Pages

Blog Post Categories

Archives

Recent Forum Posts

Recent Comments

Links

Meta

Support this Site

Buying things through the links below cost you no more but helps to keep this site alive! Thanks, Ingo

Thomann is Europe's biggest warehouse for musical instruments with low prices.

Musikhaus Thomann Linkpartner

logo125x125button

Click on the banner for a list of downloadable tabs & sheet music for "Knopfler" at musicnotes:

icon icon

Make sure to use the correct Amazon for your country (US / UK / Germany)

Bookmark and Share

Tag cloud




    • Featured Amazon product


    Make sure to visit the correct Amazon for your country (UK / Germany / US):

    How to get that Sultans of Swing Sound – Mark Knopfler played 08 strings?

    Posted in: Mark Knopfler gear by Ingo on September 14, 2008


    It cannot be answered with 100% certainty which string gauge or brand Mark Knopfler played on e.g. the first Dire Straits album or on Communique. There were a few interviews with major guitar magazines, but unfortunately none of these asked for strings.

    For a long time the earliest information was from the Making Movies tour book which listed Fender Extra Lights for this tour. However, this was late 1980 and Knopfler meanwhile had changed to a different guitar (Schecters instead of vintage Fenders) and completely different gear (e.g. all that rack stuff).

    Fender Extra Lights were pure nickel strings with gauges 09, 11, 15, 24, 32, 40 (they have different gauges these days: 16 instead of 15, 42 instead of 40 !). On the next tour he also played 09ers (Deam Markley Custom Light: 09,011,016,026,036,046) so it seemed he was a 09-player in all those years.

    It was only a few years ago that I bought a guitar magazine from 1980 with Knopfler and his red Strat on the front cover on ebay. This was Musician from July 1980.

    Besides the rather informative interview there was an info box about Mark Knopfler’s gear on the last page of the interview which lists guitars (e.g. his brand new Schecters) and amps/effects (still the old stuff from the Communique tour, mind the interview was before the Making Movies tour), and it said which strings he played, and these were not 09ers as assumed, but …

    Fender Super Lights

    Fender Super Lights was a 08 set (08, 11, 14, 22, 32, 38), also pure nickel. Of course the magazine does not say explicitely that these were used on any of the first CDs or on the first tours, but nevertheless, it is the earliest available information.

    I myself had started to use thinner strings on most of my Strats since a few years before because I had the feeling they make some particular licks sound more like those old Dire Straits sound, also Fender and almost the same gauges as the Super Lights (only difference: I favour a 09 instead of 08 for the high e string), so I can indeed say that to me 08 sounds pretty good.

    There is still the saying that big strings give you a big sound, so people like Stevie Ray Vaughn favoured extremely heavy strings, and also Knopfler seems to have gone more and more towards heavier strings over the decades. However, to me that Sultans sound is still one of the best I have ever heard and absolutely unique, so why not using a rather exotic sting gauge for it? And besides, 08s were rather common in the 70ies, you could get them everywhere and only recently they have disappeared from most shop shelves. The good thing: Fender still makes them, and who know, maybe this artice will help that they never will discontinue them :)

    PS: Due to a technical problem I had to change some setting concerning the RSS feed function, so in case you get problems with the RSS, please subscribe again, sorry for the inconvenience. :(

    To all other readers who read this blog regularly and are not familiar with RSS: You find the RSS subscribing uner Meta in the left sidebar, or at the bottom of each page. Use it to subscribe to the blog, which means you are automatically informed about any new posts (or also comments if you want) directly in your browser or your feed reader software.

    "Buy Ingo a beer" - Most people take it for granted to get top-quality content for free. Advertizing income covers less than 10% of the work I put into the site, so why not say thank you with a PayPal donation?

    Post tags: , , ,

    Related articles



    31 Comments »

    1. Thank you for the interesting input! I still got some 08 strings lying around somewhere, maybe I’ll try them out in the next days just for fun :D

      Comment by Philipp — 15. September 2008 @ 12:33

    2. Hi Ingo, I absolutely agree with that with the 8-38’s strings. I have practice very much with the string gauges and these can give you that extra highs in tone and that clear warm tone on the havier strings, versus the muddier tone that give a heavier gauge. Also I want to ask you which of the tubes Rca-Mullard you think he uses on the 1’st and 2′nd album? Have you an experiement (like me) with these tubes?

