<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Dire Straits--"Money for Nothing" 30 seconds (of 8: 26) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Problems playing this file? See media help . </Td> </Tr> <P> Knopfler modeled his guitar sound on the recorded track after ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons' trademark guitar tone, as ZZ Top's music videos were already a staple of early MTV . Gibbons later told a Musician magazine interviewer in 1986 that Knopfler had solicited Gibbons' help in replicating the tone, adding, "He didn't do a half - bad job, considering that I didn't tell him a thing!" Knopfler duplicated Gibbons' use of a Gibson Les Paul guitar (rather than his usual Fender Stratocaster), which he plugged into a Marshall amplifier . Another factor in trying to recreate the sound was a wah - wah pedal that was turned on, but only rocked to a certain position . The specific guitar sound in the song was made with a Gibson Les Paul going through a Laney amplifier, with the sound coloured by the accidental position of two Shure SM57 microphones without any processing during the mix . Following the initial sessions in Montserrat, at which that particular guitar part was recorded, Neil Dorfsman attempted to recreate the sound during subsequent sessions at the Power Station in New York but was unsuccessful in doing so . (Knopfler also chose to use the Les Paul on a couple of other Brothers in Arms tracks .) </P> <P> The recording contains a very recognisable hook, in the form of the guitar riff that begins the song proper . The guitar riff continues throughout the song, played in permutation during the verses, and played in full after each chorus . The song's extended overture was shortened for radio and music video . </P>

Money for nothing chicks for free dire straits