* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Monday, June 2, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Rising stars: Young classical musicians surging on social media – Yahoo

    Meet the Next Generation of Classical Music Sensations Making Waves on Social Media!

    Devin Harjes Dies: ‘Manifest’ & ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Actor Was 41 – WyomingNews.com

    Tragic Loss: Devin Harjes, Star of ‘Manifest’ and ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ Passes Away at 41

    Why Starz Entertainment Stock Soared Today – The Motley Fool

    Unpacking the Surge: What Fueled Starz Entertainment’s Stock Explosion Today!

    Unveiling the Enigmatic: First Looks at Destruction and Puck in ‘The Sandman

    Jackie Chan Reveals This Family Member ‘Never Watched’ The Whole Of Any Of His Movies – Yahoo

    Jackie Chan Reveals This Family Member ‘Never Watched’ The Whole Of Any Of His Movies – Yahoo

    Mavs CEO holds firm on new arena, entertainment district in Dallas – Dallas News

    Mavs CEO Stands Strong on Vision for New Arena and Entertainment District in Dallas

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    ROLAND’S NEW WIRELESS TRIGGER TECHNOLOGY, PORTER & DAVIES ON TOUR, NEW 64 AUDIO ASPIRE UNIVERSAL IEM MODELS, WAVES FREE PLUGIN PACK – Modern Drummer Magazine

    ROLAND’S NEW WIRELESS TRIGGER TECHNOLOGY, PORTER & DAVIES ON TOUR, NEW 64 AUDIO ASPIRE UNIVERSAL IEM MODELS, WAVES FREE PLUGIN PACK – Modern Drummer Magazine

    This giant microwave may change the future of war – MIT Technology Review

    Revolutionizing Warfare: The Impact of a Game-Changing Giant Microwave

    Bajeed Pattan Joins Forbes Technology Council as Innovation Leader – PRWeb

    Bajeed Pattan Takes the Helm as Innovation Leader at Forbes Technology Council!

    Lafayette Regional Technology Council – Tech Leadership That’s Homegrown and Future-Focused – Discover Lafayette

    Lafayette Regional Technology Council – Tech Leadership That’s Homegrown and Future-Focused – Discover Lafayette

    Drone technology demo in Cambria County showcases future of lifesaving medical deliveries – local21news.com

    Revolutionizing Healthcare: Drone Technology Takes Flight for Lifesaving Medical Deliveries in Cambria County

    Revolutionary Harvesting Technology Promises to Slash CAR-T Manufacturing Costs!

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Rising stars: Young classical musicians surging on social media – Yahoo

    Meet the Next Generation of Classical Music Sensations Making Waves on Social Media!

    Devin Harjes Dies: ‘Manifest’ & ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Actor Was 41 – WyomingNews.com

    Tragic Loss: Devin Harjes, Star of ‘Manifest’ and ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ Passes Away at 41

    Why Starz Entertainment Stock Soared Today – The Motley Fool

    Unpacking the Surge: What Fueled Starz Entertainment’s Stock Explosion Today!

    Unveiling the Enigmatic: First Looks at Destruction and Puck in ‘The Sandman

    Jackie Chan Reveals This Family Member ‘Never Watched’ The Whole Of Any Of His Movies – Yahoo

    Jackie Chan Reveals This Family Member ‘Never Watched’ The Whole Of Any Of His Movies – Yahoo

    Mavs CEO holds firm on new arena, entertainment district in Dallas – Dallas News

    Mavs CEO Stands Strong on Vision for New Arena and Entertainment District in Dallas

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    ROLAND’S NEW WIRELESS TRIGGER TECHNOLOGY, PORTER & DAVIES ON TOUR, NEW 64 AUDIO ASPIRE UNIVERSAL IEM MODELS, WAVES FREE PLUGIN PACK – Modern Drummer Magazine

    ROLAND’S NEW WIRELESS TRIGGER TECHNOLOGY, PORTER & DAVIES ON TOUR, NEW 64 AUDIO ASPIRE UNIVERSAL IEM MODELS, WAVES FREE PLUGIN PACK – Modern Drummer Magazine

    This giant microwave may change the future of war – MIT Technology Review

    Revolutionizing Warfare: The Impact of a Game-Changing Giant Microwave

    Bajeed Pattan Joins Forbes Technology Council as Innovation Leader – PRWeb

    Bajeed Pattan Takes the Helm as Innovation Leader at Forbes Technology Council!

    Lafayette Regional Technology Council – Tech Leadership That’s Homegrown and Future-Focused – Discover Lafayette

    Lafayette Regional Technology Council – Tech Leadership That’s Homegrown and Future-Focused – Discover Lafayette

    Drone technology demo in Cambria County showcases future of lifesaving medical deliveries – local21news.com

    Revolutionizing Healthcare: Drone Technology Takes Flight for Lifesaving Medical Deliveries in Cambria County

    Revolutionary Harvesting Technology Promises to Slash CAR-T Manufacturing Costs!