      Comment by Antonis — 27. September 2008 @ 18:15

    3. Thanks for your comment. No idea about the tubes that were used, I mean we did not even know which amp he played…
      And in the 70ies there were much more companies in the business than today. I a/b compared different tubes a long time ago, but today I normally have two or three 12Ax7 at stock and simply plug them in, with some ampy I like this, with others that one. I tried a few Chinese tubes which I did not like that much.

      Comment by Ingo — 27. September 2008 @ 21:02

    4. This have never really been pointed out, but to me and my guitar friend in the 70s it was common knowledge that Mark Knopfler played 08 sets on the first two Dire Straits records. When you listen to those records it´s obvious that the guitar strings played on are very thin, because when Knopfler pulls them, like before the first verse in Once Upon a Time in the West, the sound is extremely soft in a way which is never the case with 09 sets. It actually sounds like the strings are tuned down when they in fact are not. However we were disappointed when we found out, from the Musician article you mention above, that Knopfler had started using 09 sets and – even worse – started playing Schecter guitars, so the rest of 1980 were spoiled for us. When we actually heard Making Movies for the first time we were upset like two mad dogs because the warmth in the guitar sound had slightly disappeared, and we knew it was all due to those damned Schecter guitars with those damned 09 strings. We came over it, and today when we play professionally we use – you´ve guessed it – 09 strings (but never Schecter guitars).

      Comment by Hans — 8. October 2008 @ 16:00

    5. Thanks for your comment, Hans. Everyone thought he was playing 09, but I also found hat 08 sounded more than Knopfler and started to use them. And I also loved that Fender sound and was shocked about that bad guitar sound when I first heard the Schecter live. Even Knopfler admitted that the Fender sounded better but he said it was pretty hard to play. I however noticed that people who became aware of DS later all love the Schecter sound, it seems to be a matter of what you grew up with.

      Comment by Ingo — 8. October 2008 @ 21:22

    6. Ingo what cables you have found that have warm tone for Marks sound? That old spiral that he uses which brand you think are? (I hope they continue to build them.. )

      Comment by Anthony — 20. October 2008 @ 14:22

    7. Anthony, in fact I love these spiral cables, they disappeared but are back now it seems,some manufacturers produce them again. I have the vintage coil cord from VOX which is great and sounds good, it seems Fender also makes one again. Don’t know what Mark had back then, maybe it was a VOX.

      Comment by Ingo — 20. October 2008 @ 14:49

    8. Note I just bought some 008’s from Daddario who have started doing them

      http://www.daddario.com/DADProdDetail.aspx?CodaID=626&ID=1&Class=AABA

      Comment by Dermot O'Reilly — 21. October 2008 @ 15:44

    9. I use Fender 08, original 1502, pure nickel wound, these should still be the same as the old Fender super lights

      Comment by Ingo — 21. October 2008 @ 16:15

    10. Just played along to the 2nd Sultans Single that was released which I only have on vinyl so not something I do often, but there are a few crying bends on the B string that I could never get to sound right on the b string with a 009 set of strings but worked better on the high E string but I usually avoided bending there as it always feels a bit unstable in that position, anyway I think you’re dead right if the b string was a lighter string ie as in a 008 set, it would work a treat so I’ll be restringing with the 008’s I have very soon.

      Comment by Dermot O'Reilly — 22. October 2008 @ 10:45

    11. Hmm, the b string is a 011 with both 08 and 09 strings, at least in the Fender set

      Comment by Ingo — 22. October 2008 @ 13:46

    12. Yeah D’Addario are different 011 with the 9’s 0.010 with the 8’s. Always the possiblity of a custom mix maybe even a 009 for the B string too.

      Comment by Dermot O'Reilly — 22. October 2008 @ 14:57

    13. Years ago I went down to even 09,10,13,22,28,38, which was a balanced set. Other players who at least for some times played such thing strings are James Burton and Brian May (?, I got different info for him)

      Comment by Ingo — 22. October 2008 @ 15:12

    14. Ingo can you recommend me a cable with very warm tone and sweet highs to buy? I ask someone and told me that coil cables haven’t warm sound. (But fender have one premium koilcord and says it have extended chime highs and balanced tone but I don’t know how it will sound..

