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 · 5 blocksLive values · Kemper Profiler
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Junior (1958, single P-90)
Pickups
P90
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Compressor
Wah Pedal
Search Rig Exchange for 'Laney Klipp' or 'Money for Nothing' or 'British 2x12 combo'
Plate Reverb
Compressor
← Natural amp + tape compression
Sustain
3.5
Tone
5
Volume
5
Wah Pedal
← Morley Wah Pedal (half-cocked)
Drive
0
Tone
5
Volume
5
Search Rig Exchange for 'Laney Klipp' or 'Money for Nothing' or 'British 2x12 combo'
← Laney Klipp 2x12 (1980s)
Gain
6.5
Bass
5
Middle
6.5
Treble
6
Presence
5
Plate Reverb
← AIR Studios Montserrat plate
Decay
1.5s
Predelay
25ms
Mix
15
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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