War pigs amp settings — Blackstar Stereo 20 v4

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “War pigs”, dialed in for a Blackstar Stereo 20 v4 with a Spira S-420 AWH. Studio version, Paranoid album (1970)

Original rig

Gibson SG Standard (bridge pickup) → Dallas Rangemaster treble booster → Laney LA100BL (Marshall Plexi-style voicing)

Thick, mid-forward doom crunch with grinding low-mids and controlled high-end bite

Amp settings — Blackstar Stereo 20 v4

CHANNELOD1 (crunch channel)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

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

Don’t have a Blackstar Stereo 20 v4? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Treble Booster (TC Electronic Spark Booster or EHX LPB-1)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. The Rangemaster is essential to Iommi's tone; it pushes upper-mids and tightens the low end. Without it, boost the amp's mid to 8 and treble to 6, but expect a looser sound.

Level 7 · Gain 3 · Tone/Treble 7

Why these settings

Your Blackstar's ISF control is the key here—crank it toward British (3 o'clock) to approximate the Laney's mid-bark. The Spira's humbuckers are slightly hotter than a vintage SG, so gain stays at 7 rather than 8. Without a treble booster, the tone will lack the focused upper-mid cut that defines Iommi; I've compensated by pushing mids +1 and presence +1 versus the original.

PRO TIPIommi picks hard directly over the bridge pickup pole pieces with a heavy downstroke attack—this generates the percussive 'chunk' on the riff. Roll your tone knob to 8 to tame the Spira's bridge harshness while keeping definition.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Blackstar Stereo 20 v4. 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.