Beat It amp settings — Orange Crush 20
The Michael Jackson guitar tone for “Beat It”, dialed in for a Orange Crush 20 with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Thriller (1982) — iconic main rhythm riff
Steve Lukather's 1959 Gibson Les Paul into a modded Fender Deluxe Reverb with light overdrive
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 6 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Mid | 7 |
| Treble | 6 |
| Master | 5 |
The Orange Crush 20 naturally has thick, dark low-mids, so pushing the mid control to 7 gives the required punch while keeping bass controlled at 5. To compensate for the brighter single-coil pickup on the Squier Strat compared to Lukather's thick Les Paul humbuckers, roll the guitar tone knob back to 8 and keep treble at 6. The Crush 20 faceplate lacks presence and onboard reverb controls, so both are set to null.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Orange Crush 20. 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.