Tone library / Dire Straits / Sultans of Swing

Sultans of Swing amp settings — Crate GLX65

The Dire Straits guitar tone for “Sultans of Swing”, dialed in for a Crate GLX65 with a Burns Marquee. Studio version, Dire Straits debut album (1978) — signature rhythm and lead tone

Original rig

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

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

Amp settings — Crate GLX65

CHANNELCleanBOOSToff

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	5
Mid	6
Treble	7
Reverb	4
Master	5

Don’t have a Crate GLX65? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE10 VOLUME9

Signal chain

01Compressor (e.g. MXR Dyna Comp)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; adds the snappy studio squash to Knopfler's fingerstyle attack

Output 6 · Sensitivity 4

Why these settings

The Crate GLX65 clean channel provides plenty of headroom to replicate the pristine Fender/Music Man clean tone without breakup. The Burns Marquee Tri-Sonic-style single coils have a slightly wider mid response than vintage Fender pickups, so keep the Crate's mids at 6 and elevate treble to 7 to capture that signature glassy 'in-between' quack. A splash of onboard spring reverb matches the subtle room ambiance on the studio recording.

PRO TIPDitch the pick entirely: use the flesh of your thumb for the bass notes and pluck upward sharply with your index and middle fingers right over the bridge pickup to generate that snap and percussive pop.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Crate GLX65. 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.