Search Results for: sultans of swing demo

Amps, Effects, Guitars, Mark Knopfler gear, Misc, Recording

Sultans of Swing – The alternate single version and the demo version – sound and gear

Dire Straits’ first hit was Sultans of Swing, recorded in Basing Street studios, February 1978. But did you know that there was a different studio recording before (demo version, Pathway Studios, July 1977), and also a later recording (Pathway Studios, April 1978) that was recorded to be released as a single in some countries? The demo version This version was recorded on July 2, 1977, together with four other song […]

Misc, MK guitar style and licks

Some notes on the Dire Straits “Honky Tonk Demos” – released on vinyl single on Record Store Day 2015

On April 18, 2015, some ‘historical’ Dire Straits recordings were officially released for the first time – four tracks from the ‘Honky Tonk Demos’, a demo tape the band recorded in July 1977. These were the first recordings of Dire Straits at all, five tracks recorded in a little London studio for a demo to help get a record deal. The four songs released now are Wild West End, Sultans […]

Guitars, Mark Knopfler gear

New Theory on the Sultans of Swing Sound: DiMarzio FS-1 Pickup in the Middle Position

Mark Knopfler’s guitar sound on the first two Dire Straits albums is firmly associated to the 1 & 2 position (bridge & middle) of the 5-way switch. This position causes a special, nasal “out of phase” sound. The term out of phase is technically incorrect as both pickups are still in phase but – similar to a true out of phase wiring – certain frequencies are cancelled or at least […]

Fender Vibrolux 1961

Please use the comment function at the bottom of the page to add any missing relevant info. Manufacturer: Fender Model: Vibrolux (6G11 or 6G11-A) Year: ca. 1961 (the model was produced from 1961 – 1963) Serial No.: ? Power: ca. 30 watts from two 6L6 tubes Speaker: one 12″ speaker, probably Sound City Speaker (= Fane?) First seen with MK: 1977 (recording the first demo tape) Still in MK’s possession/Last […]

Guitars

How close is the VFS-1 Pickup to the Original Fender Vintage and the DiMarzio FS-1?

I recently introduced the new VFS-1 pickup as an alternative to the F500T-style (Schecter-style) pickups in our loaded pickguards, and I already started to work on some video demos of  the complete VFS-1 pickup assembly , the first of these should come within the next days. What I can present today is a side-by-side comparison of the new VFS-1 pickup against the two pickups that inspired us to design this […]

Amps

Mark Knopfler’s brown Fender Vibrolux vs Fender Vibroverb

This post is about two of Mark Knopfler’s Fender vintage amps, the brown Fender Vibrolux – the  Sultans of Swing amp that was covered in this blog article – and the similar-sized and similar-looking brown Fender Vibroverb. The Fender Vibrolux (model 6G11a) was one of Knopfler’s earliest guitar amps. Probably it belonged to Dire Straits’ bass player John Illsley and was used for the first demo recordings of Dire Straits, […]

Easy stuff for beginners, MK guitar style and licks, Understanding music

Dire Straits Down to the Waterline explained: licks – chords – solo – no tabs

Summer is here and with it my summer holidays, so the ideal opportunity for some more song tutorials here in my Mark Knopfler guitar blog. This time I will explain the song Down to the Waterline – the first song on the first Dire Straits CD (1978). Down to the waterline is surely another highlight of early Dire Straits. It is one of the oldest Mark Knopfler songs, one of […]

Amps, Dire Straits/ Mark Knopfler live pictures and videos, Effects, Guitars, Mark Knopfler gear, Misc

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 […]