Tone library / Dire Straits / Sultans Of Swing

Sultans Of Swing amp settings — Orange Crush 20

The Dire Straits guitar tone for “Sultans Of Swing”, dialed in for a Orange Crush 20 with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Dire Straits debut album (1978) - iconic clean rhythm and lead fills

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 — Orange Crush 20

CHANNELClean

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	4
Mid	6
Treble	8
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Compressor (e.g. MXR Dyna Comp or Keeley Compressor Plus)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned (adds studio-style squash and snappy fingerstyle attack)

Sustain 4 · Level 6

Why these settings

The Orange Crush 20 is naturally dark and mid-heavy compared to a vintage Fender Vibrolux, so treble is boosted to 8 and bass rolled back to 4 to capture Knopfler's signature chime. Keep the amp on the Clean channel with low gain to prevent any solid-state clipping on hard finger snaps. The Crush 20 faceplate lacks presence and reverb controls, so both are nulled.

PRO TIPDitch the plectrum entirely and use clawhammer fingerstyle: pluck down with your thumb on the low strings while popping the high strings upward with your index and middle fingers for the authentic percussive 'quack'.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Orange Crush 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.