Epiphone TONY IOMMI G-400 User manual

134 | TOTAL GUITAR | MARCH 2005
GEAR EPIPHONE TONY IOMMI G-400
EPIPHONE TONY IOMMI G-400
£595
HAS EPIPHONE JUST RELEASED ITS GREATEST RO CK GUITAR YET? TG THINKS SO… WORDS: ED MITCHELL
You call this a rock guitar? There’s
no locking trem!
Wash your mouth out with soap, foolish
young whippersnapper! Your tart’s handbag,
lollipop stick-necked, sad little widdle plank
is no match for this mighty beast. This guitar
sounds like a truck load of whup-ass and will
keep on delivering its evil-hearted goods
for years to come. Can you really say all that
about your guitar? In fact, this Epiphone
Tony Iommi G-400 is like every Rocky fi lm
ever made compared to your guitar’s Karate
Kid III. Locking trem, indeed…
Er, OK. So who’s this Tony Iommi geezer
supposed to be then?
He’s only the bleedin’ Godfather of metal
riffery. Look, years before he began
shuffling around his Los Angeles mansion,
dodging dog shit and shouting at the
kids for his reality TV show, renowned bat
muncher and self-styled Prince of Darkness
Ozzy Osbourne was in a rather important
band. We’re talking about the mighty
Black Sabbath, of course. We say important
because these guys pioneered that particular
brand of grumpy metal – all doom-laden
riffs and ‘you’re all gonna die’ lyrics – that
keeps guys like Slayer’s Kerry King in protein
bars and Bic razors to this day.
The engine of Black Sabbath was guitarist
Tony Iommi, a genius with a heavy riff and
pretty nifty lead playing ability to boot. Tony
always liked to keep his riffs simple; just a
few notes played with blinding intensity. You
must’ve heard the blistering opening salvo
from Paranoid? And surely all you metal
guitarists out there are familiar with the
awesome sludge-fest that is Sweet Leaf? If
not, go to the back of the class and write ‘Nu-
metal has rotted my brain’ 1000 times on the
blackboard. The rest of you, walk this way…
OK, I’m now up to speed with Sabbath,
what’s the deal with Tony’s new axe?
Sabbath’s line-up may have changed over
the last 30-odd years but two things
have always remained the same: the man
himself, Tony Iommi, and his ever faithful
SG. Although he occasionally played
SG-style guitars from the likes of Patrick
Eggle, Jaydee and John Birch, Gibson’s
classic twin cutaway weapon of rock has
always been his favourite. It’s now as
much an Iommi trademark as the man’s
fearsome facial hair and false fi ngertips.
Sorry, his false fi ngertips?
Tony lost the tips of his middle and ring
fingers on his right hand in an industrial
accident in the 1960s. But before you accuse
us of being sick-ass gore-hounds, there is a
very good reason why we’re dredging up this
gruesome nugget of trivia. Put simply, that
unfortunate injury greatly infl uenced Tony’s
choice of guitar, his set-up and his unique
‘dungeons of hell’ tone.
Go on, I’m listening…
Tony needed a guitar with a slim neck
and an easy string tension – it had to be
comfortable for his digits. Anyone who has
played a Gibson or Epiphone SG will know
that the strings are pretty easy to bend;
even a set of 10s presents little trouble. Tony
lowered the string tension on his guitars
even more by fitting an unusual mix of light
gauge strings (9, 9, 12, 22, 28 and 38) and
tuning down to C#. Tuning low gives his
guitar the booming voice that has become
synonymous with Sabbath songs. Only thing
was, such a low tuning and light strings
had to be coupled with a meaty pickup
to boost the signal to his Laney amp. A
few years ago Gibson came to the rescue
with the Tony Iommi humbucker – its fi rst
ever signature pickup.
His new Epiphone has that pickup
fi tted, right?
