No. 0551985·rock·4 blocks
Money for Nothing
One of the most-mythologized accidental tones in rock. Mark Knopfler tracked the Money for Nothing intro riff at AIR Studios Montserrat (April 1985) on a Gibson Les Paul Junior through a Laney Klipp 2x12 combo, with a Morley wah pedal kept half-cocked in front. The SM57 had slipped off its stand the night before and was pointing at the floor, four inches from the speaker — by accident. Engineer Neil Dorfsman and Knopfler heard it through the talkback, told the room not to touch anything, and tracked the riff exactly as it stood. The tone has never been re-created since.
Brothers in ArmsSignal path · input → output · 7 blocksLive values · Fractal Axe-Fx
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Junior (1958, single P-90)
Pickups
P90
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Studio Comp
Cry Baby Wah
Brit Pre
2x12 British
Plate Reverb
Filter Tilt
Studio Comp
← Natural amp + tape compression
Threshold
-30dB
Ratio
2.5:1
Attack
0.1s
Release
0.3s
Mix
0.5
Level
0dB
Cry Baby Wah
← Morley Wah Pedal (half-cocked)
Drive
0
Tone
5
Level
5
Brit Pre
← Laney Klipp 2x12 (1980s)
Drive
6.5
Bass
5
Mid
6.5
Treble
6
Presence
5
MV
6.5
Cut
0
2x12 British
← Laney Klipp built-in 2x12
LowCut100Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Level
0dB
Plate Reverb
← AIR Studios Montserrat plate
Mix
0.1
Decay
1.5s
Predelay
25ms
Filter Tilt
← Tilt EQ (global brightness)
Tilt
0.5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
Level
0
Engineer's note
File 055
One of the most-mythologized accidental tones in rock. Mark Knopfler tracked the Money for Nothing intro riff at AIR Studios Montserrat (April 1985) on a Gibson Les Paul Junior through a Laney Klipp 2x12 combo, with a Morley wah pedal kept half-cocked in front. The SM57 had slipped off its stand the night before and was pointing at the floor, four inches from the speaker — by accident. Engineer Neil Dorfsman and Knopfler heard it through the talkback, told the room not to touch anything, and tracked the riff exactly as it stood. The tone has never been re-created since.
— Mark Knopfler
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