I can find no other guitarist who makes his guitar sound different on every record he plays. Take

the songs he did with Eric Leeds to She's Always in My Hair to Alexa De Paris to Get Off to Gett Off to Let's Go Crazy to FixUrLifeUp to U Got the Look to the Question of U to the Scandalous Sex Suite.

I bought a guitar last year and it sounds cool but it sounds nothing like what P sounded like on any of his songs. Quite frustrating...

I imagine I'll get some pedals and see if that makes my guitar sound different but damn...

I guess P bought some guitar "racks" with loads of sounds on them. Guess I got to turn into a scientist and see what's out there in terms of sounds.

Any ideas guitarists out there on where to start?

I'll skip with the whole "tone is in the fingers" speech and I'll start with a question: what kind of guitar do you have? You can find articles one the specs of his guitars, but that's where the sound begins -- the wood type and the pickups. You can also find articles about the pedals he used (mostly Boss) along with diagrams.

the strings, the amps, and the effects changed over the years. that's what it was. all that "it's in the fingers" nonsense is mumbo jumbo

tab32792 said:

crimesofparis said:

tab32792 said:

the strings, the amps, and the effects changed over the years. that's what it was. all that "it's in the fingers" nonsense is mumbo jumbo

Fingers certainly aren't everything, but I've heard great guitarists makes beautiful sounds out of junky gear.

I disgree with both of you.

Prince always sounds like Prince because he's Prince.

He could play through anything and still have THAT sound.

You can copy his gear and get close but you ain't gonna ever have THAT sound.

Essential pedals:

Boss Flanger

Boss Chorus

Boss anything!

Good distortion pedal!

Digitech Whammy pedal

and

Any good delay.

That's gonna get ya in the ball park but you ain't gonna bat like Prince.

williamb610 said:

I can find no other guitarist who makes his guitar sound different on every record he plays. Take

the songs he did with Eric Leeds to She's Always in My Hair to Alexa De Paris to Get Off to Gett Off to Let's Go Crazy to FixUrLifeUp to U Got the Look to the Question of U to the Scandalous Sex Suite.

I bought a guitar last year and it sounds cool but it sounds nothing like what P sounded like on any of his songs. Quite frustrating...

I imagine I'll get some pedals and see if that makes my guitar sound different but damn...

I guess P bought some guitar "racks" with loads of sounds on them. Guess I got to turn into a scientist and see what's out there in terms of sounds.

Any ideas guitarists out there on where to start?

PS.

I had to MOD my bf-2 flanger to get it to have that Prince sound.

If you open it up, there are 3 trim pots.

The one by itself adjusts the Prince factor.

give it a quarter turn and see what it does.

I hit it like Prince did at various intervals during a song.

Just hit it on and off.

cool sounds

I dont agree about´every record´. In the 80s, his sound didnt change much (it was very unique, BTW). In the 90s, he changed the sound, compared to the 80s. And in the 2000s, he was experimenting a lot more with the whammy bar than before (loved it). With the 3rd Eye Girl project, he was more ´fuzzy´ and more into Hendrix, less Flanger and such.

[Edited 1/12/17 17:16pm]

GustavoRibas said:

I dont agree about´every record´. In the 80s, his sound didnt change much (it was very unique, BTW). In the 90s, he changed the sound, compared to the 80s. And in the 2000s, he was experimenting a lot more with the whammy bar than before (loved it). With the 3rd Eye Girl project, he was more ´fuzzy´ and more into Hendrix, less Flanger and such.

[Edited 1/12/17 17:16pm]

agreed!

eh, i mean obviously he was extremely good and talented and blessed but we're talking about tone. i didn't say you'll play like him. but as far as sound/tone, it's not "TOO" hard to duplicate. for his 84-89 tone: boss vibrato, boss flanger, boss delay, boss octave, boss overdrive, boss distortion, colorsound wah pedal and a mesa boogie amp; mark 2 or 3.

in the 90's up until 2006-7 he started using huge racks. by his death, it was a custom soldano head, mesa boogie cab and the same old boss pedals...on top of a crybaby wah, digitech whammy, and a line 6 modular pedal. i agree the complete package was his hands and talent. but as far as tone, if you play with the pedals and amp settings, you can get his tone. NOTE: HE ALWAYS PLAYED THRU THE CLEAN AMP CHANNEL AND LET THE PEDALS BE THE EFFECTS.

Thanks guys.

I have a Les Paul Epiphone. I have a Marshall DSL-40c combo amp. I guess I will buy some pedals and see if I can recreate some of his guitar sounds.

Peace and be wild!

williamb610 said:

crimesofparis said:

williamb610 said:

Thanks guys.

I have a Les Paul Epiphone. I have a Marshall DSL-40c combo amp. I guess I will buy some pedals and see if I can recreate some of his guitar sounds.

Peace and be wild!

Check used sites for those Boss pedals. They're tanks and have been around forever. And please don't pay big money for a DS-1. I've seen them used for $10. Does that Les Paul have Humbukers or p90s? Not sure either will be exactly right, but both have their upsides. Prince seemed to largely use single coils, at least in the 80s. They can be noisey, but they're FUN. Someone did make a point about pedal mods. Seeing how he mod'd his guitars, he probably did some experimenting with his pedals here and there, too. Have fun!

From Purple Rain forward he was using EMG pickups, which are noiseless.

