rogifan said:

I’ve never been a fan of the sound of the symbol guitars. I absolutely love the Super Bowl performance and get the effect of using that guitar with the lit up white sheet but I thought the sound was crap. Anyone else agree?

I'm sure that's one reason why it was used - maybe the main reason. I'd be surprised if Prince hadn't tested the look with all kinds of guitars, and decided the symbol guitar worked best for that effect.

The cloud may have been identifiable if it had been used, but I don't think the Hohner or any other standard-shaped axe would have been as dramatic.

I think he made the right decision. And I didn't think the sound was crap. You want to hear crap at a Super Bowl? Listen to this:

RodeoSchro said:

rogifan said:

RodeoSchro said:

I'm sure that's one reason why it was used - maybe the main reason. I'd be surprised if Prince hadn't tested the look with all kinds of guitars, and decided the symbol guitar worked best for that effect.

The cloud may have been identifiable if it had been used, but I don't think the Hohner or any other standard-shaped axe would have been as dramatic.

I think he made the right decision. And I didn't think the sound was crap. You want to hear crap at a Super Bowl? Listen to this:

Ha, I think the Stones were worse.

LOL, well I'll have to take your word for it. Because if they were worse than THAT, my ears will bleed if I ever heard it. Yikes, poor Roger Daltery. He could not hit a note higher than low C, or whatever. Ouch.

It was legendary....across the board. Change nothing.

I imagine the crunchy sound was what he was going for..But at times, I am not a big fan of that sound. At times, like during his Santana medley from the early 90's, I love the sound. Overall, though, not my favorite guitar of his.

DarkKnight1 said:

It was legendary....across the board. Change nothing.

1,000% co-sign

mynameisnotsusan said:

RodeoSchro said:

Most of P's guitars have the same EMG pickups (except for Hohner), and they really do make every guitar sound similar, in good and bad. I personally love them for their reliability. The difference in tone is more likely is due to amp and/or pedal settings. To me his Super Bowl performance tone sounds like he's got both Boss BD-2 Blues Driver and DS-2 Turbo Distortion on at the same time, his usual setup.

[Edited 8/1/18 17:13pm]

DarkKnight1 said:

It was legendary....across the board. Change nothing.

Agreed!

rogifan said:

RodeoSchro said:

LOL, well I'll have to take your word for it. Because if they were worse than THAT, my ears will bleed if I ever heard it. Yikes, poor Roger Daltery. He could not hit a note higher than low C, or whatever. Ouch.

Not the best video quality but gives you an idea how bad it was.

Not going to listen, can't make me listen, I'd better not listen!

rogifan said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

In general I'm not a fan of the sound of the symbol guitar but I don't think playing in the pouring rain did much for his guitar sound either - but it was the right guitar for the occasion.

True. Though like you I’ve never liked the sound of the symbol guitar. And in this particular performance it sounded out of tune.

Wonder did the rain have something to do to what you (we) were hearing?

How about the (supposedly not great) sound came from Prince playing in a rainstorm?

"Can U make it rain harder?"

Our Hero.

That said, it's just because you're no fan of fuzz pedals turned to 11.
Well, it was a stadium. A big one. He had to play it heavy metal style.
Check out this short documentary on the performance.

I mean imagine playing with someone squirting a bottle on your neck all along.
Damn right slippery when wet.

Our Hero.

[Edited 8/2/18 13:37pm]

Yeah, I thought if was Excellent for it to be raining!

I loved his performance just the way it was, wouldn't change a thing! .....The only thing that worried me was him playing an electric guitar in all the rain.

[Edited 8/2/18 20:10pm]

I would have never noticed something like, I was too caught up in the overall performance. But now that you've mentioned it I might have to take a minute and check that out, just because.

I mean it's raining HARD.
It's miraculous nothing bad happened.

Watch a replay of the performance again and you'll notice that for most of Purple Rain his guitar sound went south on him. He played it off really well, but I"m certain that he had some major tech issues with it at the end.

jmfd said:

rogifan said:

jmfd said:

Watch a replay of the performance again and you'll notice that for most of Purple Rain his guitar sound went south on him. He played it off really well, but I"m certain that he had some major tech issues with it at the end.

That’s certainly possible. Though I’m glad he stopped using the symbol guitar. Never liked it. I liked the Fenders better than the cloud guitar too.

Same here. Tbh I'm surprised the estate hasn't teamed up with Fender to release a signature strat in daphne blue with a floyd rose and EMGs.

Nope!

I'm just glad he didn't get electrocuted. maybe he knew why he used the one he did.

In the video it states he used 4 different guitars?

Watching him in that performance, knowing so much more of his backstory...that sadness is back. I thought I'd put it away. But no.

Stunnning performance.

deerpath said:

In the video it states he used 4 different guitars?

Watching him in that performance, knowing so much more of his backstory...that sadness is back. I thought I'd put it away. But no.

Stunnning performance.

I'm only counting 3 guitars. Maybe the guy means the orange cloud that was left unplayed?