Paranoid amp settings — Vox AC15C1

The Black sabath guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a Vox AC15C1 with a Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s. Studio version, Paranoid album (1970)

Original rig

Laney Supergroup 100W head, Gibson SG Special with P-90s, Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster

Thick, grinding midrange crunch with cutting treble bite and loose low-end thump

Amp settings — Vox AC15C1

CHANNELNormal

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	0
Bass	4
Mid	7
Treble	5
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-1 Distortion

Replacing the Rangemaster function — provides the grit and push; amp stays clean to avoid mud

Tone 6 · Level 7 · Dist 5

Why these settings

The AC15 is a chimey Class A amp with pronounced treble — the opposite of Iommi's dark, mid-heavy Laney. Amp gain set to 0 because the DS-1 is the sole dirt source (double-gain prevention). Treble dropped to 5 and mids pushed to 7 to compensate for Vox's natural scoop. Bass at 4 prevents the AC15's flubby low-end from masking the riff definition. Your Les Paul's humbuckers are hotter than Iommi's original P-90s, so DS-1 Dist stays moderate at 5.

PRO TIPIommi picks hard directly over the bridge pickup pole pieces with the fleshy part of his thumb and fingers — this attack angle is half the tone. Roll your tone knob to 7 to tame the AC15's ice-pick highs and get closer to that woolly SG bark.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Vox AC15C1. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.