Paranoid amp settings — Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV

The Black sabbath guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV with a Gibson SG Standard 61. Studio version, Paranoid album (1970), Regent Sound Studios

Original rig

Gibson SG Standard 'Monkey' → Dallas Rangemaster treble booster (modified) → Laney LA100BL head, normal channel, presence/mid/treble at 10, bass at 0

Aggressive upper-mid grind with compressed sustain, cutting treble bite, virtually no low-end mud

Amp settings — Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV

CHANNELClean (Drive channel OFF)BRIGHTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	2
Mid	7
Treble	6
Presence	7
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Behringer Ultra Metal (UM300)

Set mid-scoop switch to OFF (flat position) — this tone needs mids. Running into clean amp channel.

Level 7 · High 6 · Low 3 · Distortion 6

Why these settings

Iommi's Laney ran with no bass and everything else maxed, relying on the Rangemaster to push the front end into saturation. Your Hot Rod Deluxe is scooped and clean by nature, so gain stays low (3) and the Ultra Metal provides all the dirt — amp is a clean platform only. I dropped treble from the original's 10 to 6 because Fender's treble shelf sits higher and harsher than Laney's; pushed mids to 7 to compensate for the Fender's natural mid-scoop. Bass at 2 (not 0) because the UM300 can get woofy and the Fender's speaker needs a touch of low-end to not sound thin.

PRO TIPIommi's attack came from downstrokes with the pick angled slightly toward the bridge — this digs into the string and adds that percussive 'chonk' on the E5 power chord riff. Keep your picking hand locked and use your wrist, not your arm.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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