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Just how much more black
could this guitar be? Er,
none more black, frankly...
MARCH 2005
|
TOTAL GUITAR
| 135
EPIPHONE T
ONY IOMMI G-
40
0 GEAR
Elsewhere we have the classic Gibson
control set-up (2 x volume, 2 x tone and a
three-way pickup selector), a tune-o-matic
bridge and fixed tailpiece and a striking
headstock that really suits this guitar and
gives the Gibson version a run for its money.
We have also gone ape for those chunky
Grover machineheads; built to last with rock
solid tuning.
The headstock has a discreet Tony Iommi
signature on the truss rod cover. We like that
because it means non-Sabbath fans can play
this guitar if they want to. Whether you’re
a goth, a punk, a rocker or a widdler, you’re
going to love this guitar. Trust us!
There’s a scribble on the scratchplate.
TG’s old pal Tony actually signed this guitar
for us. Normal production models come with
a plain black scratchplate only. Sorry…
What does it sound like, then?
Like Tony Iommi, funnily enough. His tone
has changed a bit over the years but we still
rate those early recordings that showcase his
edgy fuzz tone. Using our trusty Retroman
Lola fuzz box, we nailed that classic sound
on the bridge pickup without even breaking
a sweat. Add to that some modern gain and
this guitar will out-rock anything with six
strings. The pickups are truly awesome in
themselves and should be considered by
anyone struggling with weak humbuckers
– the Iommi humbuckers are available to buy
as a retrofit for your guitar.
The bridge pickup isn’t so keen on clean
settings but you can use the sweeter middle
THE ORIGINS OF A ROCK ICON
A
lt
hough it
’s
sti
ll only a baby com
par
ed
to
its leg
endar
y big broth
er
, t
he
Gibson Les Paul, the SG is actually 44
years old this year. In fact, when it was
launched in 1
96
1 t
his futur
e rock ’n’ roll
icon w
as intended t
o be a r
eplacement
fo
r t
he Les P
aul r
ang
e. That
’s
why ear
ly
ex
am
ples of t
he SG ha
ve
a Les P
aul
nameplate squeezed between the neck
pickup and t
he fi
nge
rboard.
So why did Gibson chang
e t
he guit
ar
’s
model name, we hear you ask? Depending
on what st
or
y you believ
e, Mr Les P
aul
(Lester William Polfus to his mum) either
didn’
t t
ak
e t
o t
he SG’
s r
adical design or
sim
ply pr
ef
er
re
d t
he sound of his or
iginal
Les Paul model. Fair enough, but the wily
old f
ox
ma
y ha
ve
had anot
her r
eason t
o
ha
ve
his name r
emov
ed from t
he new
guit
ar
. In t
he ear
ly 1
96
0s Les and his
then wife and singing partner, Mary
Ford, had dec
ided t
o separ
ate. Leg
end
has it t
hat Les, r
ealising how Mar
y woul
d
be entitled to a share of any money
he made, r
efused t
o sign a new
contr
ac
t w
it
h Gibson. U
nde
ter
re
d,
Gibson switched to the SG (solid
guit
ar) model name and t
he r
est
, as
th
ey
sa
y,
is hist
or
y.
Even if old Lester didn’t dig his
new ax
e, plenty of ot
her guit
ar
ists
ha
ve
f
allen f
or its obv
ious charms.
If you play an SG you’re in very good
com
pany
. In t
he 1
96
0s, Beatle Georg
e
Harrison used a cherry-fi nish model
on t
he band’
s Rubb
er Soul album
,
Ro
bbie Kr
ieg
er of The Door
s
wouldn’t be seen dead without
his SG S
ta
ndard and Er
ic
Clapton brandished an eye-
catching psychedelic SG in the
ear
ly day
s of Cr
eam. Of cour
se,
th
e SG is also behind Angus
Yo
ung’
s a
we
some t
one on
ev
er
y c
lassic A
C/DC r
ecord.
Can you imagine Angus
pla
yi
ng any ot
her sty
le of
guit
ar? It
’s
unt
hink
able.
and neck positions for the quieter songs.
The bottom line is that this guitar just wants
to rock and we ain’t gonna argue with it.
I get the feeling you guys like this guitar.
Damn! What gave it away? It’s true we have
fallen for this wonderful guitar. TG has
always had a soft spot for the SG anyway,
but the Tony Iommi version ticks all of our
boxes. And the best part is that now there’s
a left-handed version available – which only
seems appropriate since Tony is left-handed
– everyone can get a piece of the action.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Six-string Satan
worshippers; the
Sabbat
h f
ait
hful
INFORMATION
ORIGIN: Kor
ea
TYPE: Solid body electric
BODY: Mahogany
NECK: Mahogany, set-in
FIN
GERB
OA
RD:
Ro
sewood, wit
h cr
ucifi
x
inlays
FRETS: 24 medium
PICKUPS: 2 x Gibson USA
To
ny Iommi humbuck
er
s
HARDWARE: Black
chrome tune-o-
matic bridge, stop
ta
ilpiece and Grov
er
machineheads
CONTROLS: 2 x volume, 2
x tone, three-way pickup
select
or switch
FINISH OPTIONS: Ebony
only
LEFT-HANDERS: £599
CA
SE: No
CO
NT
AC
T:
Ro
se
tti 0
13
76
550033
WEB: www.epiphone.
com
ALTERNATIVELY
Gibson Custom Shop
To
ny
Iommi SG – £4,200
Epiphone G-3
10
– £2
75
Epiphone
SG Cust
om – £429
Of course, we’d all love to get our hands
on the £4,000 custom shop Gibson Iommi
model, but this Epiphone will keep us well
happy until then. You really have to try this
superb guitar for yourself. It’s a little devil…
FOR: Looks awesome; sounds great; plenty
of rock vibe
AGAINST: Not everyone will dig its gorgeous
gothic looks
TG RATING:
✮✮✮✮✮
TGR133.gear_dps 135TGR133.gear_dps 135 19/1/05 6:04:59 pm19/1/05 6:04:59 pm