Mark Knopfler always used the MusicMan 212-HD as his main amp.
For me that´s the traditional Knopfler sound.
...and a Stratocaster, of course.

Cheers,
Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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If you want to try some (MANY) different effects with loads of AMP selections. I suggest you try getting hold of Line6's podfarm. You also download from the site some pre-set (but customizable) combo's including some really accurate Mark Knopfler tones
heres a link to the podfarm2.
http://line6.com/podfarm/

tones can be downloaded from http://line6.com/customtone/browse/podfarm/


Have fun
Cheers
Dave

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"When words fail, the guitar speaks."

LOL Ceri.. yes the infamous Dan Armstrongs.. My very first effects unit was the Blue Clipper fuzz/distortion (plugged into my Colombus Les Paul copy ..) These posts have made me feel all nostalgic about them now, but in reality they were swines to use. I was glad when the male plug fell off the box and I was forced to mount the innards into a suitable box from Tandys with a footswitch on..

Always nice to discover another 'Sultans' devotee. Maybe I'll record it one day if I can cobble together a decent backing track. But the truth is, it came from Knopfler's very 1st album, while I could spend another 10 years refining it! Anyway, just like Harry, I don't mind if I don't make the scene, I've got a day time job and I'm doing alright..

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

A glimpse into Knopfler's style is looking into and listening to Chet Atkins sound and technique.
You can pile on all the effects and reprocessors and the occasional Cuisinart, but without the solid technical base that comprises Atkins, his influences and the followers, it is difficult to understand where Knopfler is coming from.

I have rarely heard a band do justice to Dire Straits early stuff. A lot of Knopfler's style is based on the claw-hammer style which is derived from Banjo picking.....
There now there's a detour to take for a fresh approach....

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Hee-hee! Brilliant - high fives to all of that!

Hey, I live way on down south London town. Hmmm: maybe I'll step out to Angellucci's for my coffee beans (er, 'cept they moved it)...

Cheers - C

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Thanks for all the replies. This is what I was looking for.

The whole of the lead guitar on Dire Straits dire straits (the sultans album) was a copy strat into a Roland Jazz Chorus. A solid state amp. Thats all I hear on it, I certainly don't hear the Fender flabby low end. Theres far too much definition to the sound.
The Orange Squeezer usage has been called into question by a few claiming that the compresion is added at the desk. I don't even know what a compressor sounds like and own three of the things, so I don't have a opinion on that bit.
The reverb is likely the JC120's onboard.

Lots of good info on this site.

http://www.mk-guitar.com

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No no and no

I grew up listening to "Sultans of swing" ... my father had an E-Type Jag (no, his name is not Krok) and we would always listen to dire straits when driving somewhere. I really got that Knopfler's music in my blood, I guess it was the first music I heard in my mother's womb. And this is the main reason why I bought a strat. It was like coming home when I first played a strat.

Isn't this cool?


Cheers

David

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."

I seem to remember my Dad getting into Dire Straits and Knopfler years later than he probably should - he was always a Rock n Roll fan and probably rebelled against anything more modern than Elvis, Orbison etc .. (especially as my sister like 80's stuff - he refused to listen to any modern music from then onwards until he mellowed).

He did comment when playing though a Knopfler book, then swearing, reading it again, playing it, read, play then said
"No wonder I can't get these chords right - He detunes his guitar so he can play some wierd chords easier - the cheeky bugger"

Yes indeed.. Bought a LAG Tramontayne acoustic recently and taught myself Romeo and Juliet. Was getting into some right old finger knots. But found a reference on the internet to his use of open G tuning on the song. Add a capo on the 3rd fret.. TADA!!Instant enlightenment as the clouds part..

I do also love Knopfler's Les Paul tones. Not so much the Schenker-esque half cocked wah of Money For Nothing, but certainly the heavily saturated, mid rich delights of Brothers in Arms.. Exquisite..

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

My Dad turned me on to Dire Straits shortly after their 1st recording was released.
At the time i was surfing and competing up and down the east coast.
Instant.... is the best description, Dire Straits was just perfect for surf music.
Tinges of punk references, hints of a sound that you recognized but had not heard in a very long time. Lyrics that made sense and were not sappy. Infectious catchy melodies yet as far away from the trappings of nauseating pop music as you could get.

Time is the test of any musician and their compositions. Are they relevant today
Dire Straits still sounds as fresh today as it did 30 years ago.
One of my favorite tunes is " Single handed Sailor " my Dad is a former Marine as well as an avid Sailor ( Captain's License ), for a time he was one of those Marine's you never wanted to see walk up your driveway. He was also out in the Atlantic on a 65 ft sloop when the Perfect storm hit. Having driven his crew down to Beauford, I had an opportunity to go on that delivery, fortunately I chose not to. ( everyone made landfall safely if not the worst for wear.)
So every time I hear that song, it become's a melancholic journey.

Very few bands do that, since it is difficult to connect with an audience on an emotional level.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Very often, I listen to Mark's latest records and then put the old "dire straits" or "communique" record. It works! You can hear glimpses of what comes later already in the very first dire straits album.

I love how Mark Knopfler makes good songs and lets the song speak for itself. His songs have a timeless quality, and the guitar is there supporting the song, not the other way round. That's why I listen to Knopfler almost every day, and hardly ever to guitar heros ... I'm interested in music, not in scales played very fast.

Cheers

David

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."

I discovered the in between or what's commonly called the "out of Phase" tone when I brought my '65 Strat home for the first time in '74.Strat playing friends of mine didn't know why my Strat sounded so different from theirs and I wouldn't tell them about my new found setting-greedy or what?

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I had Dire Straits eponymous first album on vinyl when it came out, and man did I love that record. I used to spin it over and over. I just recently reacquired it on CD and look forward to revisiting it. I always loved Mark Knopfler as a guitarist.

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American Standard Strat, Sienna Sunburst
Gibson Les Paul, Desert Burst
Gibson SG '61 Reissue, Heritage Cherry

Zactamondo.

Very amusingly I remember seeing guys back in the day nearly coming to blows over the "correct" way to play Romeo & Juliet. Hey, I guess it was charming that they cared.

However, just the other week on a BBC4 documentary we had proof from the top, because in passing Knopfler demonstrated the tuning on his National with nice camera close-ups. DGDGBD and then capo at the third fret, just as you say. So that Bb chord is simply the top five strings played open. So easy!

Lawks, the amount of time I expended as a beginner teaching myself to play it in standard tuning. D'oh!

Cheers - C

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