Mark Knopfler Dire Straits

Guitar lovers love the sound made by the guitarking of the UK, mister Mark Knopfler!

35 thoughts on “Mark Knopfler Dire Straits”

  1. MARKS GUITARS
    ALLAN.GILBERT

    COULD YOU PLEASE TELL US WHAT TYPE OF GUITAR THE GOLD COLOURED ONE HE PLAYED IN THE EARLIER YEARS IN SULTANS OF SWING, I WAS ALWAYS USED TO IT BEING A STRAT, BUT CANT NAIL ON EXACTLY WHAT MAKE THE GOLD COLOURED ONE IS, HOPE YOU CAN HELP, THANKS, PS FOR EXAMPLE THE SWITZERLAND CONCERT 1992, BESIDES MANY OTHERS , THANKS AGAIN

  2. Money for nothing
    Dillon S.

    hey i just started playin electric and only songs actually more like riffs or tabs i know are the smoke on the water intro paranoid intro and the old time rock n’ roll intro and right now im tryin to work on my chords from this HUGE book i got …….. But my favorite song is dire straits money for nothing i was wondering if any of you could help a new person to guitar out and gimme the music in a form where it isnt sheet music but is where u put ur fingers to fret the notes. I only want the part right after the i want my mtv part right where the guitar kicks in. im only 13 so i was thinkin i got plenty of time to get good but plz gimme the music for this thx

    1. Re: Money for nothing
      michael mackintosh

      : hey i just started playin electric and only songs actually more like riffs or tabs i know are the smoke on the water intro paranoid intro and the old time rock n’ roll intro and right now im tryin to work on my chords from this HUGE book i got …….. But my favorite song is dire straits money for nothing i was wondering if any of you could help a new person to guitar out and gimme the music in a form where it isnt sheet music but is where u put ur fingers to fret the notes. I only want the part right after the i want my mtv part right where the guitar kicks in. im only 13 so i was thinkin i got plenty of time to get good but plz gimme the music for this thx

      1. Re: Money for nothing
        mark

        : : hey i just started playin electric and only songs actually more like riffs or tabs i know are the smoke on the water intro paranoid intro and the old time rock n’ roll intro and right now im tryin to work on my chords from this HUGE book i got …….. But my favorite song is dire straits money for nothing i was wondering if any of you could help a new person to guitar out and gimme the music in a form where it isnt sheet music but is where u put ur fingers to fret the notes. I only want the part right after the i want my mtv part right where the guitar kicks in. im only 13 so i was thinkin i got plenty of time to get good but plz gimme the music for this thx

        If you send me your address I will send you a complete workout in tab form. It took me a year to master and is hard work but well worth learning.
        mark

      2. Re: Money for nothing
        Michael

        ok dillon start with your index finger on the fifth fret of the d string and your fourth finger on the seventh fret g string play that twice together ie right hand thumb and index finger together a little distortion would help here now play both strings the same but on the fifth fret ie d string fifth fret and g string fifth fret now hamer back on to the fifth and the seventh and play the b string on the sixth fret now if i am of any help email me back on the above address and i will give you the rest good luck.

  3. Money for nothing
    Dillon S.

    hey i just started playin electric and only songs actually more like riffs or tabs i know are the smoke on the water intro paranoid intro and the old time rock n’ roll intro and right now im tryin to work on my chords from this HUGE book i got …….. But my favorite song is dire straits money for nothing i was wondering if any of you could help a new person to guitar out and gimme the music in a form where it isnt sheet music but is where u put ur fingers to fret the notes. I only want the part right after the i want my mtv part right where the guitar kicks in. im only 13 so i was thinkin i got plenty of time to get good but plz gimme the music for this thx

  4. mark knopfler guitar
    Martin

    Has anyone had a chance to play the Mark Knopfler Martin guitar? talk about a smokin guitar!!! Weather your a fan or not you need to check one of these out.

