Fender 'Mark Knopfler' Signature Series Stratocaster (0117800-815) - Owners list

[quizzaciously]

I watch this John Mayer vid and still can't understand why MK Signature Strat is out of production and only exists in the expensive version. Signature instruments MUST be affordable, that's the opinion I'll take with me to my grave. I think this US$849.00 PRS Silver Sky SE sells like a champ.

[quizzaciously]

I wonder why Mark never tried a single PRS guitar. He played almost everything, except for guitars associated with metal, Jackson and Ibanez, stuff like that.

But PRS is making fine guitars, Paul Reed Smith himself is a nice guy, I especially love his attention to detail, from every material down to the tiniest bits.

Mark glorifies Pensa's guitars, but at the same time, they are on a level of Ferrari, and by comparison, PRS guitars are cheaper. But I wonder anyway.

UPD: Personally, I'm not a fan of their headstock design, it looks a bit out of place to me. The headstock means a lot in loving the instrument.

[Rolo]

Mark glorifies Pensa's guitars, but at the same time, they are on a level of Ferrari, and by comparison, PRS guitars are cheaper. But I wonder anyway.

It's Money That Matters 

[ds1984]

I wonder when Mark started buying expensive guitars ?

[quizzaciously]

I wonder when Mark started buying expensive guitars ?

I remember John said in his book that they started to receive a considerable amount of money only a few years after they started, so maybe custom Schecters in the color scheme of the Making Movies album could be Mark's first dive into the abyss of expensive guitars?

[hunter]

Mark started buying Schecters because he needed guitars that could handle the heavy touring. Also, the Fenders made in the 70s were not very good instruments qualitywise. I remember Mark said in an article that the Schecters not necessarily sounded better, just that they were more reliable and better built.

[dustyvalentino]

Were Schecters that expensive back then?

[hunter]

Must have been. They were a small operation, made in-house custom parts, used exotic woods, etc. I found a price list from 1983. The price of a complete pickup assembly cost $230.00, which equals $680.00 in today's money.

[dustyvalentino]

I suppose it what classes as expensive. If you are a working musician those numbers don't sound too high, you can claim it back as tools for work. Vintage guitars start getting expensive though.

[quizzaciously]

Mark started buying Schecters because he needed guitars that could handle the heavy touring. Also, the Fenders made in the 70s were not very good instruments qualitywise. I remember Mark said in an article that the Schecters not necessarily sounded better, just that they were more reliable and better built.

But what about "vintage" pre CBS Strats then? Of course, by this time even the 1954 Strat would be only 25 years old, the equivalent of buying a 1997 Strat today. I think it wasn't only the heavy touring thing, but just MK wanting to be different and try new things. Somebody would hand him this Schecter and he would go "I want that" like anybody would have even today.

[JF]

I think the eighties fashion was to play on "modern" guitars : superstrats, steinberger, schecter, pensa, and all stuff like that
you can see that all guitarists during the eighties tried new gear, digital effects, etc... Gilmour played his BMG pickups strat with Boss stompboxes etc...
digital recording was the new technology, and all music business had the aim to get the "perfect sound"

and then, in the nineties, after Kravitz went back to analog, using old sounboards and vintage mics... after grunge artists came back to old stompboxes like big muffs, vintage guitars and all, then you saw "old" artists using old gear again. Mark got his 58 and 59 LP, the jurassic strat... Gilmour used his big muff again, many artists recorded analog again, inclunding Mark, etc...

it depends on eras. When EC bought his 6 fifties strats in late sixties, they were not expensive.

But now of course, a strat from the fifties and sixties have extreme big value. because many guitarists made the "vintage guitars fashion". One of the first was Page when he got his 59 LP in late sixties.

But at the same time, Hendrix didn't play on "vintage" strats. He played on guitars maded during years he was playing : you can see him with 65-66 strats in his early years, while he played 68 strats in woodstock and Wight

[quizzaciously]

I think the eighties fashion was to play on "modern" guitars : superstrats, steinberger, schecter, pensa, and all stuff like that
you can see that all guitarists during the eighties tried new gear, digital effects, etc... Gilmour played his BMG pickups strat with Boss stompboxes etc...
digital recording was the new technology, and all music business had the aim to get the "perfect sound"

and then, in the nineties, after Kravitz went back to analog, using old sounboards and vintage mics... after grunge artists came back to old stompboxes like big muffs, vintage guitars and all, then you saw "old" artists using old gear again. Mark got his 58 and 59 LP, the jurassic strat... Gilmour used his big muff again, many artists recorded analog again, inclunding Mark, etc...

it depends on eras. When EC bought his 6 fifties strats in late sixties, they were not expensive.

