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The Gear
“Prince’s
instruments
reflect his
personality
and stage
presence.”
Given that Prince had a career spanning over three decades, the list of gear he has used
is surprisingly short; he seemed to have his mainstays but there has been some rotation
throughout the years. His philosophy was that everyone should find their own tone, so
he didn’t go out of his way to be forthcoming with his rig contents. There is some info
out there but it’s not exactly easy to track down, and the timeline is somewhat confusing
unless you saw him live many ti mes throughout his career.
AMPLFIERS
One brand that seemed to have made an impression on him is Mesa/Boogie—he had
been seen playing several models of Mesa/Boogie amplifiers throughout the years such
as the Heartbreaker, Nomad, and Lonestar as well as a Strategy 500 power amp paired
with a Soldano/Caswell preamp. These Mesa heads were usually paired with either Mesa
Recto 4x12 cabs or Marshall 4x12 cabs loaded with Vintage 30s. Earlier in his career, there
is evidence to suggest he was playing through Soldano SLO-100 heads and he had also
been seen playing Orange AD140HTC heads with Orange 4x12 cabinets. He had also
been known to play through Peavey 5150 4x12’s loaded with Electro-Voice speakers.
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TONE TALK //
Dreaming in Paisley: The Royal Gear of Prince Rogers Nelson