Tone library / Michael Jackson / Beat It

Beat It amp settings — Marshall MG10 Gold

The Michael Jackson guitar tone for “Beat It”, dialed in for a Marshall MG10 Gold with a Cort X100. Studio version, Thriller album (1982) — rhythm riff parts by Steve Lukather

Original rig

Valley Arts Custom Pro (HSS) into Paul Rivera-modded Fender Deluxe Reverb, bridge humbucker, minimal gain

Tight percussive crunch with scooped mids and bridge pickup bite

Amp settings — Marshall MG10 Gold

CHANNELOverdrive

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	5
Mid	4
Treble	8
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The MG10's Overdrive channel is pushed to moderate gain (6) to match Lukather's Rivera-modded Deluxe crunch, but the Marshall voice is naturally mid-forward vs the scooped Fender original — so mid is pulled to 4 and treble bumped to 8 to restore the percussive bite and clarity. Your Cort's humbucker outputs hotter than Lukather's single-coil-loaded Valley Arts, keeping gain modest prevents mush.

PRO TIPPalm-mute the eighth-note chugs hard and pick closer to the bridge than you think — the original riff's tightness comes from strict right-hand discipline, not just amp settings.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG10 Gold. 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.