Billie Jean amp settings — Donner Arena 2000
The Michael Jackson guitar tone for “Billie Jean”, dialed in for a Donner Arena 2000 with a Cort X300. Studio album version, Thriller (1982) — iconic main bassline
Louis Johnson's Music Man StingRay (direct with flatwounds) doubled with Greg Phillinganes on Yamaha CS-80 / Minimoog bass synthesizer
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 2 |
| Bass | 7 |
| Mid | 6 |
| Treble | 3 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 8 |
01Pitch/Octaver Block (Arena 2000)
Set 1 octave down to emulate the bass guitar/synth register on a 6-string
02Studio Compressor Block (Arena 2000)
Fast attack, tight dynamic squeeze to match Louis Johnson's thumb and the synth envelope
Because you are playing the iconic bassline on a 6-string electric guitar, the Octave block drops the pitch by one octave to reach the true bass register. The Cort X300's bridge humbucker is used to capture the tight attack of the StingRay pickup, while rolling the tone knob down to 4 eliminates unwanted guitar high-end chime. Treble is pulled back significantly on the modeler to emulate the original flatwound strings and the Minimoog low-pass filter.
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These settings are for a Donner Arena 2000. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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