Tone library / Michael Jackson / Beat It

Beat It amp settings — NUX Mighty Lite BT MkII

The Michael Jackson guitar tone for “Beat It”, dialed in for a NUX Mighty Lite BT MkII with a Yamaha Pacifica 112V. Studio version, Thriller (1982) — iconic main riff

Original rig

Steve Lukather's 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard ('Burst) bridge humbucker into a cranked vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb with studio outboard compression and light overdrive

Punchy, tight mid-focused rock crunch with dry articulate pick attack

Amp settings — NUX Mighty Lite BT MkII

CHANNELOD / Plexi Crunch voiceBRIGHToffBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	5
Mid	7
Treble	6
Reverb	1
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Onboard Overdrive Block (TS Drive)

Engaged as a clean mid-boost to tighten the bottom end and push the amp model into crisp Lukather-style crunch

Drive 2 · Tone 6 · Level 8

Why these settings

The NUX Mighty Lite BT MkII lacks a dedicated presence knob and needs an onboard Tube Screamer block set with low gain and high level to emulate Lukather's cranked small-combo punch. Your Pacifica 112V bridge humbucker provides the right output, so mids are pushed to 7 to compensate for the mini-amp's naturally scooped voicing. Keep reverb down to 1 to preserve the tight, dry pocket recorded by Quincy Jones.

PRO TIPDig in hard with a heavy pick angled slightly toward the bridge pickup, releasing palm muting sharply on the riff accents to mimic Lukather's precise studio articulation.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a NUX Mighty Lite BT 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.