Introduction
When Mark Knopfler was growing up, every kid wanted an electric guitar. Few owned one. The older kids at his school tried building their own in woodwork classes, and they all aspired to one design: the Fender Stratocaster.
Knopfler also wanted one, and he wanted a Fiesta Red Strat like The Shadows’ Hank Marvin had. His first electric was a 1962 Hofner Super Solid - in red. By 1978, Dire Straits were ready to record their debut LP and Knopfler finally owned a ’61 Strat. More importantly, he had a style all of his own.
There is a quiet magic to Mark Knopfler. His playing is approachable and accessible, familiar but somehow out of reach. You can hear The Shadows, JJ Cale, BB King and Chet Atkins in his playing, yet Knopfler’s sound and style is unmistakably his own. He is truly an auteur of tone. Few guitarists make better note choices, few phrase a lick better.
Eschewing a pick, Knopfler pinches at his strings, rolling back and forth on his volume pedal, and is in full control of his instrument’s range. He has used a Gretsch Chet Atkins, Gibson Les Pauls, Teles and his Pensa MKs, but he’s most definitely a Strat man. Old habits die hard.
Here we've put together two guitar/rig collections - as always, one budget and one blowout - that should get you close to nailing Knopf's tones...
