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comment by steve
steve  ·  1270 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 402nd Weekly "Share Some Music You've Been Into Lately"

why are the Dire Straits SO GOOD?!?





user-inactivated  ·  1270 days ago  ·  link  ·  

One of my regular drinking establishments in Oslo (now permanently closed) always played Dire Straits' "Walk Of Life" right before closing. This was before The "Walk Of Life" Project was a thing.

Hypothesis: "Walk Of Life" by Dire Straits is the perfect song to end anything.

steve  ·  1270 days ago  ·  link  ·  

My favorite song in the fifth grade was Money For Nothing. Years later, as a huge James Taylor fan, I was treated to this lovely duo, where Knofler's distinctive vocals and guitar shine:

b_b  ·  1270 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I don't love them, but I love Mark Knopfler's guitar tone. I just looked it up, and it's a '61 maple fretboard Stratocaster, so I guess that makes sense.

goobster  ·  1270 days ago  ·  link  ·  

... that he plays fingerstyle without a pick. So yeah. His tone is pretty much from his fingers, but that Strat is Something Special(tm) for sure...

b_b  ·  1270 days ago  ·  link  ·  

So you think he would sound the same playing a cat gut guitar, huh?

goobster  ·  1269 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I expect, if you had your eyes closed, and he played three notes on a banjolele, you'd instantly go, "Oh, that's Mark Knopfler."

There's a cool YouTube channel for the LA music store, Norman's Rare Guitars. It's the kind of place where Slash walks in to browse and buy interesting instruments.

Often they'll do off-the-cuff interviews with the stars while they are playing... just chatting, jamming, etc.

And for the "big name" players, it doesn't matter what they are playing - they sound like themselves.

In my personal experience, I was adjacent to a lot of famous musicians in San Francisco... from Kirk Hammett and Les Claypool, to Carlos Santana, Sammy Hagar, Grace Slick, and Craig Chaquico. Which instrument or band the person was jamming with didn't really matter... you could still close your eyes and know who it was.

93.2% of your sound is YOU. The rest is hardware, IMHO.

b_b  ·  1269 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Not saying anyone who picks up a Strat can sound like Knopfler; I'm saying that even Knopfler couldn't get that tone out of anything but a Strat. Strats, especially when played in the two pickup positions, have a sound that is hard to replicate.

steve  ·  1270 days ago  ·  link  ·  

there is a signature sound for sure. Anyone can buy that guitar... but his setup and the way he plays lets you know it's him. And I have a real soft spot for his voice too. It's not perfect, it's not shiny... but I love it.