Paranoid amp settings — Fender Champion II 100
The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a Fender Champion II 100 with a Ibanez Gio GRX70QA. Studio version, Paranoid (1970)
Gibson SG Standard with humbuckers (bridge pickup) → Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster → Laney Supergroup 100W head. Standard E tuning.
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 8 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 6 |
01Treble Booster or Overdrive (TS-style)
RECOMMENDED — not owned. A Dallas Rangemaster clone (like the BSM Treble Booster or TC Electronic Spark) or a Tube Screamer does the heavy lifting on this tone. The booster is essential — Iommi's amp alone doesn't get there without it pushing the front end.
Your Champion II is a solid-state Fender with no mid knob (bass/treble only) and a scooped-clean American voicing — the opposite of Iommi's mid-forward Laney. I pushed gain to 8 on the Overdrive channel to compensate for lack of a booster pedal, dropped bass to 4 to avoid mud (the original had bass at 0-5), and raised treble to 7 for the cutting attack. Without a treble booster or OD pedal, you'll get 60% of the way there — the pedal is doing most of the tonal work on the original.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Fender Champion II 100. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
Get ToneAdapt on Google PlaySong, 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.