Beat it amp settings — EVH 5150 Iconic 80W
The Evh guitar tone for “Beat it”, dialed in for a EVH 5150 Iconic 80W with a Gibson Slash Les Paul Standard. Studio version, Thriller (1982) — Eddie Van Halen's iconic solo
Charvel/Frankenstrat with Seymour Duncan humbucker → Echoplex tape delay → Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100W (Jose Arredondo modded with Variac) or Hartley-Thompson HT45
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Presence | 6 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 5 |
01Analog Delay (RECOMMENDED — not owned)
RECOMMENDED — Echoplex-style tape delay or MXR Carbon Copy; subtle slapback adds depth to tapping sections without muddying attack
Your EVH 5150 Iconic is voiced almost identically to Eddie's modded Marshalls — this is the amp he helped design to capture that exact 'brown sound.' Use the Green channel, not Red — the original was a pushed plexi, not modern high-gain saturation. Your Les Paul's Burstbuckers are hotter and darker than Eddie's direct-mounted single humbucker, so I dropped bass by 1 and pushed mids by 0.5 vs the original to retain note clarity in tapped runs.
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These settings are for a EVH 5150 Iconic 80W. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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