hey everyone,

although my primary focus is acoustic guitar i absolutely love the technique and style of mark knopfler. anyone that knows me knows that i've been a fan of mark's since the first note i heard him play. he is such an amazing guitarist and captures every nuance perfectly. when it comes to smooth guitar leads and riffs he is just amazing.

i know he plays his riffs and leads fingerstyle and not with a pick. i have tried stratocasters and know that early on he primarily used strats and schecters with single coils.

does anyone know what pickup positions he most commonly uses on strat style bodies? what amp would be a good practice amp choice for his style of music?

also what pedals or effects does he use. i would really like to get a similar tone when trying to attempt any of his riffs and leads. i stress "attempt".

any links to anyone teaching his style online like neil does here would also be appreciated.

to me he is so knowledgeable about how important it is to get tone and how tiny little 4 note riffs can make giant impacts in a song. he also seems to know exactly when not to play and i'm sure its very natural to him. sometimes i've seen some guitarists seem to get caught up primarily with speed and not remember the tone.

when i listen to him and hear a short riff i always want to hear more and anticipate the next riff or solo tremendously. i think this is where mark really shines. those perfect short riffs and solos that are ingeniously placed at times. and he certainly uses a lot of reverse bends and vibrato. his control of volume is also impressive. each note low to high is a piece of art. to me at least. just one of my favorites.

any help with effects, pickup positions and amp settings would be greatly appreciated . thanks in advance to anyone that can point me in the right direction or send any links that may help clear it up for me.

Hi Tommy, I agree with you that Mark Knopfler has a unique sound. I do not have any information for you unfortunately but I hope someone will jump in as it will be interesting read.

Marc

Lavallee wrote:
Hi Tommy, I agree with you that Mark Knopfler has a unique sound. I do not have any information for you unfortunately but I hope someone will jump in as it will be interesting read.

Marc

yes marc. i think he is so unique that it makes it difficult to find info easily about his gear, technique,etc.

i'd be happy if i could find an on-line instructor that teaches his style among others much like neil does for us with acoustic. if i could find an electric instructor that teaches online like neil teaches acoustic i would be in guitar lesson heaven for sure.

i love neils lessons and i just can;t seem to find any electric guitar on line teachers that seem to be worth joining any sites. if anyone knows of good electric lessons online please let me know. especially knopfler lessons.

I would go here: www.markknopfler.com/forums to ask the question. There's nothing but Knopfler fanatics in that forum.

dennisg wrote:
I would go here: www.markknopfler.com/forums to ask the question. There's nothing but Knopfler fanatics in that forum.

thanks for the link, i'll check it out.

This is the best link I've used. It has an actual chart detailing effects guitar and amp.

www.mk-guitar.com/2008/11/21/mark-knopfl...n-every-street-tour/