Mark Knopfler

This guitar was used in the recording of his 2004 album Shangri-La in the song 'Postcards from Paraguay'. it is a 1990 model http://www.oneverybootleg.nl/MK_guitars_ramirez.htm

Here's a picture of the legend Mark Knopfler himself with what appears to be a 1938 Gibson Advanced Jumbo.

"1938 Gibson Advanced Jumbo – This guitar Knopfler used on “Speedway at Nazareth” and “Wanderlust” from the 2000 album Sailing to Philadelphia and on “Before Gas and TV” and “Remembrance Day” from the 2009 album Get Lucky." - DireStraightsblog

In this, you can see Mark Knopfler using his Marhsall JTM 45 which runs into his Handwired Marshall 4x12. He used it on Brothers in arms and on Money For Nothing. You can see him using it live either at Live Aid 1985, or at one of his gigs in 1979.

The Fairchild 670 Compressor Plugin is used by Mark Knopfler as shown at 4:00 in this rig rundown. He says, "Like the early Beatles records would have been run through those in mastering. But we've got them on pianos and acoustic guitars and things as well."

DiMarzio has been producing replacement pick-ups for Fender and Gibson guitars since the early 70ies. Back then, a lot of players had the wish for hotter pick-ups to get more distortion from their amps – remember that high-gain amps, tube pre-amps and the like were a development that started in the 80ies. So most DiMarzio pick-ups were simply hotter replacements for the standard pick-ups. Hotter normally means the pick-up is wound with more coils. This does not only lead to more output but also to a fatter tone with more midrange and less treble. Consequently one of DiMarzio’s most popular models was the Fat Strat, or in short FS-1 (today also called model DP-110). There is no direct evidence that it was this model in Mark Knopfler’s Strat, however, the DiMarzio product line was not big, and the only other Strat pick-up they offered at that time was the SDS-1, which had adjustable pole pieces – something you would see on pictures, and Knopfler’s Strat did not have these.

Mark Knopfler was gifted 2 OF-1s by the owners of G-Sharp following a 2008 concert in Oslo, Norway.

In the link below, you can see that Mark Knopfler had bought a Schecter Stratocaster from a Music Store down in New York. It was used on the recordings of Making Movies. It had never been used live except on Grey Old Whistle Festival. After Making Movies, he had changed the pickups to white and not black. This was his main guitar since 1981 until 1997.

He used this guitar until 1979, he used this on the first Dire Straits album. He had only used this guitar on Water of Love which he used a Slide and a Capo.

On the stage with Danelectro 59 DC Electric Guitar.

According to the official product description;

The Boswell “0-14MK/TR-Limited Edition” is a rare, collaborative release from Butch Boswell of Boswell Guitars, Mark Knopfler, and Rudy Pensa of Rudy’s Music, NYC. There were only 20 available build slots to reserve, and the instruments were finally produced in 2024.

Only 24 (20 available build slots at the time in addition to 4 guitars reserved for Mark Knopfler) were ever built and this guitar includes a certificate with Mark Knopfler's original signature in addition to Butch Boswell of Boswell Guitars and Rudy Pensa of Rudy's Music, NYC.

In this YouTube clip recorded in Paris in April 1992 Mark Knopfler can be seen using a Taylor 712 C on the Dire Straits song Iron Hand.

In an Instagram clip shared by gibsunday, Mark Knopfler demonstrates how he developed "Money for Nothing" while playing a real 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard, not a reissue.

Mark Knopfler is confirmed to use a Gibson 1959 Les Paul Electric Guitar, which he purchased from New Kings Road Vintage Guitar Emporium on March 23, 1999. This guitar serves as a backup for his '58 Les Paul and is noted for its distinct red color on the edges, which are less faded than the '58 model. It has been used live for performances of "Song for Sonny Liston," "Why Aye Man," "Pyroman," and "Brothers in Arms." The guitar was later auctioned at Christie's in London on January 31, 2024, where it was sold for £693,000. This information is supported by the source "Mark Knopfler and his guitars."

Mark Knopfler purchased this guitar in December 2003 from Phil’s Guitars in Seattle, Washington. Knopfler’s guitar tech Glenn Saggers told that, once purchased, every guitar would spend time in Mark’s hands so he could get an idea of the sound and where a particular guitar might fit in a particular song. The Les Paul Signature was purchased with a particular guitar sound in mind and tried during the recording process, yet never made it on to a record. From time to time, Knopfler kept this guitar in his study for home use.

Mark used it on Private investigations, Love over gold and the outro of Romeo and Juliet during the Love over gold tour 1982-1983. During the Brothers in arms tour 1985-1986, it was used on Your latest trick, Private investigations and So far away (Calypso version) in 1985-1986.

Mark Knopfler received a Gibson Chet Atkins Custom Shop Edition SST as a gift from Chet Atkins around 1988, as documented on the website "Mark Knopfler and his guitars."

Mark Knopfler used the Gibson L5 CES guitar on The Notting Hillbillies album "Missing... Presumed Having a Good Time" (1990). The Newcastle Chronicle provided photographic evidence of Knopfler playing this guitar during an impromptu early Notting Hillbillies performance at Le Papillon Restaurant in Corbridge on February 12, 1988, as documented in the source "Mark Knopfler and his guitars."

