Iron man amp settings — Palco 105
The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Iron man”, dialed in for a Palco 105 with a Kadence EGFRBK Astroman 39", the 34" scale, HH pickups, mahogany body. Studio version, Paranoid (1970)
1965 Gibson SG Special with P90 pickups (bridge), Dallas-Arbiter Rangemaster treble booster, 100-watt Laney Supergroup MK 1 head cranked (Presence 10, Bass 0, Mid 10, Treble 10, Gain 10), Laney 4x12 cab with Celestion G12-25M speakers
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 2 |
| Mid | 8 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Master | 6 |
01Treble Booster / Rangemaster Clone (e.g., TC Electronic Spark Mini, Electro-Harmonix Screaming Bird, or budget Mosky Silver Horse)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. This is essential to the Iron Man tone; the Rangemaster cut bass and pushed mids into the cranked Laney. Without it you lose the hollow midrange bark. A cheap treble booster clone under $30 gets you 70% there. Run it into the amp's front input.
The Palco 105 is an unrecognized small solid-state practice amp, so I based settings on the original tone's frequency character rather than amp voicing. Iommi's rig was bass 0, mids/treble maxed — on a small amp with limited headroom, I set bass low (2) to avoid mud through the small speaker, mids high (8) to capture that boxy honk, treble at 7 for cut without fizz. Gain at 7 because the amp cannot reach true tube saturation; a treble booster pedal is mandatory to push it into grinding territory.
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These settings are for a Palco 105. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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