Iron man amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The Black sabbath guitar tone for “Iron man”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Peavy Rock Master. Studio version, Paranoid (1970)

Original rig

1965 Gibson SG Special (P90 bridge pickup) → Dallas-Arbiter Rangemaster treble booster → Laney Supergroup LA100BL 100W head into 4x12 with Celestion G12-25M Greenbacks, all controls cranked with bass at 0

Thick, grinding, mid-heavy crunch with hollow boxy honk and aggressive attack

Amp settings — Fender Champion 20

CHANNELVoice 3 (Crunch) or Voice 4 (High Gain)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	4
Mid	8
Treble	5
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	7

Don’t have a Fender Champion 20? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Crunch Distortion

This approximates the Rangemaster treble booster pushing the amp — the Rangemaster added grit and cut bass while boosting mids. Set amp gain LOW (3) because the pedal is your primary dirt source.

Gain/Drive 7 · Tone 6 · Level/Volume 7

Why these settings

The original used a cranked 100W Laney with all mids/treble at 10 and bass at 0 — the Champion 20 is a Fender solid-state with scooped mids and bright voicing, the opposite character. Compensate by pushing mids to 8 (vs Iommi's 10) and cutting treble to 5 to avoid fizz. Your Crunch Distortion pedal replaces the Rangemaster's job of pushing the amp into saturation, so amp gain stays low at 3 to prevent muddy double-gain stacking. Bass at 4 (not 0) because the Champion lacks the low-end thump of a 4x12 cabinet.

PRO TIPIommi used extremely light strings (.009-.042) and a medium pick with a loose grip due to his prosthetic fingertips — this created his signature slightly sloppy, aggressive attack. Dig in hard with your pick near the bridge and let the notes bloom rather than playing tight and precise.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play

More tones for the Fender Champion 20

She's goneStealheart Heart sheaped boxNirvana So Far AwayAvenged Sevenfold Harvester of sorrowMetallica ParanoidBlack sabath Basket caseGreenday

Find your amp

Browse

Fender Champion 20 settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Iron man on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Black sabbath tonesALL SONGS Black sabbath on the Fender Champion 20SAME ARTIST, SAME AMP 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.