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 Ariapro II. Studio version, Dire Straits (1978) — signature rhythm and lead tone

Original rig

1961 Fender Stratocaster into 1961 Fender Vibrolux / Twin Reverb with Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer compressor and studio plate reverb

Spanky, pristine, scooped 'in-between' clean with percussive attack and studio compression

Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

CHANNELClean amp typeBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	3
Bass	5
Mid	4
Treble	7
Reverb	4
Master	6

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Guitar

PICKUPneck+middle TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Onboard Compressor (Booster/Mod FX block)

Enable the onboard Katana Compressor block to recreate the Orange Squeezer's squash

Sustain 6 · Tone 5 · Level 7

Why these settings

The Katana's Clean amp type delivers the high-headroom Fender Twin character needed for Knopfler's pristine cleans. Treble is pushed to 7 with mids slightly scooped at 4 to emphasize the glassy, quacky top end on your Aria Pro II. The onboard compressor block provides the signature percussive squash without requiring an external pedal.

PRO TIPDitch the pick completely and use Mark Knopfler's fingerstyle technique: pluck down with your thumb on the bass strings while snapping up on the higher strings with your index and middle fingers.

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.