“IRs that faithfully capture the tones of two cabinets used extensively by Tony Iommi”: Celestion’s first Artist Series IRs bring Tony Iommi’s early- and latter-era Black Sabbath tones to the digital sphere

Prestigious speaker maker Celestion has announced its debut series of signature impulse responses, with heavy metal godfather Tony Iommi’s collection marking a key expansion of its digital collection.

For the uninitiated, impulse responses capture the essence of a guitar cabinet – typically mic'd up in a room – to bestow that same feel to digital amps that have no cabinet. It's a way of faking the power of a 4x12 stack for digital amp users.

Celestion speakers sit in amps of all shapes, sizes, and budgets, from almighty tube amps to travel-friendly combos and beyond, and, moving with the times, it has been steadily producing IR versions of some of its famed speaker cones. But, until now, the company has never worked on a signature release.

The project sees Celestion teaming up with the Black Sabbath riffsmith for “a collection of IRs that faithfully capture the tones of two iconic closed-back cabinets that have been used extensively by Tony Iommi,” across Sabbath’s history.

The IRs can be used in any digital format, whether that’s powering plugins, amp modelers, and beyond, placing the guitarist’s iconic Laney tones within reach of all.

The collection traces his game-changing career. There’s the “‘60’s grind of a cranked LA100 BL 100W head,” which has been boosted with a modified Arbiter Dallas Rangemaster for extra heaviness, and a capture of his signature GH 100 TI head through a TI412S cabinet, which encapsulates his ‘90s tones.

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While the two IRs might seem small for a collection, they are a true reflection of the speakers that have defined Iommi’s body of work in Sabbath and beyond.

He used four 12” Green label Goodmans speakers from 1969 through to the early ‘80s, while the four 12” Celestion G12H speakers partnered with his signature head was the sound of Sabbath’s latter era.

The capturing process saw three different microphones used in six positions, alongside room mics totaling 12 configurations.

Both cabinets are available individually, at £18.98 (approx. $24) each, or for a combined collection price of £22.49 (approx. $29).

Head to Celestion Plus for the full details.

The release follows Iommi's reveal that he has been using Kemper captures of his favorite Laney amps as he continues to work on his new solo album. He has been impressed by their likeness, saying it “can be hard to tell the difference” between the tube and digital versions.

Iommi has released two singles, Deified and Scent of the Dark, this year (and a signature fragrance). However, he's confirmed that those tracks will not feature on the upcoming LP.