Tone library / Dire Straits / Sultans of Swing

Sultans of Swing amp settings — Marshall MG15 Gold MG15

The Dire Straits guitar tone for “Sultans of Swing”, dialed in for a Marshall MG15 Gold MG15 with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Dire Straits debut album (1978)

Original rig

1961 Fender Stratocaster (bridge+middle) into 1961 Fender Vibrolux Reverb / Music Man 212 HD 130, no pedals

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

Amp settings — Marshall MG15 Gold MG15

CHANNELCleanBOOSToff

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

Don’t have a Marshall MG15 Gold MG15? 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 owned (studio optical compression enhances the snap and sustain)

Output 6 · Sensitivity 4

02Spring Reverb (e.g. Boss FRV-1)

RECOMMENDED — not owned (to emulate the original Fender Vibrolux amp spring reverb)

Mixer 4 · Tone 5 · Dwell 4

Why these settings

The Marshall MG15 Gold is set strictly to its Clean channel with low volume to ensure completely pristine headroom without Marshall crunch. Because Marshall solid-state cleans are slightly flatter than a blackface Fender, treble is pushed to 7 with mids at 6 to reproduce the sparkling top-end snap. Note that the standard MG15 lacks built-in reverb and presence controls, so those parameters are null.

PRO TIPDitch the pick entirely and use Mark Knopfler's clawhammer-derived fingerstyle technique: pluck downward with your bare thumb and snap the treble strings upward with your index and middle fingers right against the fretboard edge for the signature percussive pop.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG15 Gold MG15. 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.