Tone library / Dire straits / Sultans of swing

Sultans of swing amp settings — Yamaha THR10II

The Dire straits guitar tone for “Sultans of swing”, dialed in for a Yamaha THR10II with a Fender Player Plus Stratocaster. Studio version, Dire Straits debut album (1978)

Original rig

1961 Fender Stratocaster (bridge+middle position) straight into a Fender Vibrolux / Music Man 212 HD 130 2x12 combo, no pedals, fingerstyle

Crystal-clear, scooped, percussive clean with quacky bridge+middle chime and fast dynamic snap

Amp settings — Yamaha THR10II

CHANNELCLEAN amp model (Classic mode)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	2
Bass	5
Mid	4
Treble	7
Reverb	3
Master	7

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge+middle TONE10 VOLUME10

Why these settings

The Yamaha THR10II Clean voice captures the pristine American 6L6 headroom of the original Fender/Music Man amps without breaking up. Keep gain low at 2 to preserve pure clean headroom, scoop the mids slightly to accentuate the iconic Strat 'quack', and bypass your BD-2 entirely since the recording uses zero overdrive.

PRO TIPDitch the pick completely and pluck the strings using the flesh and nails of your bare thumb, index, and middle fingers for the signature percussive snap.

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These settings are for a Yamaha THR10II. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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