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Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart - Famous Riffs - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart - Famous Riffs guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
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Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
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Motley Crue Hard Rock E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Kickstart My Heart - Famous Riffs

Few riffs in Hard Rock are as immediately recognisable as the opening salvo of "Kickstart My Heart." Mick Mars built it around a driving, palm-muted E-based figure that locks tightly with the kick drum, so your right-hand muting has to be consistent and precise. At 120 BPM in E minor on standard tuning, the tempo is not brutal, but keeping that palm mute tight and attacking each note cleanly on beat is where most players slip up. The verse and chorus sections also demand quick position shifts up the neck, so knowing where your anchor points are before you try to play through at speed will save you a lot of grief. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the intro riff slowed down until the pick attack and muting feel automatic, then gradually bring it back up to tempo. Motley Crue recorded this in a period when Mars was squeezing everything out of a hard-picked, high-gain tone, so a little overdrive goes a long way toward nailing the feel.

  • The signature riff is built on a palm-muted, low-E-centered pattern in E minor, making right-hand muting control the core technical challenge.
  • At 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, the tempo is approachable, but clean pick attack and consistent palm muting across position shifts are essential.
  • Looping the intro riff slowed down using the Practice Toolbar is the most effective way to lock in the muting and attack before playing at full speed.

How to Play Kickstart My Heart - Famous Riffs

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 120 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Mick Mars used custom Fender Stratocasters with humbucker pickups for specific recordings, providing tonal variety beyond his signature Les Paul thickness. The Strat's brighter character offered alternative textures while maintaining the aggressive humbucker-driven attack essential to Motley Crue's sound.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Mars' primary weapon throughout Motley Crue's career, the Les Paul Standard delivered the thick, sustained rhythm tones and warm PAF-style humbucker attack that define the band's heavy metal foundation. Its stock Gibson electronics and natural resonance let the cranked Marshall amp create the signature crunch without additional processing.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Mars' most iconic guitar choice, the black and white Les Paul Customs from the late 70s and 80s provided the dense, aggressive tones that powered Motley Crue's biggest hits. The custom model's weight and construction contributed to the sustained, sludgy rhythm guitar sound that became the band's sonic trademark.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

The core of Mick Mars' legendary tone, his heavily modified JCM800 heads with scooped mids and cranked preamp gain created Motley Crue's characteristic thick, saturated crunch. Driven hard with a Les Paul's humbuckers, this combination produced the warm yet aggressive distortion that defined 80s hair metal.

Soldano SLO-100
Amp

Soldano SLO-100

Mars adopted the Soldano SLO-100 in later years for its smoother, more refined high-gain character compared to the Marshall's rawer saturation. The Soldano's tighter response and cleaner articulation suited Motley Crue's evolution while maintaining the band's heavy, sustain-driven aesthetic.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Featured prominently on 'Kickstart My Heart' intro and various solos, Mars' Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal added dynamic expression to his otherwise amp-driven tone. The wah's sweeping character became an iconic texture in Motley Crue's arsenal of lead guitar effects.

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