# Tony Iommi Pedalboard 1970: Full Gear & Pedal List

> The 1970 Tony Iommi board ran one pedal: Modified Rangemaster. Signal-chain order, settings and cited sources.

- Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/tony-iommi/black-sabbath-debut-1970/
- Machine-readable index of the archive: https://pedalboardarchive.com/llms.txt
- Evidence and reconstruction conventions: https://pedalboardarchive.com/methodology/

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Artist | Tony Iommi |
| Board | Black Sabbath debut path |
| Date | 1970-02-13 — 1970 (year precision) |
| Context | Regent Sound Studios and early shows |
| Scope | Core signal path |
| Signal path | 1 unit · Guitar to amplifier |
| Routing | Serial path |
| Unit evidence | Documented |
| Order evidence | Source-described |
| Status | Documented one-unit signal path |
| Audited | 2026-08-03 |
| Sources | 2 |

Tony Iommi made the sound of Black Sabbath's 1970 debut with one unit: a modified germanium Rangemaster treble booster pushing the input of his Laney.

## Signal chain

**Order evidence — Source-described.** A source states the sequence.

`Guitar → Modified Rangemaster → amplifier`

| # | Unit | Role | Zone | Unit evidence | Position evidence | Catalog page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Modified Rangemaster | Hits the Laney input hard enough to create the foundational early Black Sabbath overdrive. | — | Documented | Documented | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/modified-rangemaster/ |

## Reconstruction note

The core guitar-to-booster-to-Laney route is documented by Iommi and contemporary gear research. Studio-only treatments on individual overdubs are outside this primary path.

## Questions

### What pedals did Tony Iommi use in 1970?

This dated entry lists one unit: Modified Rangemaster. This is the recorded inventory, not a claim that every connection or model identification is confirmed; see the evidence and routing notes.

### What order were Tony Iommi's pedals in?

A cited source states the order: Guitar → Modified Rangemaster → amplifier.

### Is this Tony Iommi's full guitar rig?

No. This dated entry covers one unit in the effects path, not every piece of gear Tony Iommi owned or used. Floor pedals, rack units and routing devices are included only where recorded; omitted equipment and uncertain connections are explained in the notes. It is not a complete or current rig inventory.

### When and where was this pedalboard used?

1970. Regent Sound Studios and early shows. This is the core signal path documented for that period, not a career-wide gear list.

### How does the archive know what was on this pedalboard?

2 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Guitar World, Guitar.com. Among them an interview and a written article. The units are recorded as documented equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-08-03.

## Sources

2 cited sources across 2 independent groups. Two sources sharing an independent group report the same observation and count once.

1. [Tony Iommi: The Eternal Idol](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tony-iommi-eternal-idol) — Guitar World (Primary source · interview), published 2009-03-23, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `tony-iommi-guitar-world-interview`
2. [The gear used by Tony Iommi on Black Sabbath's debut](https://guitar.com/features/artist-rigs/guitar-gear-used-by-tony-iommi-on-black-sabbath-debut-album/) — Guitar.com (Primary source · article), published 2024-02-13, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `iommi-musicradar-interview`

## Related pages

- Every documented board by Tony Iommi: [Tony Iommi board history](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/tony-iommi/)
- Previous board in archive order: [Tom Morello — Long-term effects-loop board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/tom-morello/long-term-rig-2019/)
- Next board in archive order: [Trey Anastasio — Three-output Bradshaw touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/trey-anastasio/post-sphere-three-output-bradshaw-board-2024/)