I personally think he has had great moments on any guitar he's used at some point or another. As for "The Hohner" being good for solos, some momenst come to mind:

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Super Bowl XLI press conference

NAACP Awards 2006

W2A 12/17/10 Purple Rain

Love Symbol Album- The Morning Papers (Not confirmed, used it in the video) When I play this solo I use a Hohner & it's dead on.

2002 Soundcheck where "Empty Room" was performed

I could go on & on, his Strats to me are Clouds in disguise IMO. I didn't like him playing Strats but he's also had some brilliant moments on these as well.

steakfinger said:

Prince is rotten on the strats. The strats sound like ass. Period. His Hohner sounds GREAT for solos, (as evidenced by the "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" solo) and any number of TV appearances. He has no clue about the Floyd Rose and he treats it like it might break. It doesn't enhance his ideas one bit. I think he was best on the clouds. The pickups were still the crappy EMGs, but perhaps his amp/pedal set-up back then was better suited to the fluid sound he achieved. I don't know. As a guitarist, (and a very good one, I might add) and a person who studdied composition and jazz in college, I say his LEAD guitar skills seem to diminish yearly. I'm talking technique AND quality of ideas. As for guitar tone, in my subjective opinion his guitar sounds like poo. His clean playing somehow sounds better than ever, but every time he breaks out the distortion it's poop city. This is my educated opinion.

Hey steak, I really respect this post as a guitarist, but you don't think "Fury from SNL" or "Creep from Coachella" or even "All Along the Watchtower/Best of You from Super Bowl" are good P Strat moments. I love to listen to other guitarist input, so please don't take this wrong at all, just curious on these selections.

I don't think Strats suit him at all. They look big on him (I'm a smaller guy myself) and the Floyd Rose seems to dictate the way he plays, when it should be the other way around. In fact I don't think Floyds are all that condusive to making great music, with some exceptions. Warren DeMartini (Ratt) comes to mind for some reason. Steve Vai is a great example of how to ruin your music with a Floyd Rose.

I am not a big guitar nerd, but the hohner is present in more of my favorite live moments than the strat is. For what its worth.

The Hohner does not have as much sustain or presence that his other guitars do. It is naturally thin & twangy sounding, so when he when he solos on it "dry", it sometimes doesn't have enough presence.... That being said, when he cranks up the overdrive, compression & delay... I'll take the Hohner any day...

Great to hear I am not the only one who wished he never found that damn whammy...

Can't stand it in his playing... NO MORE WHAMMY BAR !!!

"Whammy bars are for pussies" - Brad Paisley.

but seriously, I agree... the whammy bar isn't for Prince.

[Edited 10/13/11 15:30pm]

Sorry banished..You know you're my buddy..but so far about 8 people (guitarists) have over ruled that they (and I) don't like P's Floyd adventures.

So P if you're reading this, GET RID OF IT!! Go back to the hardtail Clouds.

SPYZFAN1 said:

Sorry banished..You know you're my buddy..but so far about 8 people (guitarists) have over ruled that they (and I) don't like P's Floyd adventures.

So P if you're reading this, GET RID OF IT!! Go back to the hardtail Clouds.

I hear you guys, but I'm still curious as to WHY you guys feel this way? What is it about the bar and Prince that turns you off?

When you guys refer to Prince's natural finger vibrato versus his use of the Floyd Rose vibrato I don't think you're covering everything.

You see, the Floyd Rose is a locking system, so that when you use the whammy bar the guitar stays in tune. Prince does use this very often.

BUT!

You don't have to have a Floyd Rose system installed in your guitar in order to have a whammy bar. I know in Prince's case he usually has his guitars modified to include the Floyd Rose, but just because he using a whammy bar doesn't always mean he's using Floyd Rose.

And just because he's using Floyd Rose doesn't mean he's using a whammy.

For example, I'm pretty sure I've seen his Cloud and Hohner guitars with a Floyd Rose locking system installed, but WITHOUT a whammy bar. My suspicion is that Prince has that locking system installed on most of his guitars so he can always be in perfect tune.

why doesnt prince use clouds anymore? and when was the last time he did?

berniejobs said:

When you guys refer to Prince's natural finger vibrato versus his use of the Floyd Rose vibrato I don't think you're covering everything.

You see, the Floyd Rose is a locking system, so that when you use the whammy bar the guitar stays in tune. Prince does use this very often.

BUT!

You don't have to have a Floyd Rose system installed in your guitar in order to have a whammy bar. I know in Prince's case he usually has his guitars modified to include the Floyd Rose, but just because he using a whammy bar doesn't always mean he's using Floyd Rose.

And just because he's using Floyd Rose doesn't mean he's using a whammy.

