Paranoid amp settings — NUX NGA-33BT

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a NUX NGA-33BT with a Pasadena Telecaster (TL-10). Studio version, Paranoid album (1970), Regent Sound Studios

Original rig

Gibson SG Standard → Dallas Rangemaster treble booster → Laney LA100BL (normal channel, input overloaded), no bass on amp, presence/mid/treble maxed

Grinding, trebly crunch with sizzling upper-mids and no low-end mud — raw, aggressive, and cutting

Amp settings — NUX NGA-33BT

CHANNELCrunch or Overdrive channel (whichever offers Marshall-style breakup)BRIGHTonBOOSTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	2
Mid	8
Treble	8
Presence	9
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a NUX NGA-33BT? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

Iommi ran his Laney with bass at 0 and treble/presence/mid maxed, but your Tele's single-coil bridge is already brighter and thinner than his SG humbuckers. I've pulled treble and presence back by 1-2 from max and added bass back to 2 to compensate for the lower output and scooped character of the single-coil. The Rangemaster boost is emulated by engaging the amp's built-in boost and pushing gain to 7.

PRO TIPDig in hard with your pick near the bridge and use all downstrokes on the main riff — Iommi's attack is aggressive and percussive, which is half the tone. If it sounds too thin, roll your tone knob to 7-8 to tame the Tele ice-pick.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a NUX NGA-33BT. 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.