Freak on a Leash
A dissonant seven-string riff after a wobbling, high-pitched intro line.
What is the Freak on a Leash guitar tone?
The Freak on a Leash guitar tone is a dissonant seven-string riff after a wobbling, high-pitched intro line, heard on Korn's 1990s alt metal recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Korn reportedly tracked it with the Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifiers that James 'Munky' Shaffer told MusicRadar gave the band a lot of what they needed back when they were starting to record, with the low end so important and the midrange cranked for more definition, and the Ibanez seven-string guitars he and Brian 'Head' Welch played, though no source read here places an amp or a guitar on this take; Munky says the DigiTech Whammy has been a staple of their setup since Follow the Leader, and Jonathan Davis told The Fader that on this album they started mixing hip-hop-inspired basslines with rock guitar, making the guitar sound like samples; for the opening line, producer Toby Wright told the Talk Toomey podcast that the guitar went through a Pignose amp behind a fan and was captured on a stereo microphone, after two or three hours of setting up, while in a later interview he described a small Auratone speaker behind the fan with a microphone on each side, sped up and slowed down like a Leslie over about twenty-five passes, the two of them also recalling a long cardboard tube and, in his collaborator Justin Walden's words, a little blue Supro tube amp; Wright took over production from Steve Thompson at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, where the song was recorded in May 1998 after being written in 1997, and the band voted 4 to 1 to remove a noisy guitar break from the middle, Jonathan Davis the lone holdout; Freak on a Leash followed Got the Life as the next charting single from Follow the Leader, released in February 1999. Detuned parts need the bass control pulled back further than feels right, or the low strings turn to mud as soon as the gain rises.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Freak on a Leash amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the heavy riffs and the chorus, with the bridge pickup. There is a second setting for the wobbling intro line below.
- Gain 7
- Bass 4
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- DigiTech Whammy and other pedals → Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier distortion, the era's amp
- The control that matters most
- Bass and midrange. Munky says the low end was so important on their Triple Rectifiers and that they cranked the midrange for definition, so on a seven-string tuned low pull the bass back until the low notes stay tight, push the mids up rather than scooping them, and leave the strange high sounds to the pedals.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. A first plan starts with 7 days free, $0 today.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
Second sound
Freak on a Leash amp settings for the wobbling intro line
For the wobbling intro line, start at Gain 2, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the neck or middle position.
- Gain 2
- Bass 4
- Middle 5
- Treble 6
- Presence 5
- Reverb 3
- Signal chain
- A small amp or speaker behind a turning fan, miked in stereo
- Where the song switches
- Toby Wright says the opening guitar track was recorded through a fan, and it wobbles quite a bit before the heavy guitars come in.
- Pickup
- Neck or middle position
The same reference as the panel above: positions on a generic five-knob amp, a starting point rather than the settings on the record.
Does the Freak on a Leash tone sound off on your amp?
Pick what you hear. You get the knobs to turn from the starting point above, and how far. It works from the setting for the heavy riffs and the chorus.
What gear did Korn use on Freak on a Leash?
The Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifiers that James 'Munky' Shaffer told MusicRadar gave the band a lot of what they needed back when they were starting to record, with the low end so important and the midrange cranked for more definition, and the Ibanez seven-string guitars he and Brian 'Head' Welch played, though no source read here places an amp or a guitar on this take; Munky says the DigiTech Whammy has been a staple of their setup since Follow the Leader, and Jonathan Davis told The Fader that on this album they started mixing hip-hop-inspired basslines with rock guitar, making the guitar sound like samples; for the opening line, producer Toby Wright told the Talk Toomey podcast that the guitar went through a Pignose amp behind a fan and was captured on a stereo microphone, after two or three hours of setting up, while in a later interview he described a small Auratone speaker behind the fan with a microphone on each side, sped up and slowed down like a Leslie over about twenty-five passes, the two of them also recalling a long cardboard tube and, in his collaborator Justin Walden's words, a little blue Supro tube amp; Wright took over production from Steve Thompson at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, where the song was recorded in May 1998 after being written in 1997, and the band voted 4 to 1 to remove a noisy guitar break from the middle, Jonathan Davis the lone holdout; Freak on a Leash followed Got the Life as the next charting single from Follow the Leader, released in February 1999.
Sources: MusicRadar: Rig tour, Korn's Munky and Head, The Fader: The definitive oral history of Korn's Freak on a Leash, Metal Wani: Toby Wright on recording the Freak on a Leash intro through a fan, I'm Music Magazine: Interview with Toby Wright and Justin Walden, Wikipedia: Freak on a Leash, Wikipedia: Follow the Leader (Korn album)
Tonelify's tone matcher reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Freak on a Leash tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Freak on a Leash
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Freak on a Leash tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Freak on a Leash?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the heavy riffs and the chorus, with the bridge pickup, and at Gain 2, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3 for the wobbling intro line, with the neck or middle position. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same dissonant seven-string riff after a wobbling, high-pitched intro line from different positions.
Does Freak on a Leash use one amp setting or two?
Two. Toby Wright says the opening guitar track was recorded through a fan, and it wobbles quite a bit before the heavy guitars come in. On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 7, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 2 for the heavy riffs and the chorus, and at Gain 2, Bass 4, Middle 5, Treble 6, Presence 5, Reverb 3 for the wobbling intro line.
What amp did James 'Munky' Shaffer and Brian 'Head' Welch use on Freak on a Leash?
Amp: Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifiers, the band's early recording amps (not placed on this song). Guitar: Ibanez seven-strings, the band's guitars of the era (not placed on this song). Sources: MusicRadar, The Fader, Metal Wani, I'm Music Magazine and Wikipedia.
What were James 'Munky' Shaffer and Brian 'Head' Welch's amp settings on Freak on a Leash?
None of the sources cited on this page gives James 'Munky' Shaffer and Brian 'Head' Welch's full amp settings on Freak on a Leash. The numbers here are a starting point for that kind of part, not the settings from the session, and Tonelify rewrites them for the amp and guitar you own.
How do you get James 'Munky' Shaffer and Brian 'Head' Welch's tone on Freak on a Leash?
Bass and midrange. Munky says the low end was so important on their Triple Rectifiers and that they cranked the midrange for definition, so on a seven-string tuned low pull the bass back until the low notes stay tight, push the mids up rather than scooping them, and leave the strange high sounds to the pedals. Play it with the bridge pickup.
Can you get the Freak on a Leash tone without the original gear?
Yes. The parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order, and those translate to other equipment. Tonelify's adaptation step works them out for the amp and guitar you own.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
A match for your own gear takes a plan, and a first plan starts with 7 days free with nothing charged that day: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
