Tone library / Dire straits / Money for Nothing

Money for Nothing amp settings — Fender Frontman 20G

The Dire straits guitar tone for “Money for Nothing”, dialed in for a Fender Frontman 20G with a Squier Classic Vibe 60s Stratocaster. Studio version, Brothers in Arms (1985)

Original rig

1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard / Junior into Laney 2x12 combo with accidental phase-shifted mic placement

Nasal, cocked-wah midrange honk with rich British saturation and fingerstyle snap

Amp settings — Fender Frontman 20G

CHANNELCleanBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	5
Mid	8
Treble	4
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE7 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

Provides the primary gain and asymmetric mid-hump to simulate the British Laney drive and cocked-wah honk.

Level 7 · Tone 8 · Drive 7

02Dunlop Cry Baby Wah (Cocked / Half-Open)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Leaving an analog wah parked in the middle position replicates the famous out-of-phase mic resonance perfectly.

Pedal Position 5

Why these settings

The Boss SD-1 is used as the primary gain stage into the Frontman 20G's clean channel to avoid thin solid-state clipping while pushing an aggressive mid-forward bite. The Stratocaster's bridge+middle position combined with a rolled-off tone knob mimics the nasal comb-filtered response of the original mic placement. The Frontman's treble is dialed back to 4 to compensate for single-coil brightness and smooth out the high end.

PRO TIPPlay strictly fingerstyle using the fleshy part of your thumb and index finger to pluck upwards violently—Knopfler's dynamic snap is the key to triggering that percussive, honky attack.

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