.
[Edited 7/7/09 4:53am]

Krystal666 said:

THANKS for THESE! That's when Prince was not only funky, but FREAKY! awesome...

VonMarie said:

Great pics. Thank you.

Shawnt24 said:

Yes, I love the sound of his Fender Strat with humbucker. I play a Strat myself. I never liked the sound of his Hohner Tele. Way too much high and very piercing.

Christaro said:

They all are inferior to his Clouds...

VonMarie said:

BKA Ole Faithful I love his Gs too.

I read somewhere once that Prince plays the Honher because he loves its peculiar sound compared to the more expensive guitars he owns.

I have never seen this picture before ... really nice!!!

PurpleOnefan said:

I like him best playing his Hohner.....it gives me a boner!

lay lady lay,

play baby play

prime said:

This is such a wonderful picture. He looks really beautiful in it and peaceful.

VonMarie said:

I've noticed throughout but it's not the same identical guitar. He must be in love with the sound cause he did produce some killer solo's from them.

Someone should remind him to play the cloud guitar when he does purple rain though because that guitar brings out the solo the best.

Actualy, Purple Rain was recorded with the Hohner (live at First Avenue '83).

In terms of the hardware, there's no doubt that his Hohner has very little of the original hardware still in place. Everything except the body has probably been replaced and upgraded over the years! His Hohner tele is no off-the-shelf budget Hohner, I'd wager

And of course Prince has many Fender strats and teles too. Thing is though, sometimes an old favourite guitar just fits like a comfy pair of shoes - it is easy to be spontaneous with, to write with, and has the "played in" feeling. So it isn't all that surprising that Prince has stuck with his old Hohner over the years. Sometimes it is nicer to pick up the guitar you normally write with or practise with, for live performances too. Other, newer, "better" guitars sometimes just never feel right, you have to fight them too much. For instance, you can find a world of difference between one telecaster and the next, despite being the same model and spec. Some other guitars (e.g. Gibson guitars) I find really hard to play.

I'm sure there must be some awesome stories behind Prince's Hohner tele though. Any chance of his guitar techs starting a blog or something?

Actually, does anyone here work in the the musical instruments biz? Any contacts at Hohner? It'd be interesting to hear if they build replacement models for Prince.

Like many of you here I have a cheapo Hohner TE Prinz. It plays well enough for a cheap guitar, but I wish they'd have got some of the details right - like mine has the modern-style pointed headstock instead of Prince's rounded Fender-style headstock, and the pattern on the scratchplate isn't exactly like Prince's. Also I think Prince's one has a thicker skunk stripe. I don't play mine much, I prefer my old vintage blonde Fender tele but I like the look of Prince's old Hohner a lot.

I've always wondered why he smashes his Hohner on stage. Yes, I know he pretends to be a wild rock 'n' roll star but if he's so emotionally attached to this guitar then why smash it? Maybe he's got more than 1 of them? I don't know.

Christaro said:

I've never seen him break his hohner on stage.

Shawnt24 said:

Ok, smash wasn't the right word but I've seen him throw his Hohner on stage.

Christaro said:

Somebody always catches his guitar when he throws it off the stage.

Shawnt24 said:

I know but I also so him throwing it on stage.
What a job btw: guitar catcher

FuNkeNsteiN said:

I'm amazed at how he's been able to maintain that thing to this very day.

Well, he obviously loves his guitars like they were his children.

David1974 said:

Was the Purple Rain track on the album an actual live recording at 1st Avenue or was it recorded in the studio and then lip synched on stage as seen in the movie and the crowd screaming and clapping added as a separate track. Does anyone know?

ThreadBare said:

The Blue Angel is my favorite.



But I do have a certain affection for the Hohner, as well.

VonMarie said:

Cool sunglasses.

planetChar said:

Freaky, indeed.
[Edited 7/10/07 9:29am]

David1974 said:

The best solos in purple rain comes from the cloud. He now uses that symbol guitar when he does it now, but it doesn't sound the same.

VonMarie said:

It was this recording that was used on the album. They edited it, though, because the FA version has 4 verses and a longer solo. But they used this recording for the album and movie.

DigMeNow said:

Yeah, I remember that too. It seems strange that somebody would buy a guitar at a gas station.

What kind of guitar is this?

Devoted Puppy said it's the "Blue Angel"