🎸 Rock · 1980s

Money for Nothing by Dire Straits (Solo · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Dire Straits · solo

The Money for Nothing by Dire Straits guitar tone is built on a Laney / Marshall, dialed in at gain 6/10, bass 6, mid 5, treble 6, presence 5 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

🎛️ These settings are for the original rig — re-dial them for YOUR amp in 10 seconds. Free, no signup →

Amp settings (0–10)

6
GAIN
6
BASS
5
MID
6
TREBLE
5
PRESENCE
2
REVERB

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

How these settings compare

Measured against the 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 6 sits above the rock average (4.8) — a hotter, more saturated take than most rock tones; mids at 5 are below average (6.2).

Original gear

Guitar: Gibson Les Paul · Amp: Laney / Marshall

Les Paul neck pickup into an amp with a wah parked in a fixed position, plus mic/room placement; fingerstyle.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Marshall songs & tones →🎚️ Gibson Les Paul songs & tones →🎚️ humbucker guitars songs & tones →🎚️ wah songs & tones →

Don’t own this gear? GuitarToneAdapt re-creates the sound on the rig you actually have.

Pickups

neck humbucker

Signal chain

Gibson Les Paul → wah (parked) → Laney / Marshall

Tone character

Fat, honking mid-scooped tone from a parked wah; warm neck-pickup drive with a vocal, nasal character.

Worth knowing

⚡ Same tone, YOUR gear — re-dials the gain & EQ for your amp and pickups, free →

🎸 All Money for Nothing guitar tones — every part & section →

🎧 Can you guess the tone?
Recognise famous songs from just the amp dials — a quick 10-round game. Beat your friends. Play free →
🎸 Which guitar legend is your tone twin? Take the quiz & share your result →

Money for Nothing guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Money for Nothing guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 6, bass 6, mid 5, treble 6, presence 5, reverb 2. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Money for Nothing tone?

Original gear/effects: Guitar: Gibson Les Paul · Amp: Laney / Marshall.

Can I get the Money for Nothing tone on a different guitar or amp?

Yes. Different guitars and amps need different knob positions to sound the same. GuitarToneAdapt models pickup output and wood brightness, then compensates so you match the record on your own rig.

How do I sound like Dire Straits on Money for Nothing — what gear and pedals?

Start with neck humbucker, the amp EQ above (gain 6, bass 6, mid 5, treble 6, presence 5, reverb 2). Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

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Songs by level: 🎯 Easy  ·  🎸 Intermediate  ·  🔥 Hardest — each with the amp settings.

More like this

🎸 How to get Dire Straits’s guitar tone →  ·  🎸 more Rock guitar tones →  ·  🎛️ best rock amp settings →  ·  🎸 more iconic guitar solos →  ·  🎯 more scooped mids tones →  ·  📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

Related tones

Sultans of Swing — Dire StraitsMoney for Nothing — Dire StraitsHeavy Fuel (Live Album Version) — Dire StraitsSultans of Swing (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK, 1983) — Dire StraitsBoys Don't Cry — The CureWay Down We Go — KALEO
Settings are community-researched estimates, not official. GuitarToneAdapt adapts them to your gear. guitartoneadapt.com