Menu
Suede·Social·Issue No. 20
Tone recipes·2026 · JUL
Rock1984

01Prince

Purple Rain

The outro solo tone — singing, slightly compressed Hohner Telecaster-style guitar into a Mesa Boogie Mark IIB pushed hard, with substantial reverb and a touch of chorus. The tone has a sharp pick attack but blooms into singing sustain. Lots of bends finishing on flat notes for emotional ambiguity. Prince used the volume knob heavily for swells — clean for verses, full burn for the climax. Solo tone is bright but not thin, with a presence that sits above the band.

02Signal chain

Guitar to amp, 2 pedals between.

  1. In
    Guitar

    Hohner H.G.490 Madcat (Tele-style)

  2. 01
    Light chorus throughout the solo
    Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble

    Chorus mode, Rate: 9 o'clock, Depth: 1 o'clock

  3. 02
    Quarter-note delay for solo bloom
    Boss DD-2 Digital Delay

    Time: ~400ms, Feedback: 30%, Mix: 25%

  4. Out
    Amp

    Mesa Boogie Mark IIB

03Field note

The secret sauce

Prince played with his fingers as often as a pick — including on the Purple Rain solo. The flesh-on-string attack is part of why the lead tone never sounds harsh, even when the amp is screaming.