Tone library / Mötley Crüe / Kickstart my heart

Kickstart my heart amp settings — Blackstar ID:Core 20 V3

The Mötley Crüe guitar tone for “Kickstart my heart”, dialed in for a Blackstar ID:Core 20 V3 with a Jackson JS22 Dinky. Studio version, Dr. Feelgood (1989)

Original rig

Modified Marshall JCM800 heads cranked hard, Gibson Les Paul Custom/Standard with Seymour Duncan JB humbucker, Dunlop Cry Baby Wah, Boss SD-1 as boost

Thick, saturated 80s hair metal crunch with scooped mids, warm low-end, and aggressive high-gain bite

Amp settings — Blackstar ID:Core 20 V3

CHANNELOD2 voice with ISF at 3 o'clock (British/Marshall voicing)BOOSToff

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The ID:Core's OD2 channel with ISF cranked toward British territory gets you closest to the JCM800's saturated Marshall grind. Mars ran scooped mids on his modded heads, but your Jackson's ceramic humbuckers are brighter and thinner than his Les Paul with JB pickups—mid at 5 compensates, preventing the tone from getting too thin and fizzy. Your amp lacks a presence control, so treble at 7 handles the high-end bite.

PRO TIPMars picked hard right over the bridge pickup pole pieces for that percussive attack on the main riff—dig in aggressively with a slight palm mute to nail the chunk without losing note definition.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Blackstar ID:Core 20 V3. 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.