    1. Re: MARK KNOPFLER SCHECTER GUITAR
      Juan Carlos

      First I’m sorry for my english.

      It’s one "Traditional". I have one and now that guitars are not it’s neck made with "birdseye maple", only with maple.
      You should know too that Knopfler used to use Seymour Duncan pickups in his Schecter guitars. I don’t know if he used any original pickups (normally Schecter Monstertone pickup). Anyway Seymour Duncan is always a good choice.

      I expect to have helped you. If you have more questions don’t doubt to ask me.

      : HAY CAN SOME ONE PLEASE TELL ME THE DETAILS OR DATABASE OF MARK KNOPFLER SCHECTER STRAT GUITAR ,THE RED SCHECTER WITH THE MAPLE NECK I WANT TO ORDER IN SCHCTER COMP A GUITAR JUST LIKE HIS AND I NEED THE EXZECT DETAILS I HOPE THAT YOU CAN HELP ME.
      : THANKS. ASAF

      Related Article:
      Schecter made the Best Metal Guitar List!

  5. Hiya all

    Is it just me!? or is the TAB that is posted for the Brothers in arms, (its posted EVERYWHERE!! the same ONE!) is it wrong?! or am i just playing it wrong!? Please help!!

    Thanks

    L 😉

  6. question about MK
    Milan Šimundža

    I am guitarist from croatia and im and i am writing Final work for my highscool(let’s say something like that).Theme of it is-of course-Mark Knopfler.The fact is that i want to write everithing about him and i would like to know some details that may be important,and also i would like to know where can i find that material.
    Take my apologise for disturbing you and taking your time,but i really want to write everithing.Thanks!!!

    The BIGGEST Mark Knopfler fan (at least in Croatia)
    Milan Šimundža

  7. What happened to his White Strat? Read This to find out.
    Tim

    Mark Knopfler’s old white Strat, Tortoiseshell scratch-plate, white headstock, you know the one from the Calling Elvis video. Well it now belongs to a good friend of mine, and world class blues player, Todd Sharpeville. I have played it several times. Email me and I’ll get you some photos of it. (And if you really like strats, a 1957 Strat, £20’000 of guitar SWEEEETTT!)

  8. Most stuff about Mark
    Tim

    Mark Knopfler used to live in a small town called Otley, in West Yorkshire. He had a wife named Vicki who broke up with him, he went to various bands asking to join, this included the band my father played bass for, so they played a few times. They turned Mark down, so he went to London and started up the ‘Big Bands’ including Dire Straits one of the 20th Centuries best bands, and so they should be, as I beleive they have one of the worlds best guitarists, and the worlds best songwriter (Mark Knopfler).

    1. Re: Most stuff about Mark
      Marijn Schoo

      Hi Tim,

      What was the name of the band your father played bass for?
      Did they take some pictures or did some writing about Mark’s guitar-scills or anything like that?

      Best regards,

      Marijn

  9. do you know what effects he uses to play some of his haunting, clean, lead licks. I know he messes with his volume alot on the fly. I was curious about reverb, chorus, delay, tremelo, etc thanks

    1. : do you know what effects he uses to play some of his haunting, clean, lead licks. I know he messes with his volume alot on the fly. I was curious about reverb, chorus, delay, tremelo, etc thanks

      one of his most used & best tones,is from two mic’ed Marshall tube stacks /little overdrive based on how hard the strings are hit /slight delay & reverb /thumb & middle finger,no pick /sweet but mean

  10. hi i was wondering if you have the exact tab of sultans of swing becaus i got it of the internet from another site but it’s all wrong if you can send it for me i will be very gratefull
    thanx for your time
    ritz

    1. (Dire Straits) – Sultans Of Swing

      Indice delle TAB

      ——————————————————————————–
      #———————————-PLEASE NOTE———————————#
      #This file is the author’s own work and represents their interpretation of the #
      #song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
      #——————————————————————————##

      Subject: Sultans Of Swing (alternative) TAB
      Message-ID:
      From: [email protected] (Peter Hawkins)
      Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 00:46:20 GMT
      Sender: [email protected] (Usenet system)

      Hi,

      I was rapt that Martijn posted his TAB version as I had sort of dropped
      my transcription after working through the first verse and chorus.

