Tone library / Michael Jackson / Beat It

Beat It amp settings — Blackstar ID: CORE v4

The Michael Jackson guitar tone for “Beat It”, dialed in for a Blackstar ID: CORE v4 with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Thriller (1982) — Eddie Van Halen solo

Original rig

Frankenstrat (Seymour Duncan SH-5 Custom humbucker, bridge) → Echoplex Tape Delay → Hartley-Thompson HT45 combo amp

Saturated, mid-forward high-gain lead with singing sustain, bright attack, and slapback delay

Amp settings — Blackstar ID: CORE v4

CHANNELOD2 voice, ISF at 2 o'clock (British/Marshall side)BOOSTon

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

Don’t have a Blackstar ID: CORE v4? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Blackstar ID:CORE Built-in Delay

Emulates Echoplex slapback — short delay time (~120ms), low repeats, moderate mix

Time 3 · Feedback 2 · Level 4

Why these settings

Your Squier's single-coil bridge pickup has lower output and brighter voicing than Eddie's hot humbucker. Compensate with gain +1 (to 8), mid +1 (to 7) for thickness, and tone knob rolled to 8 to tame ice-pick highs. ISF set toward British to get the compressed, harmonic-rich saturation of the original amp.

PRO TIPEddie's vibrato on this solo is wide and from the wrist, not finger-wiggle — practice bending the string parallel to the fret with your whole hand pivoting from the thumb for that vocal, crying sustain.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Blackstar ID: CORE v4. 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.