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Entertainment

“These guitars illustrate the musical journey of one of popular music’s greatest artists”: Inside Christie’s’ epic $11.2 million Mark Knopfler guitar auction

February 6, 2024
in Entertainment
“These guitars illustrate the musical journey of one of popular music’s greatest artists”: Inside Christie’s’ epic $11.2 million Mark Knopfler guitar auction
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Features

Guitarist

Mark Knopfler, pictured holding his Pensa MK-90 Custom guitar

Mark Knopfler holds his Pensa MK-90 Custom guitar
(Image credit: Future / Joby Sessions)

[Ed. note: Prior to the recent Christie’s auction of Mark Knopfler’s guitar collection – which went on to garner over $11 million – we got a sneak peek at some of the most storied, rare, and collectible models in the lot.]

Some guitarists, such as Brian May, are forever associated with a single guitar. Others, such as Mark Knopfler, have browsed through a century and more of the luthier’s craft to track down unique sounds. 

During the course of his 50-year career, Knopfler has used everything from Les Paul reissues to jazz-era D’Angelico archtops to create ageless tracks such as Money For Nothing and Brothers In Arms, and a thick catalog of solo albums; among them Tracker, Get Lucky, and Down The Road Wherever. In the process, he built up one of the most enviable collections of recording instruments you’ll find. 

So it’s all the more remarkable that he’s putting 120 of these guitars and amps, including those used on some of his most famous work, up for auction at Christie’s in London on January 31. 

We caught up with Kerry Keane, Christie’s vintage guitar expert – who also inspected and prepared David Gilmour’s guitars for sale in 2019 – to talk about some of the highlights of the upcoming sale. 

What does this sale represent in terms of Mark Knopfler’s relationship with the guitar?

“I’m a bit of a guitar nerd and I find guitars wonderful to look at as icons of the stylistic time period they were made in. But at the same time, they are static items until they’re put into the lap of an artist, a guitarist, and then they fully fulfil their mission. 

“There are 123 lots in this sale and the vast majority of them are guitars. And, for me, they illustrate the musical journey of one of popular music’s greatest artists, from his youngest influences as a guitarist to a performer and now a composer today.”

There’s a wide range of guitars in the sale, but some, like the 1988 Pensa-Suhr custom, are indelibly associated with Mark’s time in Dire Straits.

“Yeah, I think without a doubt, that’s a very iconic guitar in terms of his performances. Firstly, just as an object it’s a spectacular example of really great guitar making and it really illustrates, I think, the high skill that John Suhr brings to the craft.

“John shared with me a really wonderful backstory about Mark meeting with Rudy Pensa. And after having done quite a bit of business with him over the years, Mark came up with the idea of ‘let’s design the perfect guitar for me.’ And that was all drawn out on a napkin in Fritzel’s Coffee Shoppe in midtown Manhattan. 

John Suhr, a talented young guitar maker, had begun making an instrument specifically for himself – and had decided to pull out all the stops, using the finest pieces of wood

“What I did not know was that John Suhr, a talented young guitar maker, had begun making an instrument specifically for himself – and had decided to pull out all the stops, using the finest pieces of wood [at his disposal]. 

“He had it roughed out and he’d decided to arch the top, which he’d never done before [on a guitar of this type], arching it in the same way that a Gibson Les Paul top is arched, unlike the flat slab of a Telecaster or the contours of a Stratocaster. He wanted to do a sort of violin arch. And that part of the work was done when in comes Rudy Pensa, and says, ‘I think this is going to be the perfect guitar for Mark after speaking with him.’

1988 Pensa-Suhr MKI

1988 Pensa-Suhr MKI(Image credit: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2023)

Mark Knopfler's

Mark Knopfler’s ‘Money for Nothing’ 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Reissue(Image credit: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2023)

“So John had to take this half-finished instrument and now fit it to the needs of Mark Knopfler. There was a time period in which it had to be done, in order to be delivered to Mark in time for his performance in a Nelson Mandela tribute, which I believe was in 1988. 

“And to this day, John Suhr says firstly that he thinks that guitar is one of the finest pieces of work he’s ever done, but also that it was his crowning achievement as a guitar maker to finish that instrument to fit the needs of Mark Knopfler and to fulfill the quality and get it there on time. 

“He was worried about the nitrocellulose lacquer drying in time [for delivery]. He had all the coats on and then decided to do a final top coat with polyester. Which was sort of a new development in ’88, as not a lot of independent makers were using a polyester topcoat at that time. But it worked and he was able to say, ‘Good, it’ll hold, now we can get it off to Mark.’”

Tell us about some of the notable Les Pauls in the sale. There’s one original 1959 Les Paul Standard and then some reissues, one of which had a very special role in Mark’s recording career.

“Yes. There’s only one vintage ’Burst in the sale, but there are a couple of more modern reissue sunbursts. In the early days of Dire Straits, Mark said he could never afford to buy a Les Paul from the ‘classic’ years, so he got a reissue and recorded things like Brothers In Arms and Money For Nothing with that one, and toured with it. That particular guitar was purchased in 1984 from Rudy Pensa and it was used during recording of the 1985 Dire Straits album, Brothers In Arms; for the title track and Money For Nothing.

