[trains are bad]

I'm not well-listened when it comes to rock and roll, but I have all the Dire Straits albums, all the Steely Dan albums, and a lot of the Pink Floyd and Eagles, and John Fogerty, and The Nightfly, and Todd Rundgren, and I'm just trying to think of albums I have that might be from the same time period. But the Dire Straits Guitars have that twang...it's kind of a crunchy twang. But with a bit of reverb too, yet with no sustain. Maybe a moaning, crunchy, twangy squeal inside a grand piano. With a matress on top. Does anyone know what guitars and amps they used? I just wonder where that awesome crunchy, pianoy, twangy moany sound comes from.

 

[BradJudy]

As is often the case with the internet, someone has a website devoted to the topic: Dire Straits / Mark Knopfler Guitar Site

*cough* Google *cough*

 

[Busta9iron]

Short answer, he didn't use a pick. Mark Knopfler that is.

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busta9iron /img/forum/go_quote.gif Short answer, he didn't use a pick. Mark Knopfler that is.

true. mark knopler unique sound is mostly because of this reason,and i think that they also had a good sense of sound,they knew what their sound and they went for it.

 

[928GTS]

This might help.

 

[Dankerz]

Looks like the members at AK like Mark more than they do here!
What did Dire Straits do to their amps to get that sound? - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

 

[aaron313]

I am listening to Brothers In Arms as I write this, per chance. As others have said, his sound is primarily influenced by his use of fingerstyle. It makes the sound more diffuse, because pick attacks are much sharper in contrast. If you want sustain, then you can wring the note with vibrato for a while.

If you want to hear some very good fingerstyle electric blues, listen to Clapton on From the Cradle. Any track that sounds "sticky" (my term) is due to the use of fingers allowing for more emphasis on each note in a run, which gives the impression that each note is grounded well. It's interesting to contrast this with lead breaks that have more of a floating effect, which is the result of being unable to emphasize each picked note and play with great speed. Basically, fingers make every note more important because you can pluck harder.

 

[vai-777]

The tone was "is" in his fingers...and the custom Pensa guitars made at Rudy's music in NYC.

 

[Mandrakespain]

It was....an accident! At least the recording of "Money for nothing", as explained in this very interesting article I found a while ago:

CLASSIC TRACKS: Dire Straits 'Money For Nothing'