hey i was wondering if anyone knows how prince tunes his guitar like what key?
is it standard or does he ever down tune? how about when he plays funk?

I think it's just standard tuning in most songs.

unleashthejay said:

He just gets Takumi to do it.

.
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langebleu said:

and he is quick doing it 2

When they go out of tune, Prince throws them away.

what quitars has prince used so far anyway? that's what i'd like to learn

I find that Prince's guitars are surprisingly often out of tune in live performances! Usually when he's got the clean, rhythm sound - maybe after just coming from a heavy, distorted solo with lots of bends and stuff, I don't know?

But then you never see him tuning between songs, as some artists might actually do...

chunky said:

Prince and his guitars:

http://www.geocities.com/.../index.htm

http://www.prince.org/msg/15/76943

http://www.prince.org/msg/15/77414

.

Ive seen him tune it while playing Purple Rain at the same time

I am waiting for people to say

"Prince can't tune his guitar, he is more about emotions"

7salles said:

I just think it's a little strange that being the musical perfectionist he is, he doesn't seem to mind playing with an out-of-tune guitar...

A little anecdote about tuning from DMSR, by Pier Nilsen, page 24:

Prince's father had bought him his first electric guitar, which he quickly learned to play in his own style, "I tuned it to a straight A, so it was really strange. When I first started playing guitar, I just did chords and things like that, and I didn't really get into soloing and all that until later."

I sure he tunes a note up or down on some songs. I'm not good enough yet to tell.

RealMusician said:

Prince is not THAT anal. I remember an interview with Sheila E and she was talking about that yes, Prince is a perfectionist, but he's not as anal as some jazz musicians. That he doesn't care too much about the mic set up and stuff.

Besides, if Prince was a perfectionist he'd take more time writing and recording songs and he would have put out considerably less music.

In my opinion...Prince or Takumi tune the Prince guitars.....

I've learn 2 tune my classic guitar with piano.... Ear is the best tuner....

neverthless the tuning thing could b individual...me and my guitar teacher tune the guitar in a different way...He prefers in a way I do in another one....lol

so no one knows for sure? haha, is A up or down tuned?

in kiss what tune is it you think? how about in the intro solo in when doves cry? purple rain?

It depends the way u mean it.....A is up tuned ....bcuz the A chord (5th one) is the start point of tuning the guitar and then going up.....Did I understand it correctly?

Prince used a Les Paul Junior before getting the Hohner Telecaster.

coolcat said:

He has about 40 guitars.

what were the guitars in kiss tuned to?

Prince pays slaves to tune his guitars for him.

bunnyman said:

Actually Takumi is the only one who is getting decent money for his work.

My friend, who is an huge fan of good guitar playing (and a life long guitarist himself) had this to say:

"I think the original question was referring to the type of tuning he uses. Guitarists have often experimented with odd-tunings -- blues musicians from the earliest recordings through the rolling stone's keith richards in the sixties all the way to today's modern rockers who often use a low 7th-string. I can assure you that Prince uses standard-tuning (EADGBE). It's possible that he might tune down a half-step, which was a common technique for Jimi Hendrix (and surely an inspiration of his). This allows you to use thicker strings for a meatier tone, while the lower pitch makes than slacker, allowing for easier string-bending. I'd need to listen to his recordings to see if he's actually in concert-pitch verses 1/2 step.

The comment about him not being particular about his equipment is hard to believe. Every guitarist -- from a 12-year-old kid in his bedroom through to any seasoned pro -- is keenly aware of their equipment. Be it the guitar itself, the amplifier, the speaker in the amplifier, the year of the speaker in the amplifier, the color of the year of the amplifier (no, really). Some guitarists claim that the cords they use have a major impact on their sound. Rest assured that Prince is at least this particular. About guitar, mics, monitors, etc.

Lastly, Hohners are the equivalent of those shoes your mom bought you instead of the Nikes you really wanted. They looked the same to mom, but not to you, and they wore out quicker than your friend's Nikes. My point is that it's really funny, and odd that such a crappy guitar brand is still his main choice. One reason might be that the quality standards of the American guitar-makers in the seventies through the eighties were in the garbage. Fender was owned by CBS, and Gibson by the Norlins Corporation. Japanese manufacturers were stealing their designs and producing better copies than the new US-made originals.
Hohners are known for doing only one thing particulary well: make harmonicas. I had a Honher-made imitation Steinberger and it broke after a year. The substandard guitar maker might be the exact reason why his guitars are frequently out-of-tune."

(If you disagree--remember I'm just the messanger! ) But I will say, even if Honher guitars are a sub-par brand, don't you think Prince has his tricked out pretty well?

jone70 said:

Shit, Prince used worse brands that make Hohner sound top notch.

jone70's

friend said:

Those some guitarists are morons.

Novabreaker said:

I take it to mean that certain cords do help eliminate hiss and unwanted noise/breakups. I've experimented with certain brands and sometimes they do make a difference. Translation - the cheap ones can be really crappy.

JesseDezz said:

That's what it should mean, yeah. However most guitarists know next to nothing about matters like these and seem to make the silliest claims.

Novabreaker said:

Oh really...I find that some of the most bone-headed comments about guitaris(or any other musician for a fact) come from cat's that don't play.

On the other hand some guitarist have a very elitist attitudes when it comes to gear. If it aint a Fender or Gibson it obviously must be garbage.


An earlier post featured what sounds like a mini rant about how awful Hohner guitars are. Well if Prince has had this guitar kicking around all this time it can't be all that bad, considering he can play any make of guitar he wants. I think the only thing that's changed on that guitar are the pickups and thats fairly recent. Import instrument often get a bad rap, Some of it is junk and there was a time when you wouldn't have a leg to stand on if you wanted to argue the point.

Today there are many good quality import guitars available. Heck many of big brand names are having their mid-line models built in the same factories as these imports. I'm sorry to hear that cat who posted earlier didn't have much luck with his Hohner Steinberger copy. I've had one of their copies of a Steinberger bass for about 15 years. Is it as good a real Steinberger? No. Aside for an occaisional set-up I've never had a problem with it.

Lastly, the whole I can here the tonal differences in different brands of guitar cables, probably originated with virtuoso guitarist Eric Johnson
who is imfamously nit-picky about his guitar tone. He's fantasic...uh..but I guess he's a moron too.....

Peace-Out!

KSTRAT
[Edited 11/4/05 8:34am]
[Edited 9/3/20 11:05am]

RepoMan said:[quote]

RealMusician said:

- Yes, that´s what I always thought