Dire Straits Brothers In Arms gear

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(date updated: 17/05/24)

Musical equipment

Drums and percussion:

  • Linn Electronics LinnDrum drum machine – used for guide tracks, some of which were possibly kept
  • Ludwig kit /w Paiste cymbals (Terry Williams) (specs unknown) – e.g. “Money For Nothing” opening drums & tom fills
  • Yamaha Recording series kit (Omar Hakim, likely used):

o   14x22” bass drum

o   7” chrome snare

o   10”, 12”, 13” & 14” rack toms

o   14”, 16”, 18” floor toms

o   Zildjian cymbals

Guitars (Mark Knopfler, except where noted):

  • Fender:
    • Stratocaster (cream) – possibly Hal Lindes guitar?
  • Gibson:
    • Chet Atkins CE – e.g. “So Far Away”
    • Les Paul Standard ’59 Reissue (“Money For Nothing”)
    • Les Paul Junior – tentative
    • ES-175D
    • ES-5 natural (1951)
  • Schecter:
    • Stratocaster (red) – e.g. “Walk Of Life”
    • Stratocaster (sunburst)
    • Stratocaster (white)
    • Stratocaster (Seafoam green) – Jack Sonni’s, played by MK on “One World” solo
    • Telecaster (red)
    • Les Paul
  • Other:
    • Gretsch – tentative, possibly backup

Basses:

  • Chapman Stick – Tony Levin’s, used on “Why Worry”
  • Fender Precision (black) /w tortoiseshell pickguard – John Illsley backup bass?
  • Fender Jazz L-series (1965) – Neil Jason’s, played on “One World” for instance
  • Music Man Stingray – Tony Levin’s, possibly used someplace
  • Wal Mk. 1 Black custom – John Illsley’s

Effects:

  • Boss VB-2 Vibrato: Neil Jason bass tone on “One World
  • Ibanez CS-9 Stereo Chorus: Neil Jason bass tone on “One World”
  • Pete Cornish effects (Mark Knopfler’s, possibly used):
    • Roland SRE-555 chorus echo
    • Deltalabs Delay Unit
    • Mic-Mix Dyna-Flanger unit
    • Master room reverb unit
    • Roland 31-band equalizer
  • Morley wah pedal – Mark Knopfler’s, frequency filtering on “Money For Nothing”
  • Klark Teknik 31-band equalizer (John Illsley)

Amplifiers:

  • Guitar (Mark Knopfler):
    • Mesa/Boogie amps (?)
    • Jim Kelley amp
    • Marshall JTM45 through Laney cabinet – Ron Eve’s amplifier used as spare, “Money For Nothing” signature guitar sound
  • Bass:
    • 2 x Ampeg SVT heads
    • Crown amp
    • Mega cabinet

Pianos & keyboards:

  • Bosendorfer 7’ 4” acoustic grand piano: AIR Montserrat
  • Hammond B3 organ /w Leslie cabinet: AIR Montserrat

Synthesizers & samplers:

  • E-mu Emulator II – e.g. “Ride Across The River” Shakuhachi flutes
  • New England Digital Synclavier PSMT – string sounds, "Money For Nothing" intro
  • Roland Jupiter-8
  • Yamaha DX1 – e.g. woody sound on “Money For Nothing”
  • Yamaha DX7

Studio equipment

Microphones:

  • Drums:
    • AKG D12 (Kick drum)
    • AKG C451’s (snare, hi-hat & overheads)
    • Electrovoice RE20 (Kick drum)
    • Sennheiser MD421’s (Toms)
    • Neumann U87 (x2) (drum ambience mics)
  • Piano:
    • AKG C414
  • Bass amplifier:
    • Neumann FET U47
  • Guitar amplifier:
    • AKG C451’s
    • Shure SM57’s – e.g. “Money For Nothing”
    • Neumann U67’s
  • Vocals:
    • Neumann U47
    • Telefunken 251 (Sting’s vocals on “Money For Nothing”)

Tape machines:

  • Sony PCM-3324 DASH 24-track digital recorder – the group’s own were flown in for the session.

Outboard gear (partial list):

  • AMS DMX 15-80 (mono) digital delay/harmonizer/sampler – available at AIR Montserrat, used for correcting bass parts via digital sampling
  • AMS DMX 15-80S (stereo) digital delay/harmonizer/sampler
  • AMS RMX-16 digital reverb
  • EMT reverb plates
  • Sony DRE-2000 digital reverb

Mixing consoles:

  • Neve A4792: AIR Studios Montserrat (tracking)
  • Solid State Logic SL-6000E: Power Station Studio B, New York
  • Solid State Logic SL-4000E: Power Station Studio C, New York
  • SSL G-series (specs unknown): AIR studios Oxford Street final mixing

Miscellaneous:

  • Auratone 5C monitors

References:

Classic Tracks: Money For Nothing on Sound On Sound

Classic Tracks: Money For Nothing on Mixonline

Sound On Sound, September 1986 (Guy Fletcher)

Musician, September 1985

http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/arms-and-the-man/6744

International Musician And Recording World, January 1986

Modern Drummer May 1986 (Terry Williams kit & LinnDrum)

Modern Drummer December 1984 and International Musician & Recording World July 1985 (Omar Hakim drum kit)

Guitar & Bass, May 2005 (excerpt)

Tony Levin Steve Adleson interview

Island Music: The History of AIR Studios Montserrat by Brian Sallerson (2022) – info relating to “Money For Nothing” sound

My Life In Dire Straits by John Illsley (2021)

Studio Sound, October 1986 (Power Station info)

Money For Nothing tone on Dire Straits Blog (Morley Wah)

On Every Bootleg website (Guitars section)

Session Madness: Tales From Inside The Groove (Neil Jason Interview)

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