Dire Straits’ 1985 single Money For Nothing would see guitarist Mark Knopfler recording with a Les Paul instead of the Stratocaster that had been so integral to his earlier work. With the aim of creating a ZZ Top-like sound, it was a stroke of good fortune (an SM57 accidentally left pointing at the floor instead of the speaker) that led to the song’s signature tone, and Knopfler never fully recreated this sound again.
Famed as a fingerstylist, Knopfler’s technique in MFN relies heavily on the first and second picking fingers, with occasional use of the thumb. In fact, he often rests his third and