Yep, for your £595 you’re getting a kick-
ass SG loaded with two of Tony’s US-made
Gibson humbuckers. Now that’s what we call
value for money, and no doubt great news
for Black Sabbath fans on a budget.
What’s the guitar like?
Probably the best Epiphone electric we’ve
ever tried. The quality of finish is top class
and the guitar has all the classic elements
that we’ve come to expect from the SG.
Underneath that glorious ebony finish – it
should be called Sabbath Black, of course
– is a mahogany body: a nice thick slab with
those iconic devilish contours and sexy
curves. The neck is glued to the body, as
it should be, and is also fashioned from
mahogany. The fingerboard is rosewood with
funky crucifix inlays and 24 frets. Yes, that’s
right folks, this is a full two octave SG! Every
other SG has 22 frets, natch.
This guitar comes fully-
loaded with a pair of
US-made Tony Iommi
humbuckers – and they
sound awesome
It’s classic SG all the
way with a tune-o-
matic bridge and a
stop tail-piece
We love the headstock
on this guitar. It
finishes the Iommi off
beautifully and looks
almost as good as the
Gibson version
TGR133.gear_dps 134TGR133.gear_dps 134 19/1/05 6:04:51 pm19/1/05 6:04:51 pm

Just how much more black
could this guitar be? Er,
none more black, frankly...
MARCH 2005 | TOTAL GUITAR | 135
EPIPHONE TONY IOMMI G-400 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
Although it’s still only a baby compared
to its legendary big brother, the
Gibson Les Paul, the SG is actually 44
years old this year. In fact, when it was
launched in 1961 this future rock ’n’ roll
icon was intended to be a replacement
for the Les Paul range. That’s why early
examples of the SG have a Les Paul
nameplate squeezed between the neck
pickup and the fi ngerboard.
So why did Gibson change the guitar’s
model name, we hear you ask? Depending
on what story you believe, Mr Les Paul
(Lester William Polfus to his mum) either
didn’t take to the SG’s radical design or
simply preferred the sound of his original
Les Paul model. Fair enough, but the wily
old fox may have had another reason to
have his name removed from the new
guitar. In the early 1960s Les and his
then wife and singing partner, Mary
Ford, had decided to separate. Legend
has it that Les, realising how Mary would
be entitled to a share of any money
he made, refused to sign a new
contract with Gibson. Undeterred,
Gibson switched to the SG (solid
guitar) model name and the rest, as
they say, is history.
Even if old Lester didn’t dig his
new axe, plenty of other guitarists
have fallen for its obvious charms.
If you play an SG you’re in very good
company. In the 1960s, Beatle George
Harrison used a cherry-fi nish model
on the band’s Rubber Soul album,
Robbie Krieger of The Doors
wouldn’t be seen dead without
his SG Standard and Eric
Clapton brandished an eye-
catching psychedelic SG in the
early days of Cream. Of course,
the SG is also behind Angus
Young’s awesome tone on
every classic AC/DC record.
Can you imagine Angus
playing any other style of
guitar? It’s unthinkable.
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
Sabbath faithful
INFORMATION
ORIGIN: Korea
TYPE: Solid body electric
BODY: Mahogany
NECK: Mahogany, set-in
FINGERBOARD:
Rosewood, with crucifi x
inlays
FRETS: 24 medium
PICKUPS: 2 x Gibson USA
Tony Iommi humbuckers
HARDWARE: Black
chrome tune-o-
matic bridge, stop
tailpiece and Grover
machineheads
CONTROLS: 2 x volume, 2
x tone, three-way pickup
selector switch
FINISH OPTIONS: Ebony
only
LEFT-HANDERS: £599
CASE: No
CONTACT: Rosetti 01376
550033
WEB: www.epiphone.
com
ALTERNATIVELY
Gibson Custom Shop
Tony Iommi SG – £4,200
Epiphone G-310 – £275
Epiphone
SG Custom – £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: ✮✮✮✮✮
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