Paranoid amp settings — Gear4music 15W bass combo

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a Gear4music 15W bass combo with a Fender Player Precision Bass. Studio version, Paranoid album (1970) — recorded as a last-minute filler track

Original rig

Gibson SG Standard (bridge pickup) → Dallas Rangemaster treble booster → Laney LA100BL (presence/mid/treble maxed, bass 0)

Aggressive, mid-forward crunch with searing treble bite and zero low-end mud

Amp settings — Gear4music 15W bass combo

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

Don’t have a Gear4music 15W bass combo? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01TC Electronic Spark Booster or EHX LPB-1 (treble boost mode)

RECOMMENDED — not owned. Essential for Iommi's sound. A clean boost with treble emphasis into a cranked amp is how he achieved that searing cut. Without this, the tone will lack bite.

Level 7 · Gain 3 · Bass 2 · Treble 9

Why these settings

Your rig cannot replicate this tone. A P-Bass has massive low-end and no upper-mid guitar frequencies; a bass combo is voiced for 40-400Hz, not the 800Hz-4kHz range where Iommi's tone lives. I maxed mids/treble and cut bass to shift the voicing up, but you need an actual electric guitar and guitar amp. A cheap Squier SG copy through even a Fender Frontman 10G would get closer than this setup.

PRO TIPIf you must attempt this on bass: play with a pick near the bridge, use the brightest roundwound strings you have, and roll off your bass tone knob to 3-4 to thin out the low end. It will still sound like bass, but with more cut.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Gear4music 15W bass combo. 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.