Iron man amp settings — I Spirit of rock

The Black sabbath guitar tone for “Iron man”, dialed in for a I Spirit of rock with a Fender American Ultra Stratocaster. Studio version, Paranoid (1970)

Original rig

1965 Gibson SG Special (P-90 bridge pickup) → Dallas Rangemaster treble booster → Laney Supergroup LA100BL (100W, cranked into power tube overdrive) → Laney 4x12 with Celestion G12-25M speakers

Thick, mid-heavy crunch with hollow boxy honk, aggressive power tube saturation, bright cutting edge from treble booster

Amp settings — I Spirit of rock

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	3
Mid	8
Treble	6
Presence	5
Reverb	0
Master	7

Don’t have a I Spirit of rock? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE6 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Treble Booster (e.g., TC Electronic Spark Booster, EHX LPB-1, or Catalinbread Naga Viper)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Critical to this tone. The Rangemaster adds upper-mid bite and pushes the amp into heavier saturation. Without it, the tone will lack the aggressive cutting edge.

Gain/Level 6 · Treble/Range 7

Why these settings

Your Strat's single coils are brighter and lower output than Iommi's dark P-90s, so bass is dropped from the original 7 to 3, and treble from 10 to 6 to prevent ice-pick harshness. Mid stays high at 8 to preserve the signature boxy honk. The treble booster is non-negotiable for this tone—it provided both the gain push and the high-frequency cut that defined the sound. Without one, you'll get close but not authentic.

PRO TIPRoll your Strat's tone knob to 6 to tame the quacky single-coil high end and approximate the thicker P-90 midrange. Use heavy downstrokes with a medium pick right over the bridge pickup pole pieces for that deliberate, chugging attack Iommi used.

Get this tone on your amp

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

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play

Find your amp

Browse

Iron man on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Black sabbath tonesALL SONGS Fender American Ultra 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.