Tom Ellis, is using the Laney LA-Studio amplifier to get those powerful Black Sabbath tones JUST right.
In case you missed it – and we doubt any Black Sabbath fans haven’t heard about it, but Black Sabbath: The Ballet, has had such a successful world premiere and UK tour in 2023, that it is set to return for an international tour in 2024 and 2025.
Any Sabbath fan knows that the iconic Black Sabbath forged their unique sound in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s home city. In Black Sabbath – The Ballet viewers can expect a spectacular theatrical evening featuring thrilling dance alongside full orchestrations of legendary Black Sabbath tracks such as Paranoid and Iron Man, and of course the track Black Sabbath, as well as new orchestral works inspired by their music – all performed live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and house band, which includes guitarist Tom Ellis. The original new orchestral compositions were inspired by the sound of metal and the Sabbath sound and Black Sabbath themselves have been closely involved in developing this unique collaboration. To get the sound JUST right, Tom Ellis, guitarist for the Black Sabbath ballet as it’s affectionately known turned to us here at Laney to make sure he nailed the sound of Toy Iommi’s iconic riffs. We were of course all too happy to help him out!
Left to right: Tom Ellis – Guitarist for Black Sabbath – The Ballet, Tony Iommi – Black Sabbath guitarist, Ian Whitehead – drums for Black Sabbath – The Ballet, Don Richardson – bass for Black Sabbath – The Ballet.
The guitarist at the Black Sabbath ballet is Tom Ellis, and he uses a Laney LA-Studio amplifier to get the iconic Tony Iommi sound just right for the Black Sabbath songs. Tom is a world-renowned guitarist and musician who regularly performs at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in rock rhythm sections with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page (Royal Albert Hall), Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi (Birmingham Hippodrome) and classical guitar trio concerts with the legendary guitarist John Williams.
Black Sabbath Guitarist Tony Iommi pictured with Tom Ellis, guitarist for Black Sabbath -The Ballet
Of course, Tony Iommi is the guitarist for Black Sabbath, but Tom has stepped into these riffs with absolute respect for the sound of Iommi’s guitar rig. Calling up our team here at Laney to ensure his amplifier sound is perfect, he turned to our resident Tone Wizard Simon Fraser-Clark to discuss the best course of action in getting the exact sound (or close to) that would get him the Iommi sound, but give him the reliability and connectivity that a modern touring band would need.
Enter the Laney Supergroup LA-Studio amplifier.
Picture: Tom’s guitars and pedals on the Black Sabbath – The Ballet Tour.
Here’s what Tom had to say about the amp and getting the Iommio sound JUST right.
Tom Ellis, guitarist for the Balck Sabbath ballet, uses the Laney LA-Studio amplifier to ensure he captures the correct Tony Iommi guitar amp tonality.
I’ve seen classical and jazz arrangers who like to pepper their sheet music with reference points. Solo ‘à la John Mayer’ or ‘bend it like (Jeff) Beckham’ but I didn’t have ‘tempo di Iron Man’ on my 2023 guitar part bingo card until I saw the electric guitar music for Black Sabbath – The Ballet.
Bringing these Sabbath riffs and solos to life deserved a proper look at Tony Iommi’s sound and the key element that I couldn’t replicate elsewhere was the sound of a Laney amp (originally the LA 100BL) dimed to where it experiences the gnarly undertones of power supply filtering (sag).
It’s THE sound of the early Sabbath albums. I tried every combination of amp modellers, EQs, pedals and guitars but it was the Laney LA-Studio that nailed it in a truly natural-sounding way. The Laney LA-Studio amplifier gave me the Tony Iommi tone in a theatre-friendly configuration with Two Notes amp modelling and a DI output. Ideal for situations like this where you need an authentic, raucous tone in a theatre (or studio) friendly package.
The Laney LA-Studio amplifier is one of the best hybrid amplifiers out there, fusing tube amp technology alongside built in DynIR amp modelling that ensures you get that tube amp growl and saturation, with the ability to just gig with an amplifier head, and go direct to a PA. The LA-Studio is also packed with 6 incredible presets and is one of the best small tube amps for touring musicians as it’s got a tonne more benefits like DI out, built-in presets and mic placement.
Watch the team from Birmingham Royal Ballet take to the streets with Laney Amps!
The Laney LA-Studio is a reimagined 1967 Laney SUPERGROUP amplifier head, one of our most famous amplifiers as used by Tony Iommi. So it makes sense that we recommended Tom using this amplifier. And with this updated version, we stripped it all back to basics, providing everything you and he needed as a recording or gigging artist and nothing you don’t, firmly bringing it into the modern day thanks to DynIR technology.
Vintage amps have a particular sound and feature set to which we have stayed faithful. The Laney LA-STUDIO is a very straightforward amp so anyone can use it – a single-channel amplifier, with no reverb, no FX loop and just the right amount of gain to be driven to the edge of tube saturation, which allows the amplifier to really showcase its beautiful tonality. Dial back the gain and you have a lush, clean vintage-style sound with plenty of character. Crank the gain and add some bass and you have a Sabbath-worthy monster sound that provides that lush saturation we love so much, but without the overbearing modern metal sound that some amps can lean towards.
In terms of space, the LA-Studio offers 6 different virtual cabinets and a world of different environments to record and play live. So you can plug into your DAW, go irect to PA or your guitar cab of choice and you’re ready to play. You also have 8 different microphones available and 6 cabinet setups thanks to the DynIR functionality. The headphones out also makes it a great practice amplifier too!
If you don’t have time to mic a cab up or don’t want to worry about room placement techniques to get the best recording or playing live, using the Two Notes app and Torpedo technology within the Laney LA-Studio ensures the virtual mics are placed in the most sound-efficient manner, and you have multiple angles to choose from which audio engineers have designed – you won’t find better mic placement! Just another reason why Tomm the guitarist in the Black Sabbath ballet would use the LA-Studio amplifier when performing in Black Sabbath – The Ballet: International Tour – it cuts down set up time and gets you the consistent sound at EVERY gig without you ever needing to worry about room or mic placement – the sound engineer can get the best possible sound.
The Laney LA-Studio back panel includes a ground link setting, access to 6 virtual cabinets with level control, USB connection, MIDI connectivity and speaker outs.
Tom Ellis, and Tony Iommi at rehearsals.
Get your tickets to Black Sabbath – The Ballet: International Tour here and look out for Tom Ellis on guitar. Click to get your very own Laney LA-STUDIO Watch the full walkthrough below: