Dire Straits · Album, 1985
Brothers in Arms
16 sourced items across 6 sectionsVerified3Reported13
This is an album-level record: the sources describe how the album as a whole was recorded, not one song. Where a detail belongs to a single song, the row says so.
Songs this record stands for: Brothers in Arms, So Far Away, Walk of Life, Your Latest Trick. We found nothing specific to these songs, so this album record is the closest account we have.
What the sources do and do not say
Both articles are Classic Tracks pieces on Money For Nothing, not Walk of Life, so every row is album-level and this is an album record. Mix mentions Walk of Life only as a stylistic description. The Montserrat drum miking was for Terry Williams's tracks; Omar Hakim later re-did most drums, and the articles do not say whether the miking changed.
Lead vocal
1 item
Mark Knopfler
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 47
Reported
Capture of Knopfler's lead vocal on the Money For Nothing session, described only as a valve 47. (recalled with uncertainty)
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Guitar amps
2 items
Mark Knopfler
Microphone
The real chain
Shure SM57
Reported
One of the microphones variously used on the guitar amps in the Montserrat live room.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.
The real chain
Neumann U 67
Reported
One of the microphones variously used on the guitar amps in the Montserrat live room.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Bass
2 items
John Illsley
Amplifier
The real chain
Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier
Reported
A DI feed of the bass was recorded alongside the miked amp.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Recorded direct, so there is no amp to model. Leave the amp simulator off.
Microphone
The real chain
Neumann U 47 fet
Reported
Microphone on the bass amp, which sat in a small vocal booth.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Drum kit
5 items
Terry Williams
Microphone
The real chain
Sennheiser MD 421
Reported
Close microphones on the toms of the kit in the Montserrat live area.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The MD 421 is still made.
The real chain
Electro-Voice RE20
Reported
One of two kick drum microphones.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
The real chain
AKG D12
Reported
One of two kick drum microphones.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
The real chain
Shure SM57
Reported
One of two snare drum microphones.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.
The real chain
AKG C451
Reported
Snare microphone used with a 20dB pad, and also on the overheads and hi-hat.
- Settings
- 20dB pad on the snare mic
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Piano
1 item
Alan Clark
Microphone
The real chain
AKG C414
Reported
Microphones on the piano in its tight, dead booth.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Console, recorder and mix
5 items
Input chain
The real chain
Neve 8078
Verified
Console used for the Montserrat tracking sessions; Dorfsman rated it highly.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Approximate
Waves NLS Non-Linear Summer
console emulation
A console-summing plugin that includes one Neve desk. It gives a Neve flavour, not this console's channels.
The real chain
Sony 24-track digital recorder (model not stated)
Verified
Digital multitrack used for the whole album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. A digital recorder. Your DAW does this job, so no plugin is needed to stand in for it.
Mix effects
The real chain
Sony DRE-2000
Reported
Named as one of the album's principal processors.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
Valhalla DSP ValhallaVintageVerb
reverb
A reverb built on the methods of early-1980s digital units like this one, with the same grainy, coloured tail; it is not a model of this unit.
The real chain
EMT Plate reverb (model not stated)
Reported
Named as one of the album's principal processors.
Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Universal Audio EMT 140 Classic Plate Reverberator
reverb
The 140 is the EMT plate most studios have; the source does not name the model.
Also worth a look 1
- Waves Abbey Road Reverb Plates (Models the EMT 140 plates at Abbey Road)
The real chain
Prism Converter (model not stated)
Verified
Converter used when mixing to DAT.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.
Sources
- Classic Tracks: Dire Straits 'Money For Nothing', Sound On Sound. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
- Classic Tracks: Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing", Mix. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
What the ratings mean
Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.
Stated by a reputable secondary source.
An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.
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