should have checked Harmony Central first, because others have had the same experience. I still have it sitting in a drawer if anybody wants to buy it. Maybe I’ll stick it on Ebay. My point…it popular because of good marketing. The tone is very specific, though, and I suspect there a a few more disappointed users out there than just me. I didn’t wire it for split coil, so I can’t comment. My guess is that it would not sound too good. McT
Response:
When they were "on" Tony, Geezer and Bill could really groove. They had a point counter point thing going that was excellent. Look at NIB. there is a point in the song (bridge?) before the solo where Geezer does a descending run in four measures while Tony plays the same scale riff and they switch and Tony ascends up the scale with Geezer playing in one position. (I don’t know if I explained it right, but the interplay is awesome.) I’ve seen bands play it where the bass doubles whatever the guitar is playing (Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!). Tony just can’t do it without geezer and bill. Now that I think about it, this cam be said for most of the classic rock guys, once they lose the original rhythm section, it’s over. (Page comes to mind, Gilmour although I like his solo stuff)
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Yeah, I’ve never heard anyone do Children of the Grave right, and that included Racer X and Randy Rhoads. Same thing with EVH, I heard George Lynch do a cover of Panama. Sucked big time, He couldn’t do the riff. Yup, and just because something isn’t technically hard to execute doesn’t mean it doesn’t rock. Iron Man and Smoke on the Water would probably make most people’s top ten kick ass riffs of all time lists… And I agree with points being made about some solos being difficult to duplicate even if they aren’t ‘technically’ difficult. But on the other hand, what’s the point in doing a cover if you don’t mangle it, anyway? Seriously. For example, my favorite tune on the ‘Nativity in Black’ Sabbath tribute album is 1000 Homo DJ’s version of Supernaut, it’s absolutely awesome but only vaguely related to the original. Some of the more traditional/closer covers on the album weren’t as interesting because no matter how good you are you can’t out-sabbath Sabbath. If you know what I mean. 
Almost every kick ass cover I can name mutated the original into a bizarre new form. That’s what makes them cool.
Response:
Yeah, I’ve never heard anyone do Children of the Grave right, and that included Racer X and Randy Rhoads. Same thing with EVH, I heard George Lynch do a cover of Panama. Sucked big time, He couldn’t do the riff.
Yup, and just because something isn’t technically hard to execute doesn’t mean it doesn’t rock. Iron Man and Smoke on the Water would probably make most people’s top ten kick ass riffs of all time lists… And I agree with points being made about some solos being difficult to duplicate even if they aren’t ‘technically’ difficult. But on the other hand, what’s the point in doing a cover if you don’t mangle it, anyway? Seriously. For example, my favorite tune on the ‘Nativity in Black’ Sabbath tribute album is 1000 Homo DJ’s version of Supernaut, it’s absolutely awesome but only vaguely related to the original. Some of the more traditional/closer covers on the album weren’t as interesting because no matter how good you are you can’t out-sabbath Sabbath. If you know what I mean. Almost every kick ass cover I can name mutated the original into a bizarre new form. That’s what makes them cool.
Response:
It just goes to prove, you’ve got to "feel" the song to play it well. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Yeah, I’ve never heard anyone do Children of the Grave right, and that included Racer X and Randy Rhoads. Same thing with EVH, I heard George Lynch do a cover of Panama. Sucked big time, He couldn’t do the riff.
Response:
Yeah, I’ve never heard anyone do Children of the Grave right, and that included Racer X and Randy Rhoads. Same thing with EVH, I heard George Lynch do a cover of Panama. Sucked big time, He couldn’t do the riff.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Is the faster solo to Iron Man considered "easy". I think it is easy compared to the shredders we have these days. But I don’t think it’s that easy to pull off live. Maybe you can, but I would have to seriously woodshed to get it down. Then again I play solo from the hip, don’t really enjoy learning other’s solos note for note. A lot of Sabbath is easy to play, but it is also easy to play badly. There is a certain swing to Fairies Wear Boots that I’ve seen a few bands miss. It’s not enough to play the chords, there is the groove element. Iommi was never considered a great guitar player. With songs like Ironman as mentioned before… yes, beginners learn that song because it’s ‘e a s y’ to play. I’ve never known anyone who ever thought of Iommi as anything but a player in Black Sabbath. And listening to Black Sabbath was a guilty pleasure. A "B" class band that was fun to listen to (especially if you are/were a young impressionable teeny bopper)… as long as no one caught you doing it! Parker Iommi is definately on my top ten. He is the father of heavy metal guitar and he revolutionized guitar playing. If he wasn’t important then why would Gibson give him a signature pick-up. You have to be doing something right to get Gibson signature anything. Plus his new album should be great. Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Have you heard Iommi’s solo part on a concert? That’s absolutely bad – no content solo. The rhythm guitar that he does is really great, though Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? probably because iommi tends to be underated. he’s not shred king but what’s the first song almost everyone learns on guitar: iron man (ok, so we also learned smoke on the water same goes for blackmore as being underated) What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? personal taste i suppose…i’ve never heard the pickup (other than iommi’s stuff i guess) but i’ve read good reviews on it. Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? yes. specifically, the LP has more wood than an SG and going from an epiphone to the ‘real deal’ would practically change everything. I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup? no sorry. if gibson makes the pickup (they do don’t they?) email them for schematics..they should be happy to give you some. — -Refuse To Crawl- Before you buy.
exactly..he’s underated because he writes excellent riffs and is a monster rhythm player. the only solos i’ve heard are overly fast pentatonic stuff that wasn’t very interesting (some of his more subdued stuff was good though). but check out the atmosphere and effects he gets off of ‘mob rules’ or ‘born again’. we all know ozzy was the only ‘real’ sabbath vocalist but dio and gilliam sure did go a long way in filling his shoes! — "C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me." -Cookie Monster -Refuse To Crawl- My Cheesey Linux Web Page: http://web.tampabay.rr.com/linuxkrush/ Before you buy.
