Comments on: What tuning is Setting me up by Dire Straits, and what guitar?

By: Sultan

Sultan — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:26:50 +0000

Ingo you have put together a truely amazing site and your playing is superb. I would love to see a video of your interpretion of the rhythm playing on single Handed Sailor my favourite DS song. The Rockpalast 79 version captures Mark’s rhythm part in the verses but he concentrates on the lead during the chorus. I’m sure you could make it work!

All the best,

Matt

By: Ingo

Ingo — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:31:44 +0000

It is confirmed that he played the LPS on this song on the next day (Germany, Essen) , so it is more than likely that he played it here, too.

On the May ’79 gigs he played David’s black Strat on Smu. (while David played a Peavey)

By: Jean-François

Jean-François — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:52:58 +0000

I have recently listen to Amsterdam 4.11.79, and I didn’t hear so much difference in the guitar sound between Setting me up and other songs.
To me, it doesn’t sound Les Paul special. Maybe the interview from “late 79″ was about another gig. I will listen to Oslo tomorrow

However, I hear the LPS sound on the demo version. The sound is less clear than a strat, I think. And there’s effects like chorus or flanger or so

By: cash loans

cash loans — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:52:39 +0000

The desire of knowledge, like the thirst for riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it.

By: Alf [ItalianDireStraitsTributeBand]

Alf [ItalianDireStraitsTributeBand] — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:04:49 +0000

Hi Ingo, hi Allan, the last solo is surely in open A tuning (maybe in G with capo if you prefer,but you can have some difficoult on bending then) you can also listen on the sample solo of Ingo, there’s a scale that is very similar of the one mark plays at the end of the tune. Anyway Ingo a very good work, thanks for yr suggestions that are very useful
thnaks + rgds
Al

By: jarda

jarda — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:35:46 +0000

Hi, great info, would you please give any hints or tips how to play it? I mean properly in open tuning, as it is meant to be played:) Thank you!

By: Pictures of Dire Straits, Live at the Zirkus Krone, Munchen, May 29, 1979 | Mark Knopfler Guitar / More Knowledge about the guitar

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:07:00 +0000

[...] Man HD 130 amps, David played a Peavy T-60 guitar, David’s black Strat was used by Mark for Setting me up now, John played two Ampeg [...]

By: Marco Schaap

Marco Schaap — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:13:53 +0000

Hi Ingo,
This is really incredible stuff! Thanks very much for all the interesting info on this song. I think ‘Setting me up’ is indeed a true masterpiece, especially guitar-wise.
I’m trying to play this song in standard tuning at the moment (like the late 90s versions of the NHBs) and to my ears it works out pretty good so far, at least for the intro riff and while accompanying myself while singing. During the solo bits I would like to improvise a bit in Knopfler-style. Could you give me some advice on which scale to use (i.e. what does Knopfler here live)? Assuming the song’s key is A major (?), I would use the following notes: a,b,c#,d,e,f#,g#. However, when I tried this it didn’t sound good and didn’t feel right. Maybe I have to omit some notes or add a few others in some places. I don’t know, I never took a lesson, all my notes or a matter of guessing;-) Maybe I just came up with crappy licks…
I hope you or other blog readers can give me some advice on this.
Kind regards,
Marco

By: Ingo

Ingo — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:40:58 +0000

This is possible. On that Leeds 78 bootleg, he doesn’t play the outro solo, only riffs instead, in 1979 he played the outro solo live as well.
Since on the studio version the solo was an overdub anyway, I can imagine that he simply took standard tuning here but I admit that this is one of a view of those early solos which I have never tried to play, so I can’t tell for sure.

Ingo

By: Knopfleberg

Knopfleberg — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:11:57 +0000

This is just superp info Ingo, it’s higly appriciated. I also figured out that this song is in open A, but I am almost certain that the last solo is in standard tuning (I can’t get it to fit in th eopen tuning, it seems too hard to do)What is your opinion on this?

All the best

Allan

Ps.

Great to see you at the MK user group ;o)