{"id":415584,"date":"2020-03-03T18:01:05","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T17:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/?p=415584"},"modified":"2020-03-11T12:01:42","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T11:01:42","slug":"hit-the-tone-black-sabbaths-paranoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/gear\/hit-the-tone-black-sabbaths-paranoid\/","title":{"rendered":"Hit the Tone! Black Sabbath’s Paranoid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hasn’t enough been said about this record already?<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Well, we hope not. Still, it never hurts to celebrate<\/strong> (on its 50th anniversary<\/strong>) a fundamental album in the history of metal<\/strong> and adjacent genres<\/strong>. Yes, folks: without Paranoid<\/strong> <\/em><\/a>(without the first four Black Sabbath<\/strong> albums, actually), the long-haired dudes in high school would have only heard the (relatively) slow blues of Blue Cheer<\/strong><\/a>. With all due respect to Blue Cheer, these four British<\/strong> freaks were something else: no other band had ever sounded so disturbed<\/strong>, so possessed <\/strong>(if you will), so blunt<\/strong> and concise<\/strong> at the same time. Without Paranoid<\/em> there would be no heavy metal<\/strong>, but also no thrash<\/strong>, no sludge<\/strong>, no doom<\/strong>, no stoner rock<\/strong>, no grunge<\/strong>. Black Sabbath brought together spirit<\/strong>, charisma<\/strong> and an absolutely uncontested way of approaching each instrument (as we will see throughout the article) in an album that is undeniably important in the history of human culture. In this Hit the Tone<\/strong><\/a> we’ll be discussing the reasons why Paranoid<\/em> sounds the way it does and how you can recreate that sound<\/strong> without having to bite off a bat’s head<\/strong><\/a> (unless you want to). Here we go! ?<\/p>\n

Let’s start with the guitar: the importance of the Monkey<\/h3>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

The story is well known: shortly before the gestation of Paranoid<\/em>, Tony Iommi<\/strong> met someone who provided him with a left-handed<\/strong> Gibson<\/strong> SG<\/strong><\/a>. Iommi decided to modify it a bit: he went to the famous guitar maker John Birch<\/strong>‘s shop and fitted it with the famous Simplux<\/strong> pickups<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The other pickup was also rewound<\/strong> and coated with metal<\/strong>. The neck<\/strong>, too, was finished with a layer of polyurethane lacquer<\/strong>, making it easier to move between frets, and a zero fret<\/strong> was added. Last but not least, we can’t forget the decal<\/strong> of a monkey playing the fiddle<\/strong>. Iommi used this glorious Frankenstein (among other guitars) in Paranoid<\/em>, Master of Reality<\/strong> (1971) and Vol. 4<\/strong> (1972). Later, by the way, he stopped using it and sold it to the museum at the Hard Rock Cafe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Although the Monkey guitar<\/strong> is made upon request, given its exclusive character and its prohibitive price, we will discuss the other guitars<\/strong> that Iommi used on the album, as well as possible alternatives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Iommi says that for the second Black Sabbath album he wanted to try something different. Since he had been playing Fenders<\/strong> (Stratocaster<\/strong><\/a>, mainly), in this case he opted for Gibsons<\/strong>. His relationship with the Les Paul<\/strong><\/a> was short, as he never felt completely comfortable with it. His great guitar, the one which everyone associates with this British guitarist is, without a doubt, the Gibson SG<\/strong><\/a>, one of the most versatile<\/strong> guitars in the world: it’s good for unleashing a storm and accompanying a picnic. In fact, the Signature<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0that Iommi developed with Epiphone<\/strong> is inspired by the SG<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In any case, to emulate the sound of Black Sabbath, it will always be advisable to use two<\/strong> humbucker pickups<\/strong><\/a>, which will provide us with more force<\/strong> and power <\/strong>than single-coil pickups<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube<\/strong>. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.<\/p>\n

More Information<\/a> <\/div>\n

Unblock this content<\/a> Accept required service and unblock its content<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Iommi had the pickup switch<\/strong> set to the upper position<\/strong> (rhythm<\/strong>) for riffs<\/strong> and to the treble<\/strong> for solos<\/strong> like the one you hear above.<\/p>\n

