Beat It amp settings — Fender frontman CRIK25001932
The Michael Jackson guitar tone for “Beat It”, dialed in for a Fender frontman CRIK25001932 with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Thriller (1982) — Steve Lukather rhythm tone (Fender Deluxe); Eddie Van Halen solo requires gain your amp cannot produce
Rhythm: Fender Deluxe amp, various guitars. Solo: Frankenstrat (Seymour Duncan SH-5 Custom humbucker) → Echoplex → Marshall Plexi or Hartley-Thompson HT45
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 4 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Presence | 0 |
| Reverb | 1 |
| Master | 6 |
01Distortion Pedal (e.g. Boss DS-1 or ProCo RAT)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for solo tone. Without this, you can only approximate the Lukather rhythm parts.
02Delay (e.g. Boss DD-3 or any digital delay)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Eddie used Echoplex tape delay; any slapback delay at ~300ms approximates the solo's depth
The Frontman 25R is a solid-state practice amp with limited gain on tap — it will never saturate like Eddie's cranked tube amps. For the Lukather rhythm parts, this actually works in your favor since he used a Fender Deluxe at low gain. I pushed mid to 6 (Frontman is naturally scooped like most Fenders) to help the riff cut. For the solo, you need a distortion pedal — the amp alone cannot produce that sustain and harmonic content.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Fender frontman CRIK25001932. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
Get ToneAdapt on Google PlaySong, 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.