Tone library / Black Sabbath / Iron Man

Iron Man amp settings — Fender Champion 40

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Iron Man”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 40 with a Ibanez GIO GRG170DX. Studio version, Paranoid (1970)

Original rig

1965 Gibson SG Special (P-90 bridge pickup) into custom Dallas-Arbiter Rangemaster treble booster into Laney Supergroup LA 100 BL with Laney 4x12 cab (Celestion G12-25M speakers)

Thick, mid-heavy British proto-metal crunch with tight bass and cutting upper-mid bite
Amp settings — Fender Champion 40
CHANNELBritish 70s (Channel 2)BOOSToff
GAIN 2 BASS 3 TREBLE 7 REVERB 0 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain2
Bass3
Treble7
Reverb0
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Klone Centaur

Used as a dirty upper-mid treble booster to mimic Iommi's Rangemaster into the clean preamp

Gain 6 · Treble 7 · Output 7
Why these settings

The Champion 40 lacks a physical Mid and Presence knob on its faceplate, so mid-forward character is achieved using the British voice combined with high Treble and low Bass. Per double-gain rules, amp gain is dialed down to 2 while the Klone provides the Rangemaster-style gritty mid-push and treble boost. Humbuckers on the Ibanez GIO are darker and hotter than Iommi's P-90s, requiring extra Treble on both the pedal and amp to prevent muddy low end.

PRO TIPPick firmly right next to the bridge saddles using light-gauge strings (.008 or .009s if available) to capture Iommi's signature loose, stinging attack.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion 40. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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