Rape Me amp settings — peavey rage 158

The Nirvana guitar tone for “Rape Me”, dialed in for a peavey rage 158 with a squier sonic mustang SS. Studio version, In Utero (1993), recorded at Pachyderm Studio with Steve Albini

Original rig

Univox Hi-Flier (single-coil pickups) → Tech 21 SansAmp → broken Fender Quad Reverb (1 power tube, 1 blown speaker)

Raspy, broken-amp grunge crunch with fizzy compression and raw midrange bark

Amp settings — peavey rage 158

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	4
Mid	6
Treble	5
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE6 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion

Mode I (standard). The DS-2 becomes your primary gain source, replicating what the SansAmp did on the record. The Rage 158 stays clean to avoid mud.

Level 7 · Tone 4 · Dist 8

Why these settings

The Rage 158 is a solid-state practice amp with limited headroom—it will not produce the broken-tube rasp of Cobain's Quad Reverb. Your DS-2 must carry all the distortion; amp gain is dropped to 2 to keep the platform clean and prevent double-gain mud. Mid pushed to 6 compensates for the Rage's naturally scooped voicing. Tone knob rolled to 6 on the Mustang tames the single-coil ice pick that Cobain's original Hi-Flier didn't have.

PRO TIPCobain's broken amp gave unpredictable sag and compression—simulate this by picking lighter on verses and digging in hard on the chorus. The DS-2's response to pick dynamics is where the 'alive' quality lives.

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These settings are for a peavey rage 158. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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