But now of course, a strat from the fifties and sixties have extreme big value. because many guitarists made the "vintage guitars fashion". One of the first was Page when he got his 59 LP in late sixties.

But at the same time, Hendrix didn't play on "vintage" strats. He played on guitars maded during years he was playing : you can see him with 65-66 strats in his early years, while he played 68 strats in woodstock and Wight

Great analysis. I always laughed how Mark used this fancy Pensa with a Floyd Rose and locked everything, but never used a whammy bar on this guitar

I liked more the sound of proper Strats anyway as he played in The Bug vs. everything else on a Pensa. So his later decision to play proper different guitars, including a Signature Strat and LP was so amazing.

But the truth is, he could play even a Mexican Strat and an Epiphone LP and would be as great of a guitar hero as he is. I wish he'd played cheap guitars more often, but Danelectro seems to be the only one, and Reverend to a certain extent.

[hunter]

I suppose it what classes as expensive. If you are a working musician those numbers don't sound too high, you can claim it back as tools for work. Vintage guitars start getting expensive though.

It's not insanely expensive. I guess like a high-end boutique guitar today.


Vintage guitars are getting silly expensive due to scarcity and demand.

[hunter]

But what about "vintage" pre CBS Strats then? Of course, by this time even the 1954 Strat would be only 25 years old, the equivalent of buying a 1997 Strat today. I think it wasn't only the heavy touring thing, but just MK wanting to be different and try new things. Somebody would hand him this Schecter and he would go "I want that" like anybody would have even today.

Pre-CBS guitars were better, but as you say MK was always open to try new things, so it was probably a combination of things. He was a youngish successful musician with suddenly lots of money, he started hanging around the cool music stores in NYC, and could buy whatever he wanted. I'm sure there weren't many guitars in the UK at the time with the quality of and as exotic as Schecters. Also, in those years, he didn't change guitars so often during shows, so his main guitar had to be very reliable. A Schecter seems like a very good choice.

[dustyvalentino]

I think the eighties fashion was to play on "modern" guitars : superstrats, steinberger, schecter, pensa, and all stuff like that
you can see that all guitarists during the eighties tried new gear, digital effects, etc... Gilmour played his BMG pickups strat with Boss stompboxes etc...
digital recording was the new technology, and all music business had the aim to get the "perfect sound"

and then, in the nineties, after Kravitz went back to analog, using old sounboards and vintage mics... after grunge artists came back to old stompboxes like big muffs, vintage guitars and all, then you saw "old" artists using old gear again. Mark got his 58 and 59 LP, the jurassic strat... Gilmour used his big muff again, many artists recorded analog again, inclunding Mark, etc...

it depends on eras. When EC bought his 6 fifties strats in late sixties, they were not expensive.

But now of course, a strat from the fifties and sixties have extreme big value. because many guitarists made the "vintage guitars fashion". One of the first was Page when he got his 59 LP in late sixties.

But at the same time, Hendrix didn't play on "vintage" strats. He played on guitars maded during years he was playing : you can see him with 65-66 strats in his early years, while he played 68 strats in woodstock and Wight

Great analysis. I always laughed how Mark used this fancy Pensa with a Floyd Rose and locked everything, but never used a whammy bar on this guitar

I liked more the sound of proper Strats anyway as he played in The Bug vs. everything else on a Pensa. So his later decision to play proper different guitars, including a Signature Strat and LP was so amazing.

But the truth is, he could play even a Mexican Strat and an Epiphone LP and would be as great of a guitar hero as he is. I wish he'd played cheap guitars more often, but Danelectro seems to be the only one, and Reverend to a certain extent.

The Strat on The Bug was Schecter anyway! (With Fender decal).

And he played Mexican strats in 2002 and nobody could tell the difference…