Song Rig
So Far Away
Mark Knopfler · Brothers in Arms · 1985
Tone Overview
What Makes This Sound Unique
The guitar intro is one of the most distinctive in 1980s pop-rock — a syncopated, fingerpicked Stratocaster figure with stereo separation and a light chorus shimmer. Knopfler uses the mid-scooped, stereo recording of Brothers in Arms to maximum effect here. The tone is clean with just enough chorus to feel wide and airy.
Signal Chain
- 1Fender Stratocaster (middle pickup or neck+middle position)
- 2stereo setup (two amps or Roland JC-120)
- 3Boss CE-2 Chorus
Amp Settings
Very clean, mids slightly scooped for the stereo Brothers in Arms sound — different from the warmer mono Dire Straits sound. Light chorus in stereo creates the signature wide-ness of the guitar tone. The syncopated rhythmic figure needs crystal clarity to land correctly.
Technique
How to Play It
Syncopated fingerpicking intro — the guitar anticipates the beat by a sixteenth note on several accents, creating the characteristic rhythmic tension. Played with fingers, no pick. The rhythm is trickier than it sounds: practice the count (with the chord landing on the "and" of beat 4) before focusing on tone.
Budget Alternative
Achievable With
Stratocaster → Boss CE-2 chorus → any clean amp. Stereo chorus (two amps, or stereo chorus pedal into two amps) for the full effect.
Your Gear
Adapt to My Amp
More from Mark Knopfler
Other Song Rigs
Sultans of Swing
Dire Straits · 1978
The iconic Dire Straits clean tone — Strat neck pickup played fingerstyle into a…
View rig →Money for Nothing
Brothers in Arms · 1985
Complete 180 from Sultans of Swing — heavy Gibson guitar with a Marshall-style o…
View rig →Romeo and Juliet
Making Movies · 1980
Knopfler's most romantic and harmonically sophisticated song — the clean electri…
View rig →Brothers in Arms
Brothers in Arms · 1985
The title track — slow, fingerpicked on a National steel body guitar rather than…
View rig →Telegraph Road
Love Over Gold · 1982
Knopfler's most epic guitar performance — a 14-minute journey from sparse, clean…
View rig →Tunnel of Love
Making Movies · 1980
Clean, jangly, and melodic — the Strat through a Fender amp with light overdrive…
View rig →