lead guitar from “beat it” by michael jackson (guitar solo by eddie van halen) | ToneDB
beat it
michael jackson (guitar solo by eddie van halen)
lead guitar
From The Benchv2.0
SOURCES 4 · DOCUMENTED 4 · REPORTED 6 · INFERRED 0 · VERIFIED SEP 2026
Tone Profile
A saturated, high-gain lead tone with tapping, dive bombs and a slapback tape echo, dropped into a pop record that is otherwise clean and tight. It is loud in every sense and mixed to sit right on top.
Gear
- Frankenstratinstrument
- Reverb$400Sweetwater
- Marshallamp
- ReverbSweetwater
- Echoplexprocessing
- ReverbSweetwater
- Gibson Les Paul Standardguitar
- ReverbSweetwater
- Fender Deluxe Reverbamp
- ReverbSweetwater
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The Story
Beat It was recorded for Thriller in October 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, produced by Quincy Jones with Michael Jackson co-producing. Eddie Van Halen played the solo as a favour, unpaid, and had the section rearranged so the solo sat over the verse and had somewhere to go; it was done in two takes. He used his Frankenstrat with an Echoplex tape delay. Sources disagree on the amp: Wikipedia says a rented Marshall, MusicRadar a modified Hartley Thompson. Bruce Swedien has said he left the room when Van Halen warmed up because of the volume. Steve Lukather cut the rhythm guitars and bass and Jeff Porcaro the drums; Lukather first used Marshalls, Quincy Jones called it too metal for pop and R&B radio, and he re-cut with his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard into a Paul Rivera-modified Fender Deluxe Reverb kept below full volume. The story of a control-room speaker catching fire is unconfirmed.
Production Credits
Producer: Quincy Jones
Engineer: Bruce Swedien
Recorded at: Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles
Signal Chain
Instrument: Frankenstrat
Amp: Marshall
Processing: Echoplex
Recreation Tips
- Use a humbucker-equipped superstrat with a floating tremolo; the dive bombs and harmonics need it.
- Run a high-gain amp or a hot-rodded plexi-style amp loud enough to sustain and feed back on demand.
- Put a tape-style delay after the amp or in the loop with a single short repeat; it is slapback, not wash.
- Practise the tapped section slowly and clean before adding gain; gain hides mistakes and then exposes them in the mix.
- Track the solo alone, not with the band, and give it a section of its own if you are building the arrangement.
- Keep the rhythm guitar underneath much cleaner than the solo; the contrast is what makes the solo sound huge.
Original Gear
- Frankenstrat(guitar)
- Marshall(amp)
- Echoplex(delay)
- Gibson Les Paul Standard(guitar)
- Fender Deluxe Reverb(amp)
Substitutions & Recommendations
Alternative to: Frankenstrat
The production version of the same guitar, humbucker and Floyd Rose included.
ReverbSweetwaterAlternative to: Frankenstrat
A superstrat with a locking tremolo at a lower price; does the dives and taps.
ReverbSweetwaterAlternative to: Marshall
Built around his later sound but nails the saturation and sustain the solo needs.
ReverbSweetwaterAlternative to: Echoplex
The tape-style repeat in a pedal, set to one short slap.
ReverbSweetwaterAlternative to: Fender Deluxe Reverb
For the rhythm side of the record: clean, small, and kept below full volume.
ReverbSweetwaterSources
- The incredible story of Eddie Van Halen's Beat It solo, MusicRadar
“I went in when Eddie Van Halen was warming up and I left immediately. It was so loud.”
- Steve Lukather on re-tracking his parts under Eddie Van Halen's solo, MusicRadar
“'We love it but Lukey it's too much, I've got to get this on pop and rnb radio and it's metal.'”
- Eddie Van Halen explains how he broke a band policy to shred on Beat It, Guitar Player
“I didn't ask for anything. It was about 20 minutes out of my life.”
- Beat It, Wikipedia
“Van Halen used a rented Marshall amplifier with his Frankenstrat guitar and an Echoplex.”
Frequently Asked Questions
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