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 · 9 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Junior (1958, single P-90)
Pickups
P90
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Volume Pedal
Deluxe Comp
Cry Baby
Scream 808
Brit Studio
2x12 Mail
Plate
Tilt
Volume Pedal
← Volume pedal
Pedal
100%
Deluxe Comp
← Natural amp + tape compression
Threshold
-30dB
Ratio
2.5:1
Knee
6dB
Attack
50s
Release
250s
Mix
50
Level
0dB
Cry Baby
← Morley Wah Pedal (half-cocked)
Mix
100
Level
0
Scream 808
← Tube Screamer (alt boost)
Drive
1.5
Gain
1.5
Tone
5
Level
7
Brit Studio
← Laney Klipp 2x12 (1980s)
Drive
6.5
Bass
5
Mid
6
Treble
6
Presence
5
ChVol
6.5
Master
10
Bias
5.5
BiasX
5
Sag
6
Hum
5
Ripple
5
2x12 Mail
← Laney Klipp built-in 2x12
LowCut100Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Resonance
0.4
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Plate
← AIR Studios Montserrat plate
LowCut200Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Mix
15
Decay
1.5s
Predelay
25ms
Level
0
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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