Kickstart My Heart amp settings — Fender Rumble 40
The Mötley Crüe guitar tone for “Kickstart My Heart”, dialed in for a Fender Rumble 40 with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Dr. Feelgood (1989) — main driving rhythm riff
Kramer Baretta (Seymour Duncan JB humbucker) → Boss SD-1 → Soldano SLO-100 / Modded Marshall JMP into Marshall 4x12 cabs
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 8 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Mid | 7 |
| Treble | 6 |
| Master | 5 |
01Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; critical to push high-gain saturation into a clean amp platform
02Marshall Guv'nor / High-Gain Distortion
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; needed to replicate the Soldano SLO-100 roar through a bass amp
The Fender Rumble 40 is a clean bass amp with a 4-band EQ and lacks guitar-focused preamp distortion, so its onboard Overdrive switch and Gain must be pushed to 8 to provide maximum crunch today. Set Low-Mid to 7 and High-Mid to 6 on the Rumble panel while trimming Bass to 5 to avoid low-end mud. Single coils on the Affinity Strat lack the output of Mick Mars' Seymour Duncan JB humbucker, so rolling the bridge tone knob down to 8 helps tame harsh highs until a dedicated high-gain distortion pedal is added.
Get this tone on your amp
These settings are for a Fender Rumble 40. 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.