      Anyway, since mine is slightly different from Nicks, (BTW – I got mine
      from the recording on the "money for nothing" album), and since I have
      a copy of the lyrics, I thought I’d throw mine in too – It’s fun to
      experiment with different versions.

      I am using the standard TAB notation as proposed by
      [email protected] (Rob Craig), however I am adding a "." (full stop)
      above notes to indicate a staccatto (accented, very short note). I also
      use "ARP" to indicate that you are to play a broken chord, and one or
      more caret "^" characters to indicate a tie. Perhaps Rob could add these?

      Also most "labelled chords" (eg The initial D minors) are to be strummed
      rapidly. Knopfler uses demi-semi-quavers with certain stokes muted.

      INTRO
      —–

      Dm | Dm . . ARP
      e|–5–|–5——–|———–|————|———-|——-5–8–5–|
      B|–6–|–6——–|———–|————|——-6–|——6———|
      G|–7–|–7–5–5–|–5^h7–7^^^^^——-7^——–|–7–7———-|
      D|–7–|–7——–|———–|—-5/7—–|—–7—-|—————-|
      A|–5–|–5——–|———–|————|———-|—————-|
      E|–5–|–5——–|———–|————|———-|—————-|

      Dm C Bb A
      e|—————–|
      B|–6————–|
      G|—–5^h6^p5—–|
      D|————–7^^^
      A|—————–|
      E|—————–|

      VERSE
      —–
      Dm C Bb A
      e|—-|–5–|–3–1–|–5–|—————————-|
      B|—-|–6–|–5–3–|–5–|—————————-|
      G|—-|–7–|–5–3–|–6–|————————-9~~~
      D|^^–|–7–|–5–3–|–7–|–9b(11)–9b(11)b(9)–7—–|
      A|—-|–5–|–3–1–|–7–|—————————-|
      E|—-|–5–|–3–1–|–5–|—————————-|

      C Bb F F
      e|—|–3–1–|————————|————|–1–|–1–|
      B|—|–5–3–|—-10——10——10^^^^^——10–|–1–|–1–|
      G|~~-|–5–3–|————————|————|–2–|–2–|
      D|—|–5–3–/11——11——11——|—-11——|–3–|–3–|
      A|—|–3–1–|————————|————|–3–|–3–|
      E|—|–3–1–|————————|————|–1–|–1–|

      .
      e|——————–|—–|–|———————|————–|
      B|–5–5–6^p5^h6^p5–|–3^^^^^^^^—————6—|–3–6–l(3)–|
      G|–5–5–5–5–5–5–|–3^^^^^^^^———7——–7–3^^^–l(3)–|
      D|–5–5–7–5–7–5–|–3^^^^^^^^—5^h7—–7——|–3^^^–l(3)–|
      A|——————–|—–|–|———————|————–|
      E|——————–|—–|–|———————|————–|

      Dm C Bb A
      e|———–|————–|–5–|–3–1–|–5–5——–|
      B|–3/5–5—|————–|–6–|–5–3–|–5———–|
      G|–3/5–5—|———–5–|–7–|–5–3–|–6—–6–6^^^
      D|–3/5–5—|—–5^h7—–|–7–|–5–3–|–7———–|
      A|———-6b(7)———–|–5–|–3–1–|–7———–|
      E|———–|————–|–5–|–3–1–|–5———–|

      e|–5^h6—–5—–3—–|–1^^^^^^^^^^^–10^p9——-|—————-|
      B|———————–|—–|—–|———–h10–|—————-|
      G|^^^^^^–6—–4—–2–|—–|—–|—————-|–97–6——–|
      D|———————–|—–|—–|—————-|———-7–5–|
      A|———————–|—–|—–|—————-|—————-|
      E|———————–|—–|—–|—————-|—————-|

