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Riff Tone
Six Blade Knife
Dire Straits
Guitarblues1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1977 Fender Stratocaster (maple neck, stock single-coil pickups)
AmpMusic Man 212-HD One Thirty
Amp Settings
gain0
bass6
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Notes
Studio recording, 1978 debut album. Mark Knopfler used a late-70s Fender Stratocaster into a Music Man 212-HD amp for the main riff. No evidence of pedals in the studio chain for this song; amp reverb only. Fingerstyle playing, no pick.
Tone Character(10)
warm and smoothslightly rounded high-endtouch-sensitive and dynamicarticulate and clearmellow and understatedsubtle amp reverb for spaceno breakup or distortionfingerstyle clarityslightly compressed feelclean, punchy attack
Difficulty
The riff is not technically fast or complex, but demands intermediate-level fingerstyle control, dynamic nuance, and clean articulation without a pick, which can be challenging for players used to pick-based playing.
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Create Free AccountGuitarblues1970s
Original Gear
Guitar1977 Fender Stratocaster (maple neck, stock single-coil pickups)
AmpMusic Man 212-HD One Thirty
Amp Settings
gain0
bass6
Create an account to see all tone details
Create Free AccountEffects & Signal Chain
Notes
Studio recording, 1978 debut album. Mark Knopfler used a late-70s Fender Stratocaster into a Music Man 212-HD amp for the main riff. No evidence of pedals in the studio chain for this song; amp reverb only. Fingerstyle playing, no pick.
Tone Character(10)
warm and smoothslightly rounded high-endtouch-sensitive and dynamicarticulate and clearmellow and understatedsubtle amp reverb for spaceno breakup or distortionfingerstyle clarityslightly compressed feelclean, punchy attack
Difficulty
The riff is not technically fast or complex, but demands intermediate-level fingerstyle control, dynamic nuance, and clean articulation without a pick, which can be challenging for players used to pick-based playing.