Response:
I wasn’t really asking everyone’s opinion of Iommi. That much is obvious. My main question was, in light of the prevailing opinion that Iommi is/was a "B" player, why is the pickup so popular?
Because, irrespective of your opinion on Iommi as an axeman (and, for what it’s worth, I think Iommi’s riffs beat shred sessions any day), a lot of people like his guitar tone. It still ranks among the "heaviest" sounds around (partly because he was downtuning 20 years before nu-metal came along, but still…) but is fairly versatile, as someone pointed out.
Response:
After last night, my appreciation of this pickup has greatly increased. While the full on distorted tone is the Iommi tone, I have been discovering many tone possibilities. Like someone recently posted, I never used to used the tone pot and usually kept the volume at max. Well with the stock Epiphone pickup, this setting was the best I could do. With the Iommi, well maybe I’m playing with the tone more, but it apparently has some range.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
Response:
He gave them the pickup, and asked if they could copy it. They did, liked it and decided to mass produce.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Iommi is definately on my top ten. He is the father of heavy metal guitar and he revolutionized guitar playing. If he wasn’t important then why would Gibson give him a signature pick-up. You have to be doing something right to get Gibson signature anything. Plus his new album should be great. Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
Response:
Is the faster solo to Iron Man considered "easy". I think it is easy compared to the shredders we have these days. But I don’t think it’s that easy to pull off live. Maybe you can, but I would have to seriously woodshed to get it down. Then again I play solo from the hip, don’t really enjoy learning other’s solos note for note. A lot of Sabbath is easy to play, but it is also easy to play badly. There is a certain swing to Fairies Wear Boots that I’ve seen a few bands miss. It’s not enough to play the chords, there is the groove element.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Iommi was never considered a great guitar player. With songs like Ironman as mentioned before… yes, beginners learn that song because it’s ‘e a s y’ to play. I’ve never known anyone who ever thought of Iommi as anything but a player in Black Sabbath. And listening to Black Sabbath was a guilty pleasure. A "B" class band that was fun to listen to (especially if you are/were a young impressionable teeny bopper)… as long as no one caught you doing it! Parker Iommi is definately on my top ten. He is the father of heavy metal guitar and he revolutionized guitar playing. If he wasn’t important then why would Gibson give him a signature pick-up. You have to be doing something right to get Gibson signature anything. Plus his new album should be great. Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
Response:
Iommi is definately on my top ten. He is the father of heavy metal guitar and he revolutionized guitar playing. If he wasn’t important then why would Gibson give him a signature pick-up. You have to be doing something right to get Gibson signature anything. Plus his new album should be great. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
Response:
I wasn’t really asking everyone’s opinion of Iommi. That much is obvious. My main question was, in light of the prevailing opinion that Iommi is/was a "B" player, why is the pickup so popular?
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
Response:
Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself?
probably because iommi tends to be underated. he’s not shred king but what’s the first song almost everyone learns on guitar: iron man (ok, so we also learned smoke on the water same goes for blackmore as being underated) What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi?
personal taste i suppose…i’ve never heard the pickup (other than iommi’s stuff i guess) but i’ve read good reviews on it. Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul?
yes. specifically, the LP has more wood than an SG and going from an epiphone to the ‘real deal’ would practically change everything. I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
no sorry. if gibson makes the pickup (they do don’t they?) email them for schematics..they should be happy to give you some. — -Refuse To Crawl- Before you buy.
Response:
Have you heard Iommi’s solo part on a concert? That’s absolutely bad – no content solo. The rhythm guitar that he does is really great, though – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? probably because iommi tends to be underated. he’s not shred king but what’s the first song almost everyone learns on guitar: iron man (ok, so we also learned smoke on the water same goes for blackmore as being underated) What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? personal taste i suppose…i’ve never heard the pickup (other than iommi’s stuff i guess) but i’ve read good reviews on it. Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? yes. specifically, the LP has more wood than an SG and going from an epiphone to the ‘real deal’ would practically change everything. I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup? no sorry. if gibson makes the pickup (they do don’t they?) email them for schematics..they should be happy to give you some. — -Refuse To Crawl- Before you buy.
Response:
Iommi was never considered a great guitar player. With songs like Ironman as mentioned before… yes, beginners learn that song because it’s ‘e a s y’ to play. I’ve never known anyone who ever thought of Iommi as anything but a player in Black Sabbath. And listening to Black Sabbath was a guilty pleasure. A "B" class band that was fun to listen to (especially if you are/were a young impressionable teeny bopper)… as long as no one caught you doing it! Parker
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Iommi is definately on my top ten. He is the father of heavy metal guitar and he revolutionized guitar playing. If he wasn’t important then why would Gibson give him a signature pick-up. You have to be doing something right to get Gibson signature anything. Plus his new album should be great. Well, I just installed an Iommi pickup into the bridge position of my Epiphone SG. This may sound dumb, but, I am amazed at how this pickup makes my guitar sound so much like Iommi’s. He has a very specific tone. I hear that these pickups are very popular. Local guitar store can’t keep them on the shelves. Yet, when I read polls of favorite guitarists, Iommi doesn’t get many votes. Especially in alt.guitar, Iommi usually doesn’t show up on most folks top ten. Here’s my questions, Why are these pickups apparently more popular than Iommi himself? What’s the benefit of these pickups other than sounding like Iommi? Would the tone of this pickup be much different if it was installed in a Les Paul? I’m going to rewire for coil tapping. Does anyone here have any experience with the single coil tone of the Iommi pickup?
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