Early Knopfler tone: position 2 or position 4?

[cwcowell]

I've seen Knopfler's "Sultans of Swing"-era tone described as neck+middle and as bridge+middle. Anyone know definitively what position he used for that signature Knopfler Strat quack?

I don't have a Strat so I can't answer this through experimentation.

 

[Robi]

I use neck+middle and fingerpicking. You can't get his tone if you are playing with a pick.

 

[WallyArms]

I was just watching some youtube vids of Sultans of Swing over the past couple days... looks and sounds like bridge + middle to me.

 

[Del Pickup]

Have a look at the YouTube vids of Six Blade Knife (he's using middle and bridge on that one) and Follow Me Home where he seems to be using the neck pickup exclusively.

Might be worthwhile getting a copy of that dvd to see what he does on other songs.

 

[Robi]

I know that using position 4 on SoS (I have rockpalast concert on my computer), BUT maybe his switch is switched

(rotated for 180°)

 

[Casual_Reader]

Interviewer: "Your old Fender Strat used to have the 3-way toggle switch taped so that it would stop in the position between the middle and rear pickups. why didn't you just get a 5-position switch to achieve the same pickup combination?"

Knopfler: "I liked the 3-way switch better than the 5-position; it had a better sound. But I kept knocking it out. I have a 5-position switch on the Strat now. The roadies are always pulling bits out and sticking things in."

from: http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/3399/interv.htm

compared to folded match book covers, tape is high tech

 

[sa paine]

I'm sure he used all positions. I think his classic tone though is Middle-Bridge. On an early 60's Strat.

 

[Bryan'sFSRTele]

well I can get this tone on pos 3 on my tele.but it's a chambered mahogany body with a delta tone boost so....

 

[Schtang]

I have seen Dire Strats live twice and I have been in the front row on one occassion - he definitely plays SoS in position 4 (bridge/middle).

 

[Rob DiStefano]

for the most part, position 2 (bridge/middle)

 

[Schtang]

for the most part, position 2 (bridge/middle)

isn't postion 2 neck/middle? positon 4 is bridge/middle

 

[cwcowell]

isn't postion 2 neck/middle? positon 4 is bridge/middle

I always thought the standard usage was:

position 1 = bridge
position 2 = bridge + middle
position 3 = middle
position 4 = neck + middle
position 5 = neck

But it's completely possible I've gotten that wrong.

 

[tele0053]

Before they had the 5-way switch to get front-mid... mid-back..quack I would take the spring out and I could find the middle "QUACK" positions in the middle of a song with a bit of practice, it was certainly easier than trying to do a spring loaded balancing act in the middle of a performance on stage.
What took so long for them (Fender) to come up with the 5 way switch?
Clapton told everybody about the middle quack positions on strats in an interview with Guitar Player in 1970 and it took Fender 10+ years to implement that on strats....go figure?

 

[blue metalflake]

Sound wise I always thought he did it from middle & bridge.

 

[rand z]

other than the mid/bridge position, imo the real secret to knopflers tone is that he uses the side of his thumb and index and middle fingers... no picks (he does use a pick occasionally on electric and for strumming on acoustic).

mark's use of the thumb and fingers seems to add a "plunk" in his attack that you cant quite emulate with just a pick. im thinking mostly albert king. and that this is the main source of his nasally sound... the mid/bridge postion accentuates that attack.

but, actually any of the hot country players that use the hybrid style pick and fingers style... lee, mason, flacke, white and gill all can get that "plunk" as the yank on the high e or b strings with their bare finger(s).

knopfler also gets a kinda "thump" on his bass strings from his bare thumb that even the hybrid pickers dont really get from their flatpicks. imo this really sets him apart from the others. jeff beck uses mostly his thumb and index finger pinched together (no pick stuck in there) to play solos... also kinda unique but really not the same attack or sound of knopfler or the hybrid guys.

like mark and the others above, there are lots of ways to play without a pick... regardless of pup selection to get your own sound(s).

rand z

 

[Mutato]

Freaky! I cruising through the forums and what's playing on my Mac, Dire Straits!!! I agree that Bridge-Middle configuration is what he uses on those songs. Also agree on the finger picking. Really brings out some awesome snappy dynamics on a Strat.

 

[Wally]

I always thought the standard usage was:

position 1 = bridge
position 2 = bridge + middle
position 3 = middle
position 4 = neck + middle
position 5 = neck

But it's completely possible I've gotten that wrong.

CW, I am of the Billy Gibbons schoold..."you only need one pickup and that is the bridge".....so I think of '1' as being the bridge....and that is incorrect!
General usage has tehneck as 1,n+m as 2, m as 3, b+m as 4 and bridge as 5.
Tele....neck is 1, midlle is 2 and bridge is 3.
I agree that playing sans pick is the only way to get close no matter what pickup you play on.

 

[Telesavalis]

I was working as a DJ at a major market radio station when Dire Straits launched their career and had the opportunity to interview Mark Knopfler. Being a guitar player myself, I was as interested in his playing technique and tone as much as I was in his band so I asked him about that. He said that he prefered the Strat because it was easier to play that particular guitar in the finger picking style he used and, (like most guitarists) he had put a lot of effort into finding and locking into a sound that would be associated with his playing and music. Since he played the Strat, though, he was also trying achieve that signature sound without duplicating the Strat tone that was so signature to Clapton's playing at that time. So, since Eric mainly played in the 2nd position Mark used the 4th switch position, which gave him a slightly darker tone, and of course combined that with his finger picking technique, achieved what he considered to be "his" sound.

 

[cwcowell]

So, since Eric mainly played in the 2nd position Mark used the 4th switch position, which gave him a slightly darker tone, and of course combined that with his finger picking technique, achieved what he considered to be "his" sound.

Cool info!

You mention that Knopfler's 4th position gave him a darker sound than Clapton's 2nd position, which makes me think you're using "4th position" to mean neck + middle. Is that right? That's the way I use the term, but there seems to be some debate over the terminology.

 

[Wally]

Cool info!

You mention that Knopfler's 4th position gave him a darker sound than Clapton's 2nd position, which makes me think you're using "4th position" to mean neck + middle. Is that right? That's the way I use the term, but there seems to be some debate over the terminology.

CW, I have recently noticed some confusion over this also. I just started a thread in the 'Pickups' section.....
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pickups/160578-pickup-combination-numbering.html#post1813592