Tone library / Pantera / Cat scratch fever

Cat scratch fever amp settings — Peavey Vypyr x2

The Pantera guitar tone for “Cat scratch fever”, dialed in for a Peavey Vypyr x2 with a Harley Benton SC-Custom II. Live cover version, The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits! (1999)

Original rig

Randall RG100ES solid-state head, Furman PQ-3 parametric EQ, Dean ML with Bill Lawrence L-500XL bridge pickup

Scooped, aggressive high-gain with tight low end, searing highs, and cutting attack

Amp settings — Peavey Vypyr x2

CHANNEL6505+ (or US High Gain model)BRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	6
Mid	3
Treble	8
Presence	7
Reverb	0
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Parametric EQ (Vypyr built-in)

Use the Vypyr's built-in EQ stomp to further scoop mids around 400-800Hz — this was critical to Dime's tone via his Furman PQ-3

Low 5 · Mid Freq 3 · Mid Level 2 · High 7

02Noise Gate (Vypyr built-in)

Tighten the palm mutes and kill feedback between riffs — Dime ran a gate to keep his high-gain rig silent

Threshold 4

Why these settings

Your Vypyr's 6505+ model is the closest match to Dime's Randall solid-state aggression — both are tight, scooped, and unforgiving. The SC-Custom II's humbuckers are hotter than Dime's Bill Lawrence pickups, so gain stays at 8 rather than maxed. Mids dropped to 3 replicates his signature scoop; the tab notes confirm 'high treble, high distortion' as the target.

PRO TIPDimebag's attack came from picking hard directly over the bridge pickup pole pieces with heavy picks (.88mm+) angled steeply — this adds the harmonic 'squeal' potential his tone is famous for without touching the pinch harmonic technique itself.

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These settings are for a Peavey Vypyr x2. 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.