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Electric Funeral Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath · 1970s · metal
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
1964 Gibson SG Special (aka 'Monkey')
Pickups
P-90 single coil pickups
Amp
Laney LA100BL (100-watt tube head, early model, likely with Laney 4x12 cabinet)
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 1970. Used for the riff section of 'Electric Funeral' on the Paranoid album. Amp was likely cranked to full volume for natural distortion. Modified Dallas Rangemaster treble booster was used in front of the amp. No evidence of additional pedals for the riff section; wah is used in the solo, not the riff.
Amp Settings
Mids7.5
Bass7.5
Gain8
Reverb0
Treble6
Presence6
Effects Chain
- Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster (modified) · boost
Guitar → Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster → Laney LA100BL (no reverb, no effects loop)
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Tone Character
- dark and menacing
- fuzzy and saturated
- mid-heavy with thick low end
- raw, vintage tube breakup
- punchy and aggressive
- sustained power chords
- uncompressed, open amp sound
- no audible reverb or delay
- slightly nasal treble boost
- classic British crunch
Notes & Caveats
- No direct numeric amp settings for 'Electric Funeral' riff found; settings estimated based on era, amp model, and genre using Guitar World and Laney engineer interview.
- Wah pedal is used in the solo, not the riff; no evidence of wah or other effects in the riff section.
- No evidence of reverb, delay, or modulation effects on the riff; amp reverb was not present on the Laney LA100BL.
- Dallas Rangemaster treble booster was likely always on for Iommi's early Sabbath tones, but exact knob settings are unknown.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Tony Iommi's 'Electric Funeral' tone is thick, dark, and doomy, with heavy bass and mids, rolled-off treble, and little to no reverb. He used a Laney Supergroup amp cranked to classic Sabbath crunch, favoring a saturated, mid-forward British sound with a dry, room-mic'd production typical of early 70s metal.