ToneAdapt

Loading...

Back to Community

Riff Tone

Heaven and Hell

Black Sabbath

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarJohn Birch Custom SG (24-fret, custom pickups, used by Tony Iommi on Heaven and Hell studio recording)
AmpModified Marshall Super Lead 1959 (modded by John 'Dawk' Stillwell, extra tube and master gain control)

Amp Settings

gain7
bass6

Create an account to see all tone details

Create Free Account

Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording, 1980. Guitar is the John Birch Custom SG, not the Gibson SG used on earlier Sabbath albums. Amp is a Marshall Super Lead 1959, heavily modified for higher gain, used specifically for the Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules albums. No evidence of Laney amps or other guitars for this riff section.

Tone Character(10)
tight and percussivecrushing, saturated distortionarticulate, mid-forwardchunky palm-muted riffingclear note separation under gainaggressive, modern metal edgefocused low endceramic pickup biteno ambient effectsdry, in-your-face rhythm

Difficulty

The riff requires intermediate skill due to its precise palm muting, aggressive pick attack, and rhythmic tightness at a medium tempo. No advanced techniques, but clarity and consistency are critical.

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account