Riff Tone
Wicked World
Black Sabbath
Guitarrock1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1960s Fender Stratocaster (white, pre-CBS, rosewood fretboard, modded frets and action)
AmpMarshall 1968 50 Watt Plexi (likely model, as used by Iommi on this track per multiple sources)
PickupsFender single-coil (original Strat pickups, likely bridge position; one pickup reportedly failed during session)
Amp Settings
gain6.5
bass6
mid7
treble6
reverb0
presence7
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1969-1970. Only track on the debut album recorded with the Stratocaster before pickup failure; all others used SG. No evidence of Laney amps or SG on this song. No evidence of effects loop or additional rack gear.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussiveclassic British crunchslightly fuzzy edgeclear note separationaggressive pick attackfocused midrange punchminimal low end rumblebridge pickup biteraw and uncompressedvintage amp saturation
Difficulty
The riff requires tight, aggressive picking and precise palm muting, with fast chord changes and dynamic control to capture the classic Sabbath feel. Not technically advanced, but demands rhythmic accuracy and energy.
Sources
Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear
Create Free AccountGuitarrock1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1960s Fender Stratocaster (white, pre-CBS, rosewood fretboard, modded frets and action)
AmpMarshall 1968 50 Watt Plexi (likely model, as used by Iommi on this track per multiple sources)
PickupsFender single-coil (original Strat pickups, likely bridge position; one pickup reportedly failed during session)
Amp Settings
gain6.5
bass6
mid7
treble6
reverb0
presence7
Effects & Signal Chain
No effects used for this tone
Notes
Studio recording, 1969-1970. Only track on the debut album recorded with the Stratocaster before pickup failure; all others used SG. No evidence of Laney amps or SG on this song. No evidence of effects loop or additional rack gear.
Tone Character(10)
tight and percussiveclassic British crunchslightly fuzzy edgeclear note separationaggressive pick attackfocused midrange punchminimal low end rumblebridge pickup biteraw and uncompressedvintage amp saturation
Difficulty
The riff requires tight, aggressive picking and precise palm muting, with fast chord changes and dynamic control to capture the classic Sabbath feel. Not technically advanced, but demands rhythmic accuracy and energy.
More Black Sabbath tones
- Paranoid · riff
- Iron man · riff
- War Pigs · riff
- Into the Void · riff
- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath · riff
- Paranoid · solo
- Children of the Grave · riff
- N.I.B. · riff
- A National Acrobat · riff
- Sweet Leaf · riff