I’m gonna get in a lot of trouble for saying this… pre-war Martins are spectacular. But I think – as musicians, and as connoisseurs of great guitar making and the tonal qualities of guitars – we should never diminish the quality of guitars that Martin was making after World War II

“But by the mid-90s, Mark was able to afford the real deal. He actually said, during an interview, ‘Success I adore. It means I can buy 1959 Gibson Les Pauls and Triumph motorcycles. But I detest fame. It interferes with what you do and has no redeeming features at all.’ So Mark purchased the 1959 Les Paul from Bobby Tench, previously of the Jeff Beck Group, via Pete Townshend’s guitar tech, Alan Rogan, and he also purchased a 1958, which he is retaining.”

No discussion of Mark’s music would be complete without talking about his work on acoustic guitars. There are some extraordinary acoustics in the sale, such as the 1951 Martin D-28.

“Well, that guitar comes a little bit later in his career. I mean, I don’t think he had that guitar until about 2000 or so. And he shared with us that he couldn’t afford a [classic] Martin in the beginning [of his career]. He bought this particular one in 2017 from the Vintage Guitar Emporium in London and immediately put it to use in the studio to record Nobody’s Child and Pale Imitation along with a few others. 

“He waxes endlessly about acoustic guitars, but it’s interesting that prior to getting the D-28, he was mostly playing slope-shouldered Gibson dreadnoughts – and you’ll see quite a few of them in the sale. But his Martins tended to be smaller-bodied instruments. 

“Two of which that excited me, in the sale, were firstly a 1917 00-30 – very, very early – and then he had done a signature model but not with Martin, but then he went back and did another signature model [this time with Martin] and that is the 000-40S, known as the ‘Ragpicker’s Dream.’ But what a great instrument and, again, it kind of illustrates, for me, his expertise as a fingerpicker.”

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : GuitarWorld – https://www.guitarworld.com/features/inside-mark-knopfler-christies-auction

Tags: entertainmentGuitarsThese
Previous Post

“This is the Super Bowl of trips for the lifelong Dead Heads”: John Mayer and Dead & Company are officially returning for a 6-week residency at the MSG Sphere

Next Post

“Technology is coming along. It’s going to keep getting better to the point that maybe they will replace tube amps for a lot of people”: Eric Johnson has been experimenting with amp modelers, but he still isn’t fully convinced – here’s why

‘Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact’ Review: An Education in Exoplanets – WSJ

Exploring the Fascinating Realms of Science Fiction and Fact: A Journey Through Exoplanets

June 2, 2025
2-Year-Old Prodigy Joins ‘High IQ’ Club Mensa as Youngest Member Ever – ScienceAlert

Meet the 2-Year-Old Prodigy Who Just Became Mensa’s Youngest Member Ever!

June 2, 2025
Labubu Fever Ignites a Global Craze for Lifestyle and Investment – iChongqing

Labubu Fever Ignites a Global Craze for Lifestyle and Investment – iChongqing

June 2, 2025
Erin Hills ‘dominates’ Nelly Korda at U.S. Women’s Open, where she finished second – Golfweek

Nelly Korda Falls Short at U.S. Women’s Open as Erin Hills Takes Center Stage

June 2, 2025
Economy Shrank Less Than Previously Thought in First Quarter – Investopedia

Economy Shrank Less Than Previously Thought in First Quarter – Investopedia

June 2, 2025
Rising stars: Young classical musicians surging on social media – Yahoo

Meet the Next Generation of Classical Music Sensations Making Waves on Social Media!

June 2, 2025
Medicaid work rules could leave a million Californians with no health insurance – CalMatters

California’s Medicaid Work Rules: A Million Residents at Risk of Losing Health Coverage!

June 2, 2025
Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke returns to Houston area for another town hall – Houston Public Media

Beto O’Rourke Makes a Comeback: Join Him for an Engaging Town Hall in Houston!

June 2, 2025
In Indore, Alstom’s advanced metro train and CBTC signalling technology transform urban mobility as revenue service commences – Alstom

Revolutionizing Urban Mobility: Alstom Launches Advanced Metro Train and Cutting-Edge Signalling Technology in Indore

June 2, 2025
NFLPA says it’s not “actively preparing” for European division – NBC Sports

NFLPA Clarifies: No Plans for an NFL European Division Just Yet!

June 2, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (658)
  • Economy (673)
  • Entertainment (21,580)
  • General (15,256)
  • Health (9,716)
  • Lifestyle (676)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (675)
  • Politics (682)
  • Science (15,894)
  • Sports (21,178)
  • Technology (15,660)
  • World (661)

Recent News

‘Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact’ Review: An Education in Exoplanets – WSJ

Exploring the Fascinating Realms of Science Fiction and Fact: A Journey Through Exoplanets

June 2, 2025
2-Year-Old Prodigy Joins ‘High IQ’ Club Mensa as Youngest Member Ever – ScienceAlert

Meet the 2-Year-Old Prodigy Who Just Became Mensa’s Youngest Member Ever!

June 2, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version