I just got this picture via email (thank you Wolfgang of the Dire Strats tribute band) which shows the settings on the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp that Mark Knopfler used for a promo gig in Germany, 2004. He played live the song Boom like that on a German TV show.
Volume 5 ; Drive 2.5 ; Treble 9, Bass 4 ; Middle 7.5 ; Master 4 ; Reverb 0 ; Presence 9 (note that all knobs go up to 12)
Unfortunately it is hard to see the position of those three push buttons (bright, more gain, channel select) .
The Hot Rod Deluxe is a 40 watts tube amp (3 x 12AX7, 2x 6L6) with reverb and one 12″ Eminence speaker. I presume that the amps for those promo gigs were borrowed for that evening.
9 thoughts on “Mark Knopfler’s amp settings on Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (Boom like that promo, Germany 2004)”
Nice, I got an amp just like that one at the rehearsal room at my music school, next time I’m there I’ll try out these settings. Though I have to say, I never quite got the hang of Boom like that, it’s one of these songs that sounds great but is difficult to play…at least for me 😉
The Hot Rod Deluxe has a LED between the drive and treble knob, which indicates which channel is selected. In this case it’s off, so it should be on the clean channel. (green on drive channel, red on more drive channel) As for the bright switch, I would say it’s on. See this for a comparison: http://www.skotrat.com/guitar/jpg/Fender_HotRod_Deluxe_00.jpg
Oh, I just spotted on the zoomed out picture that the amp is turned off. So the LED is not much of a help either xD
Hey Jeff Smart, you’re not alone… “I never quite got the hang of Boom like that, it’s one of these songs that sounds great but is difficult to play…at least for me”
I had a heck of a time with that song, but I loved trying it. Coming across this post may actually drive me (no pun intended! 😉 to pull out the old guitar and give it a shot again. I don’t have that amp, but mine isn’t too far off… but the truth is I’ve got bigger things to worry about with the song than totally dialing in my amp LOL!
Thanks for the motivation/inspiration.
Wow! That amp looks great! I’m so glad to have found this article today! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
I am amazed MK played these amps! I have one of these and was never quite satisfied by it’s sound, sounds kind of harsh when played at home. If you play it loud it sounds much much better. Still, this is another proof that MK will sound killer even with a chinese Epi in his hands………..
Hi guys!
There is something I can not understand.
The Hot Rod is known by its reverb, but in the settings the knob is in “0” position, WHY?
We are professional electric acoustic guitar manufacturer and has some hot selling models such D45, D18, D28, D35, D40, etc.
OEM with your own logo name on headstock is always our strong strengthen.
If you are interests, I will send details.
Best regards,
Emma
http://www.bestgrandmusic.com