Freaks amp settings — Peavey Rage 158

The Surf curse guitar tone for “Freaks”, dialed in for a Peavey Rage 158 with a Cort Leadstar. Studio version, 'Buds' EP (2013) — the viral track

Original rig

Likely a Fender-style guitar into a small tube amp (Fender Princeton/Deluxe class) pushed into natural breakup, minimal pedals — raw garage punk approach

Gritty lo-fi punk crunch with midrange bite, slightly overdriven but not saturated, raw and immediate

Amp settings — Peavey Rage 158

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Peavey Rage 158 is a solid-state practice amp with a tight, slightly scooped voicing compared to the warm tube breakup on the original. Push mid to 7 to compensate for the Rage's natural mid-scoop and get that punk bark. Gain at 6 gives you grit without mush — the original isn't heavily distorted, just pushed. The Cort's humbuckers are hotter than the likely single-coil original, so tone knob rolled to 7 tames the top end.

PRO TIPThis tone lives in the pick attack — dig in hard with downstrokes on the power chords for that aggressive punk thump. The Rage will respond to dynamics; lighter touch cleans up, heavy attack gets the grit. Keep your strumming arm loose and relentless.

Get this tone on your amp

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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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.