Tone library / Michael Jackson / Beat It

Beat It amp settings — Nux Mighty 20 MKII

The Michael Jackson guitar tone for “Beat It”, dialed in for a Nux Mighty 20 MKII with a ESP LTD JH-600 James Hetfield. Studio version solo, Thriller (1982) featuring Eddie Van Halen

Original rig

Eddie Van Halen: Frankenstrat (PAF humbucker into single volume knob) -> Marshall 1959 Super Lead (Plexi with Variac) -> Celestion Greenbacks / studio plate reverb & subtle tape delay

Iconic 'Brown Sound' lead tone: saturated, harmonically rich, upper-mid bite, tight low end, and smooth sustain

Amp settings — Nux Mighty 20 MKII

CHANNELBrit 800 or Plexi amp modelBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	5
Mid	7
Treble	6
Reverb	3
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The NUX Mighty 20 MKII digital platform models British high-gain natively; use the Brit 800 or Plexi amp model to replicate Eddie's cranked Marshall. Your EMG active pickups run significantly hotter and more compressed than Eddie's vintage PAF humbucker, so gain is dialed to 7 and bass is kept at 5 to prevent modern fizz and muddy low end. Presence is omitted as the Mighty 20 MKII faceplate features standard 3-band EQ and master controls.

PRO TIPEddie pick-scratches and uses aggressive pinch harmonics and fretboard tapping; hit the harmonics near the bridge pickup and let the plate reverb create the ambient studio decay.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Nux Mighty 20 MKII. 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.