How It Was Recorded

Michael Jackson · Thriller, 1982

Beat It

Lead vocalRhythm guitarsTape and mixVerified3Reported2

What the sources do and do not say

Song rows come from Lukather's accounts of re-tracking Beat It (Guitar World, MusicRadar); the Sound On Sound Swedien interview covers Thriller generally and never names this song, so its two rows are album-level. MusicRadar's account says the Marshall part was recut under the solo and then redone on a Paul Rivera-modded Blackface Deluxe Reverb; the Guitar World quote says only 'Fender Deluxe'. Van Halen's solo rig and the drum and bass chain are not stated in any source read.

Lead vocal

Michael Jackson

Microphone

Shure SM7

VerifiedAlbum sessions

Album sessions, not stated for this song: Swedien used it on most of Jackson's lead vocals, giving 'Billie Jean' and 'The Way You Make Me Feel' as examples; he does not name 'Beat It'.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. Its successor, the SM7B, is still made.

Rhythm guitars

Steve Lukather

Instrument

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Reported

Lukather's 1959 Les Paul Standard was the guitar for the double-tracked rhythm part he recut after Quincy Jones asked for a less heavy sound.

Source: MusicRadar, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Amplifier

Fender Deluxe

Verified

Lukather swapped to his Fender Deluxe with less distortion for the final guitar sound, at Jones's request.

Source: Guitar World, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5

amp and cabinet simulator

An amp and cabinet simulator covering this style of amplifier. Whether this exact model is included was not checked.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7 Pro (An amp and cabinet simulator covering this style of amplifier. Whether this exact model is included was not checked).

Tape and mix

Input chain

Unidentified 24-track tape machine

Verified

Lukather explains that two 24-track machines could be locked together with SMPTE timecode to give more tracks, while recounting the tape problem with the Beat It solo.

Source: MusicRadar, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Approximate

Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines

tape

Models two Studer machines, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Studer A800 Tape Recorder (Models a Studer A800, not this recorder. It gives the general behaviour of analogue multitrack tape).

Mix effects

Harrison 4032

ReportedAlbum sessions

Swedien used a Harrison 4032 console at Westlake Studios for the Thriller album; the article does not tie it to this song.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. No verified product page was found for a plugin of this desk. Harrison has released plugins based on its 32-series EQ; check the maker's site.

Sources

  1. Bruce Swedien: Recording Michael Jackson, Sound On Sound, 2009-11. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  2. "There was another take of Beat It" - Steve Lukather on re-tracking his parts with Jeff Porcaro under Eddie Van Halen's solo, MusicRadar, 2023-01-18. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  3. Michael Jackson's Beat It: two of rock's best guitarists recall how they helped create the groundbreaking hit, Guitar World, 2023-01-04. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
Verified

Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.

Reported

Stated by a reputable secondary source.

Inferred

An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.

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