Purple Rain
Prince
Singing, overdriven lead over chorus-washed chords.
What is the Purple Rain guitar tone?
The Purple Rain guitar tone is singing, overdriven lead over chorus-washed chords, heard on Prince's 1980s rock ballad recording. It is a distorted solo tone, and Prince reportedly tracked it with a maple Hohner Mad Cat, a Telecaster copy, through a Boss DS-1 into a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB with the bass rolled off and the presence up, over Wendy Melvoin's chorus-washed Rickenbacker 330 chords, cut live at First Avenue in Minneapolis on 3 August 1983 with strings added later; the Mark IIC+ Prince is also linked with came after it, on the 1984 tour. A ballad lead has to sing over a slow band, so it needs sustain from a drive pedal or a pushed amp and room around the notes, with the mids kept in so it cuts without getting louder.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Purple Rain amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 5.5, Bass 4, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 4, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut.
- Gain 5.5
- Bass 4
- Middle 7
- Treble 6
- Presence 6
- Reverb 4
- Signal chain
- Boss DS-1, used lightly → Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB
- The control that matters most
- The amp's EQ rather than its gain. MusicRadar describes the solo as a Boss DS-1 into a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB with the bass rolled off and the presence increased, and Guitar.com calls the DS-1 a light application, so keep the drive moderate, cut the bass, lift the presence and let the chorus-washed chords underneath carry the width.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
What gear did Prince use on Purple Rain?
A maple Hohner Mad Cat, a Telecaster copy, through a Boss DS-1 into a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB with the bass rolled off and the presence up, over Wendy Melvoin's chorus-washed Rickenbacker 330 chords, cut live at First Avenue in Minneapolis on 3 August 1983 with strings added later; the Mark IIC+ Prince is also linked with came after it, on the 1984 tour.
Sources: Guitar.com: the genius of Purple Rain, MusicRadar: how Prince played the Purple Rain solo, Guitar.com: the guitars Prince used on Purple Rain, Wikipedia: Purple Rain (song), Wikipedia: Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Purple Rain tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Purple Rain
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Purple Rain tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Purple Rain?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 5.5, Bass 4, Middle 7, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 4, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same singing, overdriven lead over chorus-washed chords from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Purple Rain tone?
The amp's EQ rather than its gain. MusicRadar describes the solo as a Boss DS-1 into a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB with the bass rolled off and the presence increased, and Guitar.com calls the DS-1 a light application, so keep the drive moderate, cut the bass, lift the presence and let the chorus-washed chords underneath carry the width.
Can you get the Purple Rain tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with a maple Hohner Mad Cat, a Telecaster copy, through a Boss DS-1 into a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB with the bass rolled off and the presence up, over Wendy Melvoin's chorus-washed Rickenbacker 330 chords, cut live at First Avenue in Minneapolis on 3 August 1983 with strings added later; the Mark IIC+ Prince is also linked with came after it, on the 1984 tour, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Purple Rain a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a solo part with a distorted character, from Prince's 1980s rock ballad catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
Guides for this sound
Boss DS-1 settings from Nirvana to metalBoss DS-1 starting settings for grunge, punk, rock leads and metal, what the Tone knob really does in BOSS's own words, and what is known about Kurt Cobain's.
Which amps and guitars recorded the most famous guitar tones?We coded the sourced rig behind 98 famous recordings. Marshall is named on 34, the amp is uncertain on 34, and only 8 have published knob settings.
