Tone library / Dire straits / Sultans of swing

Sultans of swing amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The Dire straits guitar tone for “Sultans of swing”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Fender American Original 60s Stratocaster. Studio version, Dire Straits debut album (1978)

Original rig

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

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

Amp settings — Fender Champion 20

CHANNELVoice: '65 Twin Clean (Blackface)

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

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE10 VOLUME9

Why these settings

Set the Champion 20 Voice selector to the '65 Twin Clean model for pristine headroom with zero breakup. The Champion 20 faceplate lacks a dedicated Mid control and Presence knob, so treble is set to 7 to deliver Mark Knopfler's signature glass and bite while keeping the bass tight and punchy at 5. Onboard spring reverb at 3 provides the subtle studio room ambience from the original cut.

PRO TIPDitch the pick completely: use the flesh and nail of your bare thumb for downstrokes on the lower strings and index/middle fingers to snap upward on the treble strings to get the iconic percussive 'quack'.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. 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.