      F F . . .
      e|–1–|–1–|——————–|—–|–|—-10—9–|–5——–|
      B|–1–|–1–|–5–5–6^p5^h6^p5–|–3^^^^^^^^–10–10–|–6–3–3–|
      G|–2–|–2–|–5–5–5–5–5–5–|–3^^^^^^^^———-|—–3–3–|
      D|–3–|–3–|–5–5–7–5–7–5–|–3^^^^^^^^———-|—–3–3–|
      A|–3–|–3–|——————–|—–|–|————|———–|
      E|–1–|–1–|——————–|—–|–|————|———–|

      .
      e|———-|———-|———-|—-|——–|——–|—————–|
      B|–3/5–5^^^^^–3–6–|–3/5–5^^^^^–|–6–5–|–3–6–|–6^p5–5–5/10–|
      G|–3/5–5^^^^^–3—–|–3/5–5^^^^^–|–7–5–|–3–7–|–5^^^–5–5/10–|
      D|–3/5–5^^^^^–3—–|–3/5–5^^^^^–|–7–5–|–3–7–|–7^p5–5–5/10–|
      A|———-|———-|———-|—-|——–|——–|—————–|
      E|———-|———-|———-|—-|——–|——–|—————–|

      .
      e|———-|—-|———–|——-|————|————-|
      B|–10–8^^^^^^–|–6–5–3^^^^^–6–|–6^p5–5—|————-|
      G|–10–9^^^^^^–|–7–5–3^^^^^–7–|–5^^^–5—|———–5-|
      D|–10–10^^^^^–|–7–5–3^^^^^–7–|–7^p5–5—|—–5^h7—-|
      A|———-|—-|———–|——-|———–6b(7)———-|
      E|———-|—-|———–|——-|————|————-|

      —————————————————————————
      This joins to Martijn’s version here: (NB Martijn includes FILLS ONLY)
      —————————————————————————

      Transcribed by: Martijn van Welie ([email protected])

      B B R B R B R B
      E-9-8-9—-10-|——–5———9——-7——————
      B-8-8-8-10—-|——5—5-8(10)—(10)8—8-8(10)8(10)8(10)
      G———-10-|-7(9)—————————————-
      D————-|———————————————
      A————-|———————————————
      E————-|———————————————

      S S S S H
      E——————-|—–10-8—-|————|——————-
      B——8-86–6-6-6-|———-10-|-6-6-6-6/8–|——————-
      G–7/9-9-97–7-7-7-|-/10——10-|-7-7-7-7/9–|—–5—5—5^7—
      D———-8–8-8-8-|————-|-8-8-8-8/10-|-5-7—7—7——-
      A——————-|————-|————|——————-
      E——————-|————-|————|——————-

      B R B R B R S
      E-3—————|-/9-9—————-|—————–|—————-
      B-4(5)4(5)4(5)4-3-|——-10———10-|-5-5–6-5-6-5–3-|———6-5—-
      G—————–|———-9———-|-5-5–7-5-7-5–3-|—–7-5—–8-7
      D—————–|————12-11—-|—————–|-5/7————
      A—————–|———————|—————–|—————-
      E—————–|———————|—————–|—————-

      S P S P S
      E—————|———————————————————
      B-6-6-6-6/8—–|-6-5-3–6-6^5-5–/10-8–6-5-3–6-6^5———————
      G-7-7-7-7/9–2x-|-7-5-3–7-7^5-5–/10-9–7-5-3–7-7^5———-5———-
      D-8-8-8-8/10—-|————————————-3/5-7-8————-
      A—————|———————————————————
      E—————|———————————————————