85 in the Bridge

SA in the Neck

I believe the Tele's he had even had EMG's in them.

mothyham said:

crimesofparis said:

williamb610 said: Check used sites for those Boss pedals. They're tanks and have been around forever. And please don't pay big money for a DS-1. I've seen them used for $10. Does that Les Paul have Humbukers or p90s? Not sure either will be exactly right, but both have their upsides. Prince seemed to largely use single coils, at least in the 80s. They can be noisey, but they're FUN. Someone did make a point about pedal mods. Seeing how he mod'd his guitars, he probably did some experimenting with his pedals here and there, too. Have fun!

From Purple Rain forward he was using EMG pickups, which are noiseless.

85 in the Bridge

SA in the Neck

I believe the Tele's he had even had EMG's in them.

Thus "can be noisey" I think he might have been using Kinman pickups in the Madcat?

williamb610 said:

I can find no other guitarist who makes his guitar sound different on every record he plays. Take

the songs he did with Eric Leeds to She's Always in My Hair to Alexa De Paris to Get Off to Gett Off to Let's Go Crazy to FixUrLifeUp to U Got the Look to the Question of U to the Scandalous Sex Suite.

I bought a guitar last year and it sounds cool but it sounds nothing like what P sounded like on any of his songs. Quite frustrating...

I imagine I'll get some pedals and see if that makes my guitar sound different but damn...

I guess P bought some guitar "racks" with loads of sounds on them. Guess I got to turn into a scientist and see what's out there in terms of sounds.

Any ideas guitarists out there on where to start?

very interesting thread. I would love one of you guys to make a youtube channel to show what you have learned. I want to learn how to play guitar like Prince played. Thank you guy for showing what you have decoded from Prince's playing technigues so far. Please somebody post something on Youtube so I can get more of a visual. Thanks guys!!!!!

jaimestarr79 said:

williamb610 said:

I can find no other guitarist who makes his guitar sound different on every record he plays. Take

the songs he did with Eric Leeds to She's Always in My Hair to Alexa De Paris to Get Off to Gett Off to Let's Go Crazy to FixUrLifeUp to U Got the Look to the Question of U to the Scandalous Sex Suite.

I bought a guitar last year and it sounds cool but it sounds nothing like what P sounded like on any of his songs. Quite frustrating...

I imagine I'll get some pedals and see if that makes my guitar sound different but damn...

I guess P bought some guitar "racks" with loads of sounds on them. Guess I got to turn into a scientist and see what's out there in terms of sounds.

Any ideas guitarists out there on where to start?

very interesting thread. I would love one of you guys to make a youtube channel to show what you have learned. I want to learn how to play guitar like Prince played. Thank you guy for showing what you have decoded from Prince's playing technigues so far. Please somebody post something on Youtube so I can get more of a visual. Thanks guys!!!!!

this guy has Prince guitar tutorials and they are really good!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ8tdCax9ONXV2zdeNAyPVfA5YiowVFt0

crimesofparis said:

mothyham said:

From Purple Rain forward he was using EMG pickups, which are noiseless.

85 in the Bridge

SA in the Neck

I believe the Tele's he had even had EMG's in them.

Thus "can be noisey" I think he might have been using Kinman pickups in the Madcat?

Right-O on the kinman's. I couldn't recall the name.

Made in Australia I do believe.

mothyham said:

jaimestarr79 said:

very interesting thread. I would love one of you guys to make a youtube channel to show what you have learned. I want to learn how to play guitar like Prince played. Thank you guy for showing what you have decoded from Prince's playing technigues so far. Please somebody post something on Youtube so I can get more of a visual. Thanks guys!!!!!

this guy has Prince guitar tutorials and they are really good!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ8tdCax9ONXV2zdeNAyPVfA5YiowVFt0

Jason is the BEST. Nicest guy ever. Great, great, GREAT guitarist. This is the end-all be-all for how to play Prince songs.

And he takes requests!

Please tell him how much you appreciate what he does.

RodeoSchro said:

mothyham said:

this guy has Prince guitar tutorials and they are really good!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ8tdCax9ONXV2zdeNAyPVfA5YiowVFt0

Jason is the BEST. Nicest guy ever. Great, great, GREAT guitarist. This is the end-all be-all for how to play Prince songs.

And he takes requests!

Please tell him how much you appreciate what he does.

Yes!

he is a god among men.

williamb610 said:

LovePaisley said:

He first aped white rock guitarists, with a bit of Jimi. He started to get his own sound. He always liked a clean tone. He likes to make the thing sing. Later he started doing more fuzzy stuff. More tricks and sounds. Probably because of guys like VAi.

Never tried to sound like Prince, but I have the feeling that he ´closed´ the tone of his guitar, inspired by Santana, with more gain and modulation.

tab32792 said:

in the 90's up until 2006-7 he started using huge racks. by his death, it was a custom soldano head, mesa boogie cab and the same old boss pedals...on top of a crybaby wah, digitech whammy, and a line 6 modular pedal. i agree the complete package was his hands and talent. but as far as tone, if you play with the pedals and amp settings, you can get his tone. NOTE: HE ALWAYS PLAYED THRU THE CLEAN AMP CHANNEL AND LET THE PEDALS BE THE EFFECTS.

- I always wondered how he used the Turbo Distortion and Blues Driver? BD as a booster?

GustavoRibas said: