The Beauty and a Beat (feat. Nicki Minaj) by Justin Bieber guitar tone is built on a Unknown, dialed in at gain 4.5/10, bass 5.5, mid 5.5, treble 7, presence 6 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.
🎛️ These settings are for the original rig — re-dial them for YOUR amp in 10 seconds. Free, no signup →Measured against the 1310 tones in our researched catalog: Gain 4.5 sits right around the catalog average (5.3); mids at 5.5 are right around average (5.9).
Guitar: Unknown (likely session guitar, possibly Fender Stratocaster or similar HSS superstrat, but no direct evidence for exact model on studio recording) · Amp: Unknown (no direct evidence; likely modern digital amp or plugin, possibly Line 6, Kemper, or Axe-FX, as is common for 2010s pop studio recordings)
Bridge pickup (likely, for clarity and bite in distorted riff)
Unknown (likely session guitar, possibly Fender Stratocaster or similar HSS superstrat, but no direct evidence for exact model on studio recording) → Compressor pedal (model unknown) → Chorus pedal (model unknown) → Unknown (no direct evidence; likely modern digital amp or plugin, possibly Line 6, Kemper, or Axe-FX, as is common for 2010s pop studio recordings)
compression, chorus, reverb
tight and rhythmic, bright and percussive, moderate sustain, slightly compressed, clean articulation with mild breakup, modern pop clarity, not heavily saturated, punchy midrange, crisp attack, no audible fuzz or high-gain
studio
straight, fast tempo, loud dynamics · crunch distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Beauty and a Beat (feat. Nicki Minaj) sound.
2/5
The riff requires tight, syncopated rhythm playing with clean muting and articulation at a fast tempo, but does not involve advanced techniques or complex chord voicings.
Set your amp to roughly: gain 4.5, bass 5.5, mid 5.5, treble 7, presence 6, reverb 3. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.
Original gear/effects: Guitar: Unknown (likely session guitar, possibly Fender Stratocaster or similar HSS superstrat, but no direct evidence for exact model on studio recording) · Amp: Unknown (no direct evidence; likely modern digital amp or plugin, possibly Line 6, Kemper, or Axe-FX, as is common for 2010s pop studio recordings); compression, chorus, reverb.
Yes. Different guitars and amps need different knob positions to sound the same. GuitarToneAdapt models pickup output and wood brightness, then compensates so you match the record on your own rig.
Start with Bridge pickup (likely, for clarity and bite in distorted riff), the amp EQ above (gain 4.5, bass 5.5, mid 5.5, treble 7, presence 6, reverb 3), and compression, chorus, reverb. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.
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