Iron Man amp settings — Nux Mighty 20mk2

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Iron Man”, dialed in for a Nux Mighty 20mk2 with a Spira L -400. Studio version, Paranoid (1970)

Original rig

Gibson SG Special with P-90 pickups → Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster → Laney Supergroup LA100BL cranked into 4x12

Thick, grinding, mid-heavy doom distortion with dark saturation and aggressive attack

Amp settings — Nux Mighty 20mk2

CHANNELOptima (closest to British crunch voicing)BRIGHToff

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

Don’t have a Nux Mighty 20mk2? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Treble Booster (TC Electronic Spark Booster or EHX LPB-1)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The Rangemaster is essential to Iommi's tone; it pushed the Laney into heavier saturation while adding brightness. Without it, increase amp gain to 9 and treble to 6.

Level 7 · Gain 3 · Treble 6

Why these settings

The Nux Mighty 20mk2's Optima channel approximates British crunch but lacks the dark, thick Laney saturation. Your Spira L-400 humbuckers are hotter than Iommi's P-90s, so gain is pulled back from 10 to 8. Mid boosted to 7 to capture the wall-of-sound weight; bass kept at 5 to prevent mud since the original P-90s were brighter than your humbuckers.

PRO TIPUse heavy, deliberate downstrokes and let notes ring into each other slightly — Iommi's light strings and prosthetic fingertips created a looser attack that's central to that grinding doom feel.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Nux Mighty 20mk2. 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.