Sultans Of Swing (Dire Straits)

[raymix]

Hi folks,

Here's my attempt at this kinda difficult track.

My tone on this one is horrible (still have "bells" in my ears")
I can't seems to find Knopfler's tone, but this attempt is similar (music wise).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNVSqVFWv6k

I rushed into recording only first part chords then play both solos
cuz I'm bored to play this one without errors.

Hope you'll still enjoy :)

Ray.

[bcrich]

Hey Ray lol, good job on Sultan's! Yes indeed that is a difficult song to play and you managed very well. That Jackson JS-30 Dinky your playing, is that the hardtail or the trem version? I just bought this same guitar for my son for his 17th birthday coming up. I got him the metallic dark blue hardtail version. What do they sound like to you? It is hard to tell through a video but sounded good anyway.

[raymix]

Floyd Rose Trem (blocked with a piece of pine, the darn thing doesn't stay in tune).

How does it sound ? Thin (prolly cuz of the stock CRV pick-ups).
A lot of fiddling I had to do on it to make it playable (and still need).

Let's say, I can't wait to get to a higher level instrument ;)

Thanks for the feed mate :)

Ray.

[Jody]

Hey Ray - that was fantastic! I started learning that about 8 months ago and gave up on it :)

You've inspired me to revisit it.....

[Kevbocat]

Great work again Raymix. I really enjoyed it.

[raymix]

@jody if u need help with some parts, I can help you out.
We always worries about the solo parts but, I'm having trouble to structures those riffs "in-between" verses, that's why I recorded the main riff and solos.

Maybe someday I'll put up complete on video.
A step by step video ? ;)

Btw, I've followed what David said about tabs, never used any of this, only by ears and it's total freedom.

Thanks guys (and gals of course)

Ray.

[nlsstar]

Great job raymix...just learned that one myself....the way you played it you should throw in some distortion for kicks,,,lol...that's what i turned mine into a metal version...lol...but i did learn to play it clean first...i don't have the solos down yet...but it's fun to play and it gives you a work out at 5 mins
Mitch

[slash-is-great]

Way to go to make me feel totally inadequate:) ! That was really good man. I am a big Knopfler fan, and so know the tune really well, and man you nailed it. At first I thought you had missed out the solo, but then I was impressed when you did do it. Nice job.

[raymix]

@nlsstar: Really ? a heavy metal version ? Please record that I want to hear it haha, that would be crazy :)

@slash: The solos are tricky , easy to "train-wreck" on them ;)
I've praticed them hundred of times before getting decent, also Knopfler plays with his fingers ... that's an insane technique

Thanks

Ray.

[nlsstar]

LOL...i was actually going to record it and post it..till i heard yours...now I feel "this big".....lol..i'll see what i can do...

[raymix]

1st, I never been expected you to feel this big ...
when I see stuff Disobedience can pull off, I sometimes feel this big too you know, that just gives me motivation to push harder.

It would be nice if u could post (audio only is fine) your "metal" version so me or anybody else would have fun playing the solo over it with a lot of distortion :)

Ray.

[Steve K]

I liked it, well done.
Sure it wasn't perfect but then to play Sultans to perfection is quite a big ask! and I have no doubt that you will be playing it to perfection at some point so keep it up.
I had the pleasure of seeing Mr Knopfler play this track among a few other straits numbers with a blues band he plays in and he is one of my favourite guitarists, I will try to tackle Sultans at some point but I have a long way to go before I reach your standard,

Thanks for sharing and please post another version at some point so we can see how much you improve.

[raymix]

Yeah, I was thinking about redoing the video but with a cleaner tone (and I'll try to keep the speed slower,
I'm always building speed on this one ... bad thing).

Yes it's not perfect (and will never be hehe) but it's all about having fun, right ?

Thanks,

Ray.

[gto286]

very nice, defenitly put me to shame , i'm still working on the tapping
this song is a tall order to get down, an i quote make me feel this big :p . great job tho. i enjoyed it :)
keep it up!

[TrevBales]

I am not familiar with that song at all, but i think it sounded great. A+