Strat, fender, cloud, symbol???

Help me out: What is the difference between how these guitars sound and look(What do tthey do)?
Are the symbol and the cloud guitars the same sounding?
What about that crazy sharp angled one he used in '88-'90?
Guitar Gods where are you at?

Um, I SHO nuff ain't no Guitar God, but...

There's no real difference in the sound of the guitars...I mean ever guitar sounds slightly different I would think, but they are all standard guitars....of the highest quality, no doubt.

The cloud has been around since 84 (earlier, anyone?) - at least since Apples bought him the purty white one in the Purple Rain movie...later he had different colored cloud guitars, such as The Blue Angel (ahem, I'm rather partial to this one) which gets a shout-out in the extended Eye Wish U Heaven (Pt. IIII) that is only available on vinyl. "Let me introduce you to my little friend...The Blue Angel!!" "Oh my god, is that your guitar?!!"

Ahhhhh.....

He had a yellow cloud for a while in the early 90's...I've always like the clouds more than the symbols, although I'll always have a warm spot in my heart and soul for Habibi, the purple symbol guitar. I touched that baby (and almost got kicked out of the concert for it, but still, I TOUCHED her!!) and I felt the glory. Hehe, I'm sorta being silly but then again, not so much.

I think that he gave up the Auerswald guitar (the sharply angular axe) because it has a notoriously high action. I haven't played one, but I'm told that they are a bitch. The sustain is supposed to be the selling point.

Many of the Cloud guitars were re-painted over other colors, to satisfy his whims. Same with the Symbol gits.

He's particular to humbucker and single-coil EMG pick-ups and set bridges on the Cloud and Symbols for that "Rock-Star" sound (Purple Rain, The Cross etc).

The Hohner is his funk/rhythm side-arm. It has that bright chickengrease tone.

I haven't a clue what set-up the Fender Strat has. I think he likes the color...

I'm not a guitar god, but I play one on local-access cable TV...


There are huge differences between the Clouds, Symbols, Hohner and Strat. (I'm not too familiar with the Auerswald, but i always dug the design.)

The Clouds are great for anthemic, stadium rock (so, it's no surprise to see Prince use them so often for just that). Their pickups and construction are great for cutting through mixes clearly, fast "shredding" or soloing, and they produce IMHO the best tone he's ever had.

The Hohner's great for that deep funky rhytm playing. I can't see Prince breaking it down on Aladdin's "1+1+1=3" with any other axe. It has that dirty tone that cheap guitars produce so well. It's Uptown, to me.

The Symbol/Habibi guitars are my least favorite. Their tone is just junk, pure and simple. As processed as Prince's guitar signal normally is, the guitar seems totally unable to produce a clear sound. It always sounds phlegmatic to me. (Gross, huh?) As an ego piece, it succeeds. As a great guitar? It stinks.

The Strat that Prince has been playing lately seems like a low-priced one. I seem to recall that finish coming with fairly low-priced Strats (yes, I'm a Stratoholic). I was surprised to see him playing one, given his penchant for Gibson-styled necks. But, hey, he plays Teles, too. Wonder if he's been listening to Hendrix, Gilmour, SRV and other Strat-wielding legends, and just wanted to come closer to a legendary sound. I'd like to hear him play it, see what he does.

theblueangel said:

The line is from Part III and was also released on CD single - I bought a copy on the day it was released.

The Hohner gives the great, raw Funk-riffs ...
every great funk-jam he played ... that's the Hohner.

He played the Hohner from 1980 'till 1985 .....
Since 1985 he played it occasionally ....
In 1984 the white Purple Rain guitar was introduced:
Every clean and slow (probably played one-handed) guitar solo .... that's one of those stupid-shaped guitars.

langebleu said:

Are you two different people or are you just talking to yourself ?

i touched one of the cloud guitars at the shop in london.£3000!they`re my favourite.the lovesexy live concerts are the best sound he`s had,imo.the cross on lovesexy live.....aahhhh

ThreadBare said:

You too?
[This message was edited Thu Mar 4 9:24:35 2004 by BlaqueKnight]

theblueangel said:

This is the coolest guitar he had. It was featured on the greatest tour ever... Lovesexy.

Prince knew he had something special in his hands with that one... to this day it is the only guitar he named.

LovesexyIsTheOne said:

[geek mode]what about habibi?[/geek mode]

Try this thread

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

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I stand corrected. But you have to admit that sounds stupid compared to "the Blue Angel."

BlaqueKnight said:

Yup, a '99 Fender American Standard (natural ash-maple neck), a 2003 Deluxe Super Strat (sunburst), and a Hondo Strat copy (black). Varying degrees of mushiness in their neck positions. The Hondo is the closest thing I have to that cheap Hohner sound, though the DSP can get Tele sounds when its button is depressed. It's my fave.