Mark Knopfler

• Play with your bare fingers — no pick; index, middle and ring fingers alternate
• Fingerstyle attack produces a softer initial hit that lets clean amps stay cleaner
• Middle pickup position is ideal — warmer than bridge, more articulate than neck
• Neck pickup with tone rolled to 7 for the creamy "Sultans of Swing" solo tone
• Keep amp completely clean — Knopfler's dynamics come entirely from his fingers
• The slight "nail click" in the attack is part of the sound — don't try to eliminate it
• Practise picking the strings from below (upward motion) for the characteristic brightness
• Open chord voicings with fingerpicked arpeggios underpin most of the rhythm work
• Study "Sultans of Swing" solo — every phrase demonstrates his articulation and space

Mark Knopfler plays with his fingers — no pick, ever. His Stratocaster fingerpicked through a clean Marshall produces a uniquely warm, breathy tone with a soft initial attack and natural pick-noise texture. Every note is shaped by the meat of his finger, giving the tone a vocal, almost human quality.