Mark Knopfler is confirmed to have used the Gibson Memphis ES-330 Electric Guitar on the tracks "Behind with the Rent" and "Madame Geneva's" from the album Kill to Get Crimson. This information is supported by the source titled "Mark Knopfler and his guitars."

Mark Knopfler purchased this 1960 ES-330 from Fretted Americana in Calabasas, California, in May 2008 as a companion to his first 1960 ES-330, which was a gift from American singer-songwriter Tony Joe White in the 1980s and remains in Knopfler’s collection to this day.

The guitar was tried during the recording process to get an idea of the sound and where it might fit in a particular song, but ultimately did not make it onto a record. From time to time, this guitar has been kept in his study for home use. Knopfler told: 'Even if I wasn’t putting the guitars on records, I was playing them at home. They would be there to hand, never very far away from me.'

Mark Knopfler owned four Gibson ES-335TDN guitars, all with a natural finish and dot inlays, as detailed on the website "Mark Knopfler and his guitars."

In this photo from VGM, Mark is seen with his ‘59 335 and Bassman.

In 2018, Mark Knopfler acquired a Gibson ES-135 P-100 (1991-2003) and experimented with it during the recording process to evaluate its sound and determine its potential fit in a song. However, this guitar was never featured on a record. Knopfler occasionally kept the ES-135 in his study for personal use at home, as documented in the source "Mark Knopfler and his guitars."

Mark Knopfler is confirmed to have used a Gibson J-200 guitar during the filming of the 2010 documentary "When Mark Knopfler met Phil Cunningham," as evidenced by an image sourced from Equipboard.

Mark Knopfler purchased this guitar from Gary’s Classic Guitars in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 2005. The Les Paul Special was soon put to use on a session, when Knopfler recorded the electric guitar part for Nashville singer-songwriter Paul Burch’s song Before the bells at British Grove Studios in late 2005, which would be released on the album East to West in 2006.

This is Mark's first Gibson guitar, he bought it in 1971. Mark used it on Cafe Racers and on the first Dire Straits album.

This is what Mark Knopfler said in an old interview: “We played in pubs in London. I just had this thirty-watt amplifier; we used to stick it up on two wooden chairs," he recalls nostalgically. "I used to play a Gibson Les Paul Special with a pick. It was a double-cutaway Les Paul Special that had been refinished black, probably a 1960. I bought it for £80; this would have been around 1971. My friend Steve Phillips and I painstakingly stripped it and got it back to its original cherry finish, and it was everything to me. I don't know whether I slept with it, but it wasn't far off. I absolutely adored it, and still do. I used it in the Straits when we started. I was actually just looking at a picture of us when we played on Clapham Common [London, 11th September 1977] for Charlie Gillett, and there I am playing the Special. So that's where Gibson started in my life, and that guitar will always have a special place in my heart.”

Mark Knopfler acquired this guitar from Nationwide Guitars in Columbia, Maryland, in December 2005. Guitar tech Glenn Saggers told that, once purchased, every guitar would spend time in Mark’s hands so he could get an idea of the sound and where a particular guitar might fit in a particular song. Although tried during the recording process, this Les Paul Junior ultimately never made it onto a record. From time to time, Knopfler kept this guitar in his study for home use.

The Gibson J-200 Celebrity was produced in a limited run of just 90 (numbered) instruments to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Gibson Company in 1985. Two were presented to Dire Straits: Mark Knopfler received number 40 of 90 and bassist John Illsley received number 42.

Mark used this guitar on various performances together with Chet Atkins. For example at the Secret Policeman's third Ball in 1987 to perform Imagine and I'll see you in my dreams. On the video of Dire Straits in Auckland 1986, you can see Mark playing this guitar on The man's too strong.

Mark Knopfler purchased this guitar from Sound Stage Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, in May 2007. Knopfler tried both this guitar and a second Dove, which remains in his collection, during recording sessions for Piper to the end.

Mark Knopfler purchased this acoustic guitar from Rudolph Prankl of Guitar Relics of N.Y. Inc. in Bethpage, New York, in October 2005. Snapped for his online studio diaries, Knopfler's 1960s acoustic was photographed by keyboardist and album co-producer Guy Fletcher as one of a group of guitars used during album recording sessions at British Grove Studios in 2008-9.

The Hummingbird was used by guitarist Richard Bennett to record the bonus track The living end, from Knopfler's solo album One deep river. From time to time, Knopfler kept this guitar in his study for home use.

Acquired in 1998, Mark Knopfler kept this guitar in his study for home use. Knopfler: "I loved the Everlys so much, you know, that I always wanted to have an Everlys Gibson." The song Why worry, recorded by Dire Straits for their 1985 album Brothers in arms, was reportedly originally written by Knopfler with the Everly Brothers in mind. The brothers recorded their own version of Why worry the following year for their 1986 album Born yesterday. Knopfler was thrilled to perform the song with Don and Phil Everly themselves when Chet Atkins invited all three to take part in the Cinemax television special Chet Atkins and Friends at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on 1st May 1987.