Comparing three clean guitar sounds – Once Upon a Time in the West – Solo cover

For my latest Youtube video I recorded three different lead guitars over a self-produced backing track with the chords and groove of the Dire Straits classic Once Upon a Time in the West. The three guitars – a ‘normal’ Strat, a Schecter Dream Machine replica, and a Suhr – are similar to what Mark Knopfler played in the 70ies, 80ies, and in the 90ies. I tried to create a sound […]

Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer compressor confirmed by Mark himself

In addition to the rumour that Mark Knopfler used the Orange Squeezer compressor in the 70ies with Dire Straits for his unique guitar sound, here is a confirmation coming from an interview with Mark himself: In the September 1979 edition of the Portuguese magazin ‘Musica & Som’ we find  an interview with Mark, most likely dating from the gig in Freiburg, Germany, June 2, 1979. Mark was asked for hig […]

Mark Knopfler’s effect rack of the Love over Gold (Alchemy) tour in 1982/83

From 1980 on, Mark’s guitar effects were mainly integrated into huge rack systems. At the time of Dire Straits, these were designed and built by Pete Cornish, specialist on high-quality racks and effects for numerous big names like Mark Knopfler, Eric  Clapton, David Gilmour, Lor Reed, … Pictures of Mark’s racks however are extremely rare, mainly because the rack was often located behind the stage, and at least partly operated […]

The Hotcake overdrive pedal

From now on you can buy the Hotcake overdrive pedal in our online shop. This is the overdrive pedal that Mark Knopfler used on his 2005 Shangri-La tour, and probably on other occasions as well. The Hotcake is built by Paul Crowther in New Zealand since 1976. It has a best reputation among players around the world – Stevie Ray Vaughn also played one. For us Mark Knopfler fans it […]

Gear on one of the first Dire Straits gigs on the Clapham Common bandstand

As promised in the comments on one of the last articles, I tried to find all pictures of one of Dire Straits’ first gigs – the one at the summer party for Charlie Gilett’s Honky Tonk Radio Show, on the Clapham Common bandstand, September 10, 1977. Unfortunately there are only 4 pictures it seems, not 5 or 6 as I hoped (the one on the sleeve of the Honky Tonk […]

Gear on Dire Straits’ first TV appearance at Old Grey Whiste Test

I recently watched the video clips of Dire Straits performing Sultans of Swing and Lions live on the British Old Grey Whistle Test again.  It is one of the earliest videos that exist, recorded in Manchester on May 15, 1978, about three months after the first CD. Sultans of Swing Lions Let’s have a look at the gear we can see in this clip. Knopfler plays his red maple neck […]

Gear and settings on my last youtube videos

A few people asked for the gear I used on the last set of youtube videos that I put online last week, namely on the video clips of the following articles: The one-man band – Playing both rhythm and lead guitar together Dire Straits Eastbound Train – Rhythm riff, licks and solo explained Mark Knopfler licks using the b5 note Knopfler goes Jazz – Video with licks from Comfort and […]

Mark Knopfler’s Amp and Effect Settings on the On Every Street tour

A lot of people wonder how to adjust all the controls on the guitar amp or on effect devices to recreate the sound of song xy. Such questions are common in guitar forums all over the internet. Of course it is almost impossible to say which setting someone needs to recreate an authentic sound with his individual gear. Besides, even if you use exactly the same kind of setup with […]