For example, I'm pretty sure I've seen his Cloud and Hohner guitars with a Floyd Rose locking system installed, but WITHOUT a whammy bar. My suspicion is that Prince has that locking system installed on most of his guitars so he can always be in perfect tune.

me personally i'm more against the use of the whammy itself as opposed to the FR. but you're right.. a lot of strats don't have the FR but still have a whammy. that whole System 1-3 thing.

uuhson said:

why doesnt prince use clouds anymore? and when was the last time he did?

Live, Vegas of ONA to my knowledge. As far as WHY he hasn't since? Don't know.

SPYZFAN1 said:

breese said:

I don't think Strats suit him at all. They look big on him (I'm a smaller guy myself) and the Floyd Rose seems to dictate the way he plays, when it should be the other way around. In fact I don't think Floyds are all that condusive to making great music, with some exceptions. Warren DeMartini (Ratt) comes to mind for some reason. Steve Vai is a great example of how to ruin your music with a Floyd Rose.

Yes, the first time I saw him with a Strat I thought it looked big on em, but I have gotten use to it & if you need a reference check ou the "Montruex Like Jazz' dvd set with both shows on it.

What are some prime examples of Prince using/abusing the whammy?

Fender bar users: Jimi Hendrix, early Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Richie Blackmore, etc etc.

Floyd Rose guys: 1,000,000 wankers in the 80s that nobody cares about anymore.

If Prince must be a whammy guy, I wish he would just go stock Fender. I think fear of being "normal" keeps him from doing it.

Spinlight said:

thebanishedone said:

When prince started using whammy he wasn't great but i think that after a few years of practise he improved.he gives it the prince touch.i'll give you a few examples of very nice whammy work by prince. Bambi 2011 melkweg live-great mastery,empty room-montreux 2009,shhh hong kong rocks 2003

I can't comment on the examples you sited since I haven't viewed them. IMO there still isn't much finesse in his use of the bar in any of the clips I've seen. It's still of the wobble, dump, mangle it strangle it variety. If that's the way he likes to use/abuse it fine. His prerogative. It's just doesn't sound musical to my ear.

This extends to any guitarist I've heard that tend to use the vibrato bar as a noisemaker. I do understand its value purely as an effect though. However,I think the most musical use of the bar is when it's subtle and doesn't draw too much attention to itself. Ray Gomez, Allan Holdsworth and Scott Henderson come to mind as tasteful bar users.

To answer the question about whether or not the Hohner/Telecaster is a good soloing instrument, I say heck yeah! Generally I think that guitars with single coil pickups let more of the players personality come through. Telecasters with their rawer tone can be pretty unforgiving if your technique isn't on point. It seems Prince likes them for the clean and overdriven tones and the other guitars with the active EMG pickups (Clouds, Strats etc.) for the high gain lead playing.

[Edited 10/15/11 8:35am]

..banished..yes...buds forever

kstrat..Good to see you back my man! Great points you've brought up.

Marquess...I've always viewed P as a purist when it comes to his guitar work. When everyone in the 80's was using pointy headstocked-24 fretted-hot pickup Floyded guitars, P went the other route.

Some of those boots from the 80's that I've heard has P strangling and ripping on that Tele (or Cloud). No bar and he's just reaching for those notes.

As I mentioned before the Floyd is a roadblock in his playing. Some of the recent boots I've heard, he's wailing on the guitar. Killin' it. Then it seems while he's jamming he reaches for that bar and plays some non musical effects (like kstrat said) and it KILLS his playing. Y'know..ruins the solo.

It's cool that he embraces new technology, but his style of playing (to me) was just not "Floydesque" (if I can say that).

Like breese said I would rather hear him use a stock bar. I will say I love his solo at the end of "Private Joy". And like banished said.."777" has some great whammy stuff too, but it's not overkill.

And for the record, I'm glad we all can have a peaceful, fun, non bash thread on this subject!

SPYZFAN1 said:

..banished..yes...buds forever

kstrat..Good to see you back my man! Great points you've brought up.

Marquess...I've always viewed P as a purist when it comes to his guitar work. When everyone in the 80's was using pointy headstocked-24 fretted-hot pickup Floyded guitars, P went the other route.

Some of those boots from the 80's that I've heard has P strangling and ripping on that Tele (or Cloud). No bar and he's just reaching for those notes.

As I mentioned before the Floyd is a roadblock in his playing. Some of the recent boots I've heard, he's wailing on the guitar. Killin' it. Then it seems while he's jamming he reaches for that bar and plays some non musical effects (like kstrat said) and it KILLS his playing. Y'know..ruins the solo.

It's cool that he embraces new technology, but his style of playing (to me) was just not "Floydesque" (if I can say that).

Like breese said I would rather hear him use a stock bar. I will say I love his solo at the end of "Private Joy". And like banished said.."777" has some great whammy stuff too, but it's not overkill.

And for the record, I'm glad we all can have a peaceful, fun, non bash thread on this subject!

@ Spyzfan1: Good to see you're still active on the board too! I stop through and lurk once in a while but I definitely pick my spots as far as commenting goes as I don't want to raise the ire of the more passionate fans here.

