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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Prince. Every item links to its public source.
23 items · Last checked

What's in Prince's studio?

Prince was seen playing a Hohner Telecaster copy, the white Cloud guitar and a Fender Jazz Bass through Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ heads and Boss pedals. In the studio he was seen using a Linn LM-1 drum machine, an Oberheim OB-Xa, a Yamaha DX7, a Roland D-50 and a Roland JD-800.

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What gear Prince uses: a sourced gear guide

Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.

Guitars

4 items

Bass

1 item

Amps

3 items

Pedals

6 items

Studio

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Questions

About Prince's gear.

What guitar did Prince play?

Mixdown names a Japanese Hohner Telecaster copy, often called the Madcat, as one of his main guitars throughout his career, and the white Cloud guitar built by Dave Rusan at Knut-Koupee for Purple Rain.

What amp did Prince use?

Mixdown reports he owned three Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ heads around Purple Rain and toured with them up to the 1999 tour, paired with Mesa 4x12 or slanted Marshall 4x12 cabinets.

What pedals did Prince use?

Mixdown lists Boss DS-1, BF-2 Flanger, OC-2 Octave, DD-3 Digital Delay and VB-2 Vibrato pedals, plus a Dunlop Cry Baby wah, on Purple Rain.

What drum machine did Prince use?

MusicRadar says the Linn LM-1 is all over 1999 and Purple Rain, including the intro to When Doves Cry. He retuned its sounds and played it by hand.

What synth did Prince use?

He was seen with Oberheim OB-series synths including the OB-Xa, a Yamaha DX7 on Purple Rain, the Roland D-50 on Lovesexy and Batman, and a Roland JD-800 as his main studio keyboard for much of the 1990s.

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About this guide · Last checked

Prince (1958 to 2016) wrote, produced and played most of the instruments on 1999, Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times. This legacy guide covers his guitars, amps and Boss pedals, plus the Linn LM-1 drum machine and Oberheim, Yamaha and Roland synths behind his records, from Mixdown and MusicRadar gear features.

truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Prince didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.

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truerecs gear guides are independent research from public sources, not made or approved by the artist. Store buttons on this page may be affiliate links: truerecs may earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Prince isn't paid for them. Report an error or ask for removal. Full disclosure.