Paranoid amp settings — Soundking AK15B

The Black sabatt guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a Soundking AK15B with a Fender American Professional II Stratocaster. Studio version, Paranoid album (1970)

Original rig

Gibson SG Standard (bridge pickup) → Dallas Rangemaster treble booster → Laney LA100BL (inputs overloaded for distortion) → 4x12 cabs

Grinding, mid-forward crunch with scooped bass, aggressive treble bite, and compressed sustain from overdriven amp

Amp settings — Soundking AK15B

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	2
Mid	8
Treble	7
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Soundking AK15B? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Treble Booster or Tube Screamer (TS9)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential to replicate the Rangemaster's treble push and input overload. A TS9 with low drive and high tone approximates this. Without it, this tone is unobtainable on a practice bass amp.

Drive 3 · Tone 7 · Level 7

Why these settings

The Soundking AK15B is a 15-watt bass combo — it lacks the midrange aggression and preamp saturation of Iommi's cranked Laneys. I pushed mids to 8 (vs original's 10) to compensate for the bass amp's scooped voicing, dropped treble to 7 to avoid ice-pick harshness from the Strat's single coils, and cut bass to 2 since bass amps have excessive low-end. Without a treble booster or overdrive pedal, you will get a clean tone with Sabbath-ish EQ but no real grind.

PRO TIPPalm-mute the low E string lightly during the main riff and dig in hard with downstrokes — Iommi's attack is percussive and aggressive, which creates the illusion of more gain than the amp actually provides.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Soundking AK15B. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Paranoid on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Fender American Professional II Stratocaster tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

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.