Tone library / Mötley Crüe / Kickstart My Heart

Kickstart My Heart amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The Mötley Crüe guitar tone for “Kickstart My Heart”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Dr. Feelgood (1989)

Original rig

Marshall JCM800 (modified) + Soldano SLO-100, Kramer Baretta with Seymour Duncan JB humbucker, Boss SD-1 boost, Dunlop Cry Baby wah

Thick, saturated 80s hair metal crunch with scooped mids, aggressive high-gain attack, and sustain for days

Amp settings — Fender Champion 20

CHANNELVoice switch set to position 2 (more gain/saturation)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	10
Bass	5
Mid	6
Treble	4
Reverb	1
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone. The SD-1 pushes the amp into tighter saturation and adds the mid-hump bite Mars used. A TS9 or any Tube Screamer clone works as a substitute. Without this pedal, the Champion 20 cannot achieve the required gain saturation — it will sound thin and fizzy at max gain.

Level 7 · Tone 5 · Drive 4

Why these settings

The Champion 20 is a solid-state practice amp with limited gain compared to Mars' cranked tube Marshalls. I maxed the gain and backed off treble from the original's 6-7 to 4 because the Champion's treble gets harsh at high gain — Fender solid-state amps bite hard up top. Mid is pushed to 6 (original was scooped) to compensate for the Champion's naturally scooped Fender voicing and your Strat's single coils, which lack the midrange punch of Mars' humbuckers.

PRO TIPYour single-coil Strat will sound thinner and more brittle than Mars' humbucker tone — roll your tone knob to 6-7 for solos to fatten the top end, and dig in hard with your pick angled slightly for more attack. The SD-1 is non-negotiable here; without it, you're bringing a knife to a gunfight.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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