Iron Man amp settings — Palco M105

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Iron Man”, dialed in for a Palco M105 with a Vault Rg1. Studio version, Paranoid (1970) — iconic main riff

Original rig

1965 Gibson SG Special with John Birch P-90s, Dallas-Arbiter Rangemaster Treble Booster (modified full-range mod), Laney Supergroup 100W Head, Laney 4x12 cab

Mid-heavy, gritty British crunch with tight bass cut and sharp upper-mid bite

Amp settings — Palco M105

CHANNELDrive channel / Overdrive on

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	4
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Palco M105? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE9 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Dallas-Arbiter Rangemaster (or Naga Viper) Treble Booster

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Tony Iommi's core tone comes from slamming the front of a British tube amp with a modified treble booster.

Boost 8 · Range 6

Why these settings

The Palco M105 is a compact practice amplifier without a dedicated midrange or presence control, so its unverifiable knobs are set to null. Set the built-in drive channel to gain 7 to capture the heavy crunch of Iommi's cranked Laney Supergroup, cutting the bass to 4 and raising treble to 7 to replicate the low-cut, upper-mid bite of the Rangemaster. Adding a treble booster pedal later will tighten the humbuckers on your Vault Rg1 and deliver the exact percussive grit of the record.

PRO TIPTony Iommi used ultra-light gauge strings (.008s/.009s) tuned to E standard for Paranoid and picked forcefully near the bridge with plastic prosthetic fingertips; pick firmly right next to the bridge saddles to recreate that sharp initial transient.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Palco M105. 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 Vault Rg1 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.