Pedals from Hell<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To emulate the sound of Tony Iommi you’re going to need several pedals<\/strong>. Don’t panic: you won’t have to spend hours tweaking knobs but a booster<\/strong><\/a>, a wah<\/strong> wah<\/strong><\/a> and a phaser<\/strong><\/a> will be of great help.<\/p>\n

The booster (above you have the Catalinbread Naga Viper<\/strong><\/a> and the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra<\/strong><\/a> increases the guitar signal<\/strong> just before it reaches the distortion threshold<\/strong>. The wah wah (Fulltone Clyde<\/a><\/strong> is the one you have up here modulates a specific frequency band<\/strong> within the sample, resulting in the characteristic sound that you can sense from its name. A phaser (Walrus Audio Lillian<\/strong><\/a> in the pic above) is an effect that firstly splits the signal<\/strong> of the guitar and then sends a clean signal and a second one with the phase shifted<\/strong>. Finally, the pedal mixes the two signals<\/strong>, which cancel each other out and generate a sound-sweeping effect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube<\/strong>. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.<\/p>\n

More Information<\/a> <\/div>\n

Unblock this content<\/a> Accept required service and unblock its content<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Take Iron Man<\/strong>, for example. As we were saying, Tony Iommi used to put the pickup selector<\/strong> on the treble<\/strong>. To strengthen that feeling, he boosted the high frequencies<\/strong> by increasing the volume of his signal (see the solo in this song). To do this, we’ll set the boost<\/strong> (or gain<\/strong>) knob<\/strong> to either 4 or 6 o’clock<\/strong>. If our booster is somewhat more complex and allows us to select which frequencies to boost, we will obviously select the high frequencies<\/strong>. In addition, the slight oscillation<\/strong> that we hear at certain times is due to a phaser<\/strong>. Iommi used it to give some character and darkness<\/strong> (and paranoia<\/strong>, of course) to his guitar, but he didn’t abuse it: we are talking about a subtle use<\/strong> of this pedal, placing the knobs at a medium<\/strong> level<\/strong> at most.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7H9ZQSZ9G9I<\/p>\n

And you’ll say we forgot about the wah wah. Well, no! Listen to the intro of Electric Funeral<\/strong>. See, there it is! The wah wah is a pedal that is much more about the dynamics<\/strong> we use than the actual settings. In this case, Iommi uses it in the riff between verses<\/strong> (when Ozzy<\/strong> isn’t singing) in time with the kick drum<\/strong>. It also accentuates the last notes<\/strong>. Yes, super well executed!<\/p>\n

Let’s make that sound big, for Satan<\/h3>\n

To show you we’re not lying, we’ll put it in Iommi’s own words: “On Paranoid<\/em> I basically used an SG and the Laney<\/strong><\/a>. Everybody used HiWatts <\/strong>and Marshalls<\/strong><\/a>, but I liked the Laney<\/strong> with 12-inch<\/strong> cabs”.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Although he also used Fender amplifiers<\/strong><\/a> for some solos (because of their nice brightness<\/strong>), Iommi immortalized the combination of Laney heads<\/strong> (pictured above, the LA100SM <\/strong><\/a>and the LA30BL<\/strong><\/a>) and 12″ cabs<\/strong><\/a> (pictured below, the LA212<\/strong><\/a> and the IRT412A Ironheart<\/strong>). <\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Throughout the record, the amplifier configuration is the same: bass <\/strong>at 0, middle, presence <\/strong>and gain 1 to 10<\/strong>, to generate a crisp sound<\/strong>, with the natural overdrive of tube amplifiers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube<\/strong>. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.<\/p>\n

More Information<\/a> <\/div>\n

Unblock this content<\/a> Accept required service and unblock its content<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Before we conclude with the guitar section, we must remember a couple of things. I’m sure you know the story of when Tony Iommi had an accident at work<\/strong>, cut off<\/strong> a couple of his fingers<\/strong> and had to relearn how to play with a small prosthesis<\/strong> he made himself. Well, some people say that heavy metal<\/strong> came out of that accident: in his relearning<\/strong>, Iommi was forced to minimize the hooks<\/strong> and focus on the rhythm<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t