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Purple Rain Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Prince & The Revolution
Prince & The Revolution · 1980s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
Rickenbacker (sealed body, G&L pickups, custom-modded for sustain and feedback resistance)
Pickups
G&L single-coil pickups (custom installed in Rickenbacker)
Amp
Mesa/Boogie Mark I
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 1984. Wendy Melvoin played the riff on a sealed Rickenbacker with G&L pickups into a Boss CE-1 chorus and Mesa/Boogie Mark I amp. This is the original studio setup, not live or modern recreations.
Amp Settings
Mids7
Bass6
Gain4.5
Reverb4
Treble7
Presence6
Effects Chain
- Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble · chorus
Rickenbacker (G&L pickups) → Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble → Mesa/Boogie Mark I (with spring reverb)
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Tone Character
- bright and articulate
- chiming, lush modulation
- clear note separation
- touch-sensitive dynamics
- snappy attack
- light and airy
- subtle breakup at higher picking intensity
- studio clarity
- chorus shimmer
- not heavily overdriven
Notes & Caveats
- No exact numeric amp settings for Purple Rain riff found in sources; settings estimated based on typical Mesa/Boogie Mark I clean/edge-of-breakup tones for 1980s pop/rock and Wendy Melvoin's description.
- Pedal settings for Boss CE-1 chorus not found; effect is confirmed by multiple sources and is clearly audible.
- Some sources mention Boss DM-2 Delay and other Boss pedals in Prince's general rig, but there is no evidence these were used on the original studio riff section—delay is not clearly audible in the riff.
- Guitar model is confirmed as a sealed Rickenbacker with G&L pickups, not the Hohner MadCat Tele used by Prince for solos/live.
- If more precise amp or pedal settings are found in future interviews or session notes, update accordingly.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Prince's 'Purple Rain' riff tone is classic edge-of-breakup with a smooth, singing sustain, likely from a Boss CE-2 chorus into a clean-to-crunchy solid-state or tube amp (often a Mesa/Boogie or Roland JC-120), with pronounced mids, balanced bass, and clear but not harsh treble. The reverb is lush but not overwhelming, matching the 80s ballad production.