SPYZFAN1 said:

..banished..yes...buds forever

kstrat..Good to see you back my man! Great points you've brought up.

Marquess...I've always viewed P as a purist when it comes to his guitar work. When everyone in the 80's was using pointy headstocked-24 fretted-hot pickup Floyded guitars, P went the other route.

Some of those boots from the 80's that I've heard has P strangling and ripping on that Tele (or Cloud). No bar and he's just reaching for those notes.

As I mentioned before the Floyd is a roadblock in his playing. Some of the recent boots I've heard, he's wailing on the guitar. Killin' it. Then it seems while he's jamming he reaches for that bar and plays some non musical effects (like kstrat said) and it KILLS his playing. Y'know..ruins the solo.

It's cool that he embraces new technology, but his style of playing (to me) was just not "Floydesque" (if I can say that).

Like breese said I would rather hear him use a stock bar. I will say I love his solo at the end of "Private Joy". And like banished said.."777" has some great whammy stuff too, but it's not overkill.

And for the record, I'm glad we all can have a peaceful, fun, non bash thread on this subject!

Great response.

Mad love for the responders in this thread, really dig the info.

kstrat said:

thebanishedone said:

When prince started using whammy he wasn't great but i think that after a few years of practise he improved.he gives it the prince touch.i'll give you a few examples of very nice whammy work by prince. Bambi 2011 melkweg live-great mastery,empty room-montreux 2009,shhh hong kong rocks 2003

I can't comment on the examples you sited since I haven't viewed them. IMO there still isn't much finesse in his use of the bar in any of the clips I've seen. It's still of the wobble, dump, mangle it strangle it variety. If that's the way he likes to use/abuse it fine. His prerogative. It's just doesn't sound musical to my ear.

This extends to any guitarist I've heard that tend to use the vibrato bar as a noisemaker. I do understand its value purely as an effect though. However,I think the most musical use of the bar is when it's subtle and doesn't draw to much attention to itself. Ray Gomez, Allan Holdsworth and Scott Henderson come to mind as tasteful bar users.

To answer the question about whether or not the Hohner/Telecaster is a good soloing instrument, I say heck yeah! Generally I think that guitars with single coil pickups let more of the players personality come through. Telecasters with their rawer tone can be pretty unforgiving if your technique isn't on point. It seems Prince likes them for the clean and overdriven tones and the other guitars with the active EMG pickups (Clouds, Strats etc.) for the high gain lead playing.

You are so right about the tele being unforgiving if your playin' isn't on point

jilljones said:

SPYZFAN1 said:

The Hohner will always be my favorite P guitar. Those clips of him from 80 to 85 show him wrecking shop on that guitar. When everyone else was using Floyds and Kahlers he was using

his own natural vibrato.

The tone on that guitar was raw and sharp. That's one of the things I like about Tele's. It's a hunk of wood and metal and you have to find the music in it.

I don't mind him going to Strats but I wish he would take the Floyd off.

Those strats he plays are just bastards. the floyd roses, the emg humbuckers...they're strats in name only.

I think P just digs the idea of playing a strat right now, something 'off the rack'. it'd be interesting to ponder whether putting down the cloud and symbol guitars has something to do with his deeper turn into his religion the past few years. just like his clothes got less flamboyant, so too did his guitars...I wonder if there's a connection...

....but if I continued the analogy, he still wears a ton of makeup, high heels and loads of jewelry, and I can't imagine the witnesses are too happy about that... and those strats are just clouds in disguise...so maybe ppl don't really change??

Yep he likes his 80's/90's Strat setups alright. I don't like his use of the whammy. It's cheap and dull and pub band at best. Leave it to Beck to do it properly. I'm also not keen on the pickups he uses on his Strats. Bit like Boss pedals really. Not very boutique. And yes I know his purported reasons for using the gear he does.

But Strats do look nice and are comfy. Go well with his suits aswell. I like his funky Hohner though. Lots of drive but turned back on the guitar. Tasty.

I think he'd do well with a Flying V. It's a great guitar and would suit some of his playing.

I'm never too keen on his acoustics. They all sound rather artificial. Perhaps it's his technique? Two very different disciplines. As I'm sure, as a world class guitarist, he knows

Prince use whammy to add new textures to his sound,he's still

doing plenty of finger vibrato so what's the fuss?

Whammy is cool and Prince give it a "Prince touch"

breese said:

I don't think Strats suit him at all. They look big on him (I'm a smaller guy myself) and the Floyd Rose seems to dictate the way he plays, when it should be the other way around. In fact I don't think Floyds are all that condusive to making great music, with some exceptions. Warren DeMartini (Ratt) comes to mind for some reason. Steve Vai is a great example of how to ruin your music with a Floyd Rose.

Im a big fan of Ratt and Warren DeMartini