Tone library / Dire Straits / Money for Nothing

Money for Nothing amp settings — Flatsons FBA-10

The Dire Straits guitar tone for “Money for Nothing”, dialed in for a Flatsons FBA-10 with a Squire Bullet. Studio version, Brothers in Arms (1985) — recorded at AIR Montserrat, 1984

Original rig

Gibson Les Paul Junior/Standard '59 Reissue → Morley Wah (parked) → Marshall JTM45 head into Laney 4×12 cab, cranked with accidental off-axis mic placement

Thick, aggressive mid-heavy crunch with nasal 'honk' from parked wah — unmistakably grinding yet articulate

Amp settings — Flatsons FBA-10

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	3
Treble	7
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Flatsons FBA-10? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE6 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Wah Pedal (any — Dunlop Cry Baby, Morley, VOX)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Park the pedal ~30% from heel-down (mid-scoop to slight mid-bump). This is NON-NEGOTIABLE for the tone — without it you're missing half the character. A used Cry Baby GCB95 costs $40-50.

Treadle Position 3

Why these settings

The FBA-10 is a small solid-state practice amp with limited gain and no mid control — a very different animal than a cranked non-master-volume Marshall. I've pushed gain to 8 (near max) to get any breakup, dropped bass to 3 to prevent mud through the small speaker, and raised treble to 7 to recover the bite that a JTM45's midrange bark provides naturally. Rolling the guitar's tone knob to 6 partially simulates the parked wah's mid-filtering since you lack that pedal.

PRO TIPUse your FINGERS, not a pick — this is critical and confirmed by engineer Neil Dorfsman. Knopfler attacked the strings aggressively with his fingertips for this track, which gave the distorted tone its unique articulation and thump. Anchor your palm near the bridge and dig in hard with your index and middle fingers.

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These settings are for a Flatsons FBA-10. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.