      B R P R B
      E———12————–13-|-12^9——————————-
      B–12(14)—-(14)12———-|——10———-10—————-
      G——————-11/14—-|———9———–(14)12(14)—–
      D—————————-|————12-11——————-
      A—————————-|————————————
      E—————————-|————————————

      S S S S S 2x P S
      E——————-|————-|————|———————–
      B——8-86–6-6-6-|———6—|–6-6-6-6/8-|-6-5-3–6-6^5-5–/10-8-
      G–7/9-9-97–7-7-7-|—–7-5—7|–7-7-7-7/9-|-7-5-3–7-7^5-5–/10-9-
      D———-8–8-8-8-|-5/7———|–8-8-8-8/10|———————–
      A——————-|————-|————|———————–
      E——————-|————-|————|———————–

      P S
      E————————-|——————–|————————-
      B-6-5-3–6-6^5-5———-|——————–|————————-
      G-7-5-3–7-7^5-5——–5-|–First-Guitar-Solo-|-repeat-last-lick——–
      D—————-3/5-7-8–|——————–|————————-
      A————————-|——————–|————————-
      E————————-|——————–|————————-

      S S S S S Arp S
      E——-7/9-9-(9)/12-12-1210-|-9-|——————6-|—————-
      B—————————–|-5-|—–8-(8)6—–6–|——-6—6—-
      G–6–7-7/9—(9)/12—-1210-|-0-|-7/9—(9)7—-7—|—–7—7—7–
      D—7————————-|—|————-8——|-5/7————
      A—————————–|—|——————–|—————-
      E—————————–|—|——————–|—————-

      S 2x P S P S
      E———–|————————————————-|————
      B-6-6-6-6/8-|-6-5-3–6-6^5-5–/10-8–6-5-3–6-6^5-5———–|————
      G-7-7-7-7/9-|-7-5-3–7-7^5-5–/10-9–7-5-3–7-7^5-5———5-|Second-Solo-
      D-8-8-8-8/10|—————————————3/5-7-8—|————
      A———–|————————————————-|————
      E———–|————————————————-|————

      First Guitar Solo:
      B B B B H P H P
      E———————————————————————
      B———————————————————–10——–
      G–12(14)—12(14)-12(14)-12(14)–10^12^10–9^10^9——–9———–
      D——————————————————11————-
      A—————————————————12—————-
      E———————————————————————
      B R H P
      E–12(13)12–10——————————————————-
      B—————10——–10-13–11^13^11–10—11–9-10————–
      G——————10————————————————-
      D———————12———————————————-
      A———————————————————————
      E———————————————————————
      B B R S
      E—————-13————-/13-12——————————–
      B——–13——–13——————13—-10—-13-13————–
      G–12(14)–12(14)—-(14)12-10————12—-12——————–
      D———————————————————————
      A———————————————————————
      E———————————————————————
      B R B B H
      E————————————–13^10—-10——–10———-
      B–13(15)–(15)13-11-13(15)-13(15)–10——-10—-13(15)—-10——-
      G—————————————————————12-10\
      D———————————————————————
      A———————————————————————
      E———————————————————————
      S H S
      E———————————————————————
      B——–6—————————————6——————–
      G——7—7——-9-10/12-10–9^10/12———7—7—0-5–7-5——-
      D—-8———–10————————–8————————
      A–8———–10————————–8————————–
      E———————————————————————
      B R
      E———————————————————————
      B——-8————————————————————-
      G–7(9)—(9)7-5-7-7————————————————–
      D———————————————————————
      A———————————————————————
      E———————————————————————

      Second Guitar Solo:
      B B R H P H P H P H P H P
      E———————————————————————–
      B———————————————————————–
      G-12(14)-12–10-12-10—–12(14)12–9^12^9–7^9^7–5^7^5—————-
      D———————12———————————5^7^5———-
      A————————————————————–5^7^5—-
      E———————————————————————–

