Amplifiers & Effects
English
Amplifiers
Selmer Thunderbird
Used in the early days, pre Dire Straits.
Fender Vibrolux
A brown-tolex Vibrolux made in the mid 60s, used since the first album for clean tone. It can be heard way back on Dire Straits debut album (most notably on “Sultans of Swing”), and on Mark’s latest solo Privateering.
Fender Twin Reverb
Mainly seen on live gigs following the release of the band’s first album, although the amp was used during the studio sessions as well.
Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus
Used only on the first album.
Music Man HD130
Present during Making Movies era, both in studio and on stage.
Mesa Boogie Mark II
Used for the Love Over Gold album, and most of the stuff on Brother in Arms.
Marshall JTM45
Used on “Brothers in Arms” and “Money For Nothing”.
Jim Kelley FACS heads
Used for the entirety of the Brothers in Arms tour, by both Mark and Jack Sonni. According to John Suhr who at the time worked at Rudy’s Music Stop in New York, and who also introduced Mark to Jim Kelley amps, the amp was also used on the intro for “Money for Nothing” (Thanks to Jim Kelley for providing the info).
Soldano SLO 100
Basically Mark’s main go-to amp since the mid 90s.
Guitar Effects
Mark is one of those guitarists who keep most of their effects in the rack during a live setting, meaning - he mostly lets his guitar tech take care of them. In the studio, most of the effects are added in the process of mixing and editing the tapes.
That aside, here’s couple of pedals which had significant impact on building Mark’s signature sound over the years.
Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer
Mark allegedly used this compressor on the first album for “Sultans of Swing”, although the compression might’ve been added after in the process of mixing. If you’re looking for a similar sound through a pedal, Henretta Orange Whip Compressor would be a good start.
Morley Volume Pedal
He used this volume pedal in the early days, but now he’s using the Ernie Ball Volume Pedal. It is usually the only pedal he’d actually have with him on stage. Example can be heard all over “Brothers in Arms” fillers when played live.
MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay
Mark uses a bit of delay in his usual setting. In the early days he went with the MXR Analog Delay, but nowadays he seems to be using TC Electronic 2290 rack delay.
Dunlop Cry Baby
Mark used it on Money for Nothing, having it in a fixed position.