Hey y'all guitarists in the org...
I've been tryin 2 emulate the sounds Prince makes on his guitar and have been successful in some areas but not so in others... Are there any guitarists in the org who can make Prince guitar sounds...If so could u share some of your methods: what amps,FX boxes,whatever ure usin...

Thanx,
Ecnirp84

this is the best site i have seen on the subject

http://www.geocities.com/...ound2.html

Hey, ecnirp.

For some of his 1999-era leads, I've found the following works well: Jackson humbuckers through a DOD American Metal (boosts harmonics really well for his dirtier, 1999-era leads) through a Fender solid state amp and a digitech dsp 16 for echo/reverb effects. My dinky little charvette has an s/s/H pickup config with a Jackson humbucker that works well for power. The neck pickups are rather weak (can't come close to comparing with P's EMG sa in the neck, but it cleans up well with round tone. A phaser and flanger help a lot with that, too.

I've found my main axe, an ash-maple Strat with a Kinman "blues" setup comes really close to P's "Santana" tone (think Joy in Repetition) when I play through my Pod Pro's "fuzz face" voice (cut the highs, boost the middle and add reverb). The same should be true about their amps. that's the closest I've ever wanted to go. In recent years, I've found more beauty in the tones of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Journeyman-era Clapton. They're why I got the Strat.

Good luck, tho.

There is an article in a issue of Guitar Player Magazine that has a diagram of his setup. Unfortunately right now my mag collection is in storage in San Diego so I cannot look up the month year of this issue but maybe Guitarplayer.com has an index of articles or maybe someone else remembers this issue or has it. Badass !!!

P.S. It was several years ago BTW.

For solos I would try a Boss Distortion and Digital Delay set at 480 ms with the repeats at just under half. On the live version of Sign O The Times you might want click on the wah wah and find the the spot with a lot of midrange.

For clean tones if you have Strat try the middle single coil (third position) or the neck pickup dry without effects and see which one you like best. Then add a little reverb according to your taste.

If you have a tele or Les Paul try the neck pickup or the in between pickup sounds.

Hope this helps!

Yeah I remember the Guitarplayer article, they interviewed Prince and his guitar tech. I remember Prince had a floor set-up with a Crybaby wah, a Boss Blues Driver pedal, a Boss Overdrive pedal (I believe it was the dual overdrive...they've got several varieties). I can't remember what else...If you listen to the tone on some of 90's solos and some of the Rave video, he's playing thru a detune effect or harmonizing effect as well -- it's sort of a like a chorus but darker.

When trying to emulate an instrumentalist's sound equipment will only get you so far. The most unique thing about a good musician is their own phrasing, attack and technique, and no two people will have those things to an exact extent.

Basically anything that is expensive will get you by.

PRince's guitar sounds haven't really been that individual for years that it'd made sense to speculate much how they were achieved. It's just good guitars, good preamps, good poweramps, good microphones, good compressors, good noise supressors, good effects, good recording medium... then you'll probably get there. But if you ask me his guitar sounds were way better during the early days. Lady Cab Driver? Don't get me started on that!

Effects can do wonders but nothing like Marshall amplification.


(Plugged straight into the head, O.K. maybe a Wah.)

JamesMarshallHendrix said:

Right On. Couldn't agree more on this issue with you, ehm James

A good head - that's where it's at. I mean preamp of course... pervs.

Guitar Player issue #361 Vol. 34 No. 1 January 2000- page 91

But, Supernove is right. Better to aim for your own style.