Paranoid amp settings — Audition Solid state mini stack

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a Audition Solid state mini stack with a WashBurn Bt-3. Studio version, Paranoid album (1970)

Original rig

Gibson SG Standard → Dallas Rangemaster treble booster → Laney LA100BL 100w heads into 4x12 cabs. Presence/Mid/Treble all at 10, Bass at 0.

Grinding, trebly crunch with scooped lows and aggressive upper-mid bite — raw and buzzy, not modern high-gain

Amp settings — Audition Solid state mini stack

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	2
Mid	8
Treble	7
Presence	7
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Audition Solid state mini stack? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Distortion (unspecified)

This is your primary gain source — Iommi's tone came from a Rangemaster treble booster pushing the amp. Your distortion pedal must do the heavy lifting since solid-state amps don't break up naturally. Push the tone knob high to replicate the treble boost character.

Gain/Dist 6 · Tone 8 · Level 7

Why these settings

Iommi ran zero bass and maxed treble into a tube amp that compressed and saturated. Your Audition solid-state won't compress the same way — it stays clean and stiff. I've added bass back to 2 (from 0) because solid-state amps sound thin and ice-picky without any low end. Your distortion pedal replaces the Rangemaster + amp breakup entirely, so amp gain stays low at 3 to avoid fizzy stacking. The Washburn's humbuckers are hotter than a vintage SG, which helps approximate the output.

PRO TIPIommi's attack was critical — he hit the strings hard with a downstroke-heavy technique and used very light strings (.008-.032) due to his fingertip injuries. Lighter picks and aggressive downstrokes will get you closer to that grinding, percussive chunk than any knob setting.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Audition Solid state mini stack. 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.