Tone library / Dire Straits / Sultans of Swing

Sultans of Swing amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

The Dire Straits guitar tone for “Sultans of Swing”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s. Studio version, Dire Straits debut album (1978) — signature rhythm and lead guitar

Original rig

1961 Fender Stratocaster (position 4: middle+bridge) into Fender Vibrolux / Music Man HD130, no dirt pedals, pure fingerstyle

Sparkling clean with bell-like chime and percussive attack — all dynamics from fingers, zero amp breakup

Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

CHANNELClean amp typeBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	4
Mid	4
Treble	8
Reverb	3
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE10 VOLUME8

Why these settings

The Katana 50 MkII Clean channel replicates the high-headroom Fender/Music Man platform with zero distortion. Because a Les Paul has thicker humbuckers compared to Knopfler's vintage Strat 'in-between' quack, the treble is boosted to 8, bass is cut to 4, and guitar volume is dialed back to 8 to clear up low-end warmth and mimic single-coil clarity. Boss Katana 50 MkII has no physical presence control, so it is omitted.

PRO TIPPlay strictly with bare fingers (thumb, index, and middle) rather than a pick, snapping the strings lightly against the fretboard to produce the signature percussive 'clack' on the downbeats.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Boss Katana 50 MkII. 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.