Paranoid amp settings — Fender Super Champ x2

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a Fender Super Champ x2 with a Gibson Melody Maker. Studio version, Paranoid album (1970)

Original rig

1965 Gibson SG Special with P90 pickups (bridge), Laney LA100BL/Supergroup 100W head cranked (Presence 10, Bass 0, Mid 10, Treble 10, Gain 10 into bass input), Dallas Rangemaster treble booster

Thick, boxy midrange with hollow honk, crunchy power-tube overdrive, no low-end mud, aggressive treble-boosted grind

Amp settings — Fender Super Champ x2

CHANNELVoice — Tweed (most breakup available)BOOSToff

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

Don’t have a Fender Super Champ x2? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

Iommi ran bass at 0 and mids/treble/presence at 10 into a cranked Laney with a Rangemaster boosting treble frequencies. The Super Champ x2 is Fender-voiced (scooped mids, bright treble shelf), so mid is pushed to 8 and treble pulled back to 7 to approximate the Laney's midrange bark. Bass raised slightly to 3 because the Melody Maker's single-coil is thinner than Iommi's P90 SG. Without a treble booster pedal, you cannot fully replicate the pushed, honky grind—gain maxed on the Tweed voice gets you closest to power-tube saturation. A Rangemaster-style pedal (TC Electronic Spark Booster, EHX Screaming Bird, or Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra) is RECOMMENDED to nail the boosted attack.

PRO TIPRoll your guitar's tone knob down to 7-8 when playing the main riff to thicken the single-coil and reduce ice-pick highs, then open it back to 10 for the solo to cut through—Iommi toggled pickup positions for exactly this dynamic.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Super Champ x2. 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

Paranoid on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Black Sabbath tonesALL SONGS 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.