      Comment by Jim — 25. October 2008 @ 09:20

    15. I don’t see why a coil cable should sound different than a straight one, to my experience or knowledge, the sound of a cable is simply a result of its capacity (which results from the length and the distance between shield and inner lead). I like the Vox vintage spiral cord, the Fender might be similar.

      Comment by Ingo — 25. October 2008 @ 12:50

    16. Hi, The Extra Lights today as you know are still the same, the 16 instead of 15 and 42 instead of 40 are the ” PLAIN ” light. The Fender Extra lights are as what you said. Gauges 09-11-15-24-32-40. Thanks for the string knowledge.

      Comment by LOLOLOL — 29. November 2008 @ 22:32

    17. Hi Ingo, I got the fender premium koilkord to try how it sounds and is really difficult in tone than a straight cable. Less highs, thicker tone, different heavier mids, not noisy. But I cant compared it with the vox, I haven’t it (I can’t find it). Also it has warm tone but I would like to compare it with the vox in the warmth if is it better for Mark’s tone. Hi

      Comment by Jim — 16. December 2008 @ 14:46

    18. There is much to say about reality and vodoo when it comes to the importance of the cable for the guitar sound. I will cover this in a coming article.

      Comment by Ingo — 17. December 2008 @ 21:01

    19. Yes Ingo you have right. I can give more analytical descriptions about that cable (or others from the best of market that I have try) like the capacitance, sweetness, tone, or the differences between them but I think you can give more experienced info informations about that.

      Comment by Jim — 17. December 2008 @ 23:35

    20. Hi my friend Ingo, I want to get the tone of the 1st & 2nd album of DS, should my middle pickup on the strat be rw/rp or not? Thank you infos from your that great site.

      Comment by Anthony — 24. December 2008 @ 10:12

    21. First, I don’t see any reason why a reverse wound PU can sound different (unless it is out-of-phase which seems not to be the case with MK’s Strats). It is rather a thing of hum cancelling.
      Secondly, in those days rw/rp were not available as such so he should have stock PUs.

      Comment by Ingo — 24. December 2008 @ 12:15

    22. Thank you. Because I had tried in the past without rw/rp the middle PU and the tone was different than with a rw/rp (but without the hum – canceling of course. That great DS licks you play seems you have a rw/rp pickup.

      Comment by Anthony — 24. December 2008 @ 12:44

    23. The tone was like a mix when you play with the middle position alone (clear) and a bridge position alone (clear again), but without that muddiness from the hum canceling and had a colder sound. I don’t know if you have tried it.

      Comment by Anthony — 24. December 2008 @ 12:51

    24. I have stock PUs in all guitars, only one Squier (not the one in the video) has a ‘55 PU in the middle position that has reversed pole pieces (and is for this reason connected differently so that it is still in phase).
      As said, teoretically it should not change the sound . The only possible reason might be the reverse pole pieces. Maybe they attract the strings differently and the amount of “Stratitis” you get is different. If so, this should be mostly when the distance between strings and magnetets is small.

      Comment by Ingo — 24. December 2008 @ 13:31

    25. I have the duncan surfers and I have them low height. About 3mm on high strings and 4mm on low strings. Anyway thank you !

      Comment by Anthony — 24. December 2008 @ 13:58

    26. Do you think that the new orange squezzer reissue from the usa Grafton elec are the same as the original Ingo? It have a good price. Have you hear it?

      Comment by Jim — 11. January 2009 @ 09:31

    27. Can’t tell, I have never heard one myself.

      Comment by Ingo — 11. January 2009 @ 10:31

    28. How about thet analogman Juicer (orange squeezer comp clone)?
      Is that any good compared to the original?

      Thx

      Comment by Simon — 22. February 2009 @ 15:12

    29. How about that analogman Juicer (orange squeezer comp clone)?
      Is that any good compared to the original?

      Thx

      Comment by Simon — 22. February 2009 @ 15:13

    30. I have the analogman juicer and really like it. I would recommend it.
      Karl

      Comment by karl — 7. April 2009 @ 22:51

    31. Even if it would be worse for early knopfler sound, I can’t touch an electric guitar with anything lighter than .010 – .46 on it. The sound is bigger and the tension is just right for being preciser in both the bending, vibrato and chord tunning. Just my opinion ;)

      Great blog!

      Comment by Josetxu — 17. July 2009 @ 10:54

    RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

    Leave a comment