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 · Pedalboard
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Junior (1958, single P-90)
Pickups
P90
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Morley Wah Pedal (half-cocked)
Laney Klipp 2x12 combo (1980s)
Laney Klipp built-in 2x12
Shure SM57 (the accident)
Morley Wah Pedal (half-cocked)
wah
Level
100%
Laney Klipp 2x12 combo (1980s)
preamp
Volume
7
Treble
6
Middle
6
Bass
5
Presence
5
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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