      P P H P H P H P H P H P H P
      E—————————8———8———8———8————-
      B-10^8^6^8^6—8—-8^10^8—–8^10^8—-8^10^8—-8^10^8—-8^10^8—–
      G————7—-9——–9———-9———9———9———9—
      D———————————————————————–
      A———————————————————————–
      E———————————————————————–

      H P B P P P H
      E-8———————-10———————————————
      B—8^10^8————10—-13^10————————–10———–
      G———-9—12(14)————-12^10-12^10———–10—-12——–
      D———————————————12–10^12—————–
      A———————————————————————–
      E———————————————————————–

      B R P P
      E———————–12——–10-|–13^10—-10–13^10—-10——–
      B—–10—–11–11(13)—-(13)11—-|——–10———–10———–
      G—X——X————————-|———————————-
      D-X——X—————————|———————————-
      A————————————|———————————-
      E————————————|———————————-

      P P P P P
      E–13^10—-10–13^10—-10–13^10—-10–13^10—-10–13^10—-10——
      B——–10———–10———–11———–11———–11———
      G———————————————————————–
      D———————————————————————–
      A———————————————————————–
      E———————————————————————–

      P P P P P
      E–13^10—-10–15^12—-12–15^12—-12–15^12—-12–15^12—-12——
      B——–11———–13———–13———–13———–13———
      G———————————————————————–
      D———————————————————————–
      A———————————————————————–
      E———————————————————————–
      Fade out.
      P P P P B B R
      E–15^12—-12–15^12—-12–15^12—-12–15^12—-12|-15(17)–15(17)15-
      B——–13———–13———–13———–13—|——————
      G—————————————————.|——————
      D—————————————————.|——————
      A—————————————————-|——————
      E—————————————————-|——————

      B R H P H P H P
      E–13——13–15(17)15–13^15^13—————————————
      B—–14————————–13^15^13–10^13^10——————–
      G———————————————————————–
      D———————————————————————–
      A———————————————————————–
      E———————————————————————–

      —————————————————————————
      You get a shiver in the dark, it’s raining in the park, but meantime
      South of the river you stop and you hold everything
      A band is blowing Dixie, double four time
      You feel alright when you hear that music ring

      You step inside, but you don’t see too many faces
      Coming in out of the rain to hear the jazz go down
      Too much competition, from other places
      But not too many horns can make that sound

      Way on downsouth, way on downsouth London town

      You check out Guitar George; he knows all the chords
      Mind he’s strictly rhythm he doesn’t want to make it cry or sing
      And an old guitar is all he can afford
      When he gets up under the lights to play his thing

      And Harry doesn’t mind if he doesn’t make the scene
      He’s got a daytime job he’s doing alright
      He can play the honkytonk just like anything
      Saving it up for friday night

      With the Sultans, with the Sultans of Swing

      And a crowd of young boys they’re fooling around in the corner
      Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles
      They don’t give a damn about any trumpet playing band
      It aint what they call Rock and Roll

      And the Sultans played Creole

      And then the man he steps right up to the microphone
      And says at last just as the time bell rings
      ‘Thankyou, goodnight; now it’s time to go home’
      And he makes it fast with one more thing…

      We are the Sultans, We are the Sultans of Swing

      ,—-_ ,_ | | | Peter Hawkins,
      / // / / |/ __ _|/ . | Lecturer, Computer Centre
      / // -__/ / /| / | | | | | _______ | Monash University, Australia
      // . /_/ |/\_/ /// \__/ / | [email protected]

      ——————————————————————————–

    1. Re: question
      Marijn Schoo

      : Does Mark have a solo acoustic album or cd…?

      No, Mark does not have an acoustic album. He does have 2 solo CD’s, Golden Heart and Sailing to Philadelphia, among many soundtracks and collaborations with other artists.

      If you don’t own "Sailing TO Philadelphia" yet, please rush to the store imediately. It’s great!!!

Leave a Reply