Brother s in arms

fafakiwi

Experienced
Hi guys ,
i have a request for youi ....as an "apprentice " , i m only at the beginning of my long way in using , understanding and programming the Axe.
i m trying to create a preset for Mark Knopfler fantastic piece of guitar in Dire Straits : Brothers in arms...my results are not fantastic, a lot of time in tweaking with no results instead of playing...
i ve tried the presets available on axechange but not the taste and the sound of the several videos of the songs you can find on youtube as mark sounds now , or in his latest tours i should say
(i know that one preset on axechange was created by cooper carter but i had not the feeling of the song using it with my Les Paul)
so if you have advices wherte to begin from : amp (JTM 45 , Soldano100) cabs ( don t know...)effects (not a lot surely...)
or if anybody as presets to share i would be thankful to test them and finally play guitar on this rainy sunday here in France
cheers
Fabrice
 
I would start with ....Les Paul, neck pup, tone knob rolled back half way?....JTM 45 (fairly clean)....TS-808 drive (drive at 0, tone at 5, level at 8 to 10).....Basketweave TV cab (to start)....Then try some other cabs if needed...........And play with your fingers....and the volume knob on the guitar.
 
Hi Moke , i ve found a good basic tone with JTM45 and cab you ve suggest to me but now i m a bit lost ....i need a compressor for playing with fingers , a bit of delay and a bit of sweet , lush reverb i think ....maybe a bit of chorus ???? i don t know....
can you give me few more advices with that.....???
Thanks !!!!!
 
Keep it simple: amp, cab, delay and a bit of room reverb. Like Moke has tell you: a low gain Marshall and greenbacks (although Mark uses EV speakers a lot, you could also try them)

We play it with my group but I've still not tried to make a preset for it, I'll post it when It's done ;)
 
Worth a try is using a wah in half way fixed position.
Hi and many thanks I ll try this as soon as possible and would be thankful if you share your preset....
What do you if a bit ad tape or vintage delay not too present... quarter note you think?
 
Hi Moke , i ve found a good basic tone with JTM45 and cab you ve suggest to me but now i m a bit lost ....i need a compressor for playing with fingers , a bit of delay and a bit of sweet , lush reverb i think ....maybe a bit of chorus ???? i don t know....
can you give me few more advices with that.....???
Thanks !!!!!
Can you tell me which unit you have and what firmware are you on?
 
For me (and I know it is a cliché) but this is THE song that highlights tone is at least as much in the touch and fingers as in the guitar/amp combination. You are better off spending time getting the finger style down and the dynamic touch that Knopfler has on this track than trying to get the exact tone (but you probably knew this already........:) )

That said, here are some of the things that might help:
1) According to the Mark Knopfler Guitar Styles book from a few years ago, he used 1984 Les Paul reissue that had been rewired so the middle position on the pickup selector connected both pick ups out of phase (similar to the Peter Green LP, I guess).

2) The same book also says he played through a JTM45 head with a Marshall 4x12 with EV speakers.
(The Ingo Raven site also seems to back this up, and even has a picture....)

Some other tricks that you can try
  • I think the use of a volume pedal is key (or volume knob). You'll need it to get those 'swelled' notes.
  • I also find it helps to play with the Level turned up but really 'soft' fingers.
  • Before you take the soldering iron to the LP, here's a trick I use (it'll work for some of that early Peter Green Fleetwood Mac too). I put a stereo cab block after the amp, with both left and right cabs the same. I put the pan on zero (or close to it), set Mic's to NULL for both then use a balance of Delay R and Level R to get a nice 'out of phase' sound, something like in the picture below (try playing with Level R and Delay R to get a sound you like). I also use the middle position on the pickup selector
Phased Cabs.JPG

  • Supposedly the Money For Nothing tone was created by a combination of mics in different positions, so you can try playing with Level R and Delay R for that tone as well.
Oh, and that SoloAWeek version by @ccroyalsenders is mind blowing! :)
 
Can you tell me which unit you have and what firmware are you on?
Hi moke
I m totally an apprentice with fractal, a dream came true when I manage to buy my Axe fx II XL + nearly 2 months ago
I ve download latest firmware 7.02 beta
Fabrice
 
For me (and I know it is a cliché) but this is THE song that highlights tone is at least as much in the touch and fingers as in the guitar/amp combination. You are better off spending time getting the finger style down and the dynamic touch that Knopfler has on this track than trying to get the exact tone (but you probably knew this already........:) )

That said, here are some of the things that might help:
1) According to the Mark Knopfler Guitar Styles book from a few years ago, he used 1984 Les Paul reissue that had been rewired so the middle position on the pickup selector connected both pick ups out of phase (similar to the Peter Green LP, I guess).

2) The same book also says he played through a JTM45 head with a Marshall 4x12 with EV speakers.
(The Ingo Raven site also seems to back this up, and even has a picture....)

Some other tricks that you can try
  • I think the use of a volume pedal is key (or volume knob). You'll need it to get those 'swelled' notes.
  • I also find it helps to play with the Level turned up but really 'soft' fingers.
  • Before you take the soldering iron to the LP, here's a trick I use (it'll work for some of that early Peter Green Fleetwood Mac too). I put a stereo cab block after the amp, with both left and right cabs the same. I put the pan on zero (or close to it), set Mic's to NULL for both then use a balance of Delay R and Level R to get a nice 'out of phase' sound, something like in the picture below (try playing with Level R and Delay R to get a sound you like). I also use the middle position on the pickup selector
View attachment 38894

  • Supposedly the Money For Nothing tone was created by a combination of mics in different positions, so you can try playing with Level R and Delay R for that tone as well.
Oh, and that SoloAWeek version by @ccroyalsenders is mind blowing! :)
Hi
Thanks very much for all details , I ll try as soon as possible!!!!
What amp settings do you advise??
Don t even know for reverb and delay
Of course Mark s touch and feeling is so important.....
 
Here is a quick preset for you to try. Made on an 'Axe-Fx II - Mark 1' unit running the final release Firmware 7.02 (not the beta). Then converted for the XL+ with 'FracTool'.

Scene 2 adds a Volume/Pan block setup for an automatic 'volume swell' effect.
 

Attachments

  • Brothers in Arms (Moke).syx
    12.6 KB · Views: 55
Here is a quick preset for you to try. Made on an 'Axe-Fx II - Mark 1' unit running the final release Firmware 7.02 (not the beta). Then converted for the XL+ with 'FracTool'.

Scene 2 adds a Volume/Pan block setup for an automatic 'volume swell' effect.
Hi moke,
Really nice from you
I thank you very much and will try it as soon as possible
I ll give you feedback
Thanks again !!!!!
Fabrice
 
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