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Prince - Purple Rain - Guitar Tab

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Prince - Purple Rain guitar tab video
Guillaume Vrac
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Prince Pop

About Purple Rain

Few guitar solos in popular music ask quite so much of your feel and restraint as the one at the heart of "Purple Rain." Prince built the song around a slow, gospel-tinged swell in E Standard at 114 BPM, and that moderate tempo is deceptively demanding: every note in the solo has room to breathe, which means any hesitation in your vibrato or bending technique is fully exposed. The chord progression underneath is straightforward, but getting the right weight behind each strum, slightly behind the beat and full of conviction, is where most players need the most work. The solo itself climbs through a series of sustained bends and wide vibrato phrases, so if your finger strength or pitch control on bends is not yet solid, use the Practice Toolbar to loop those phrases slowed down until each bend lands exactly in tune. This sits comfortably in the Hard Rock tradition of the emotive, singing lead, but the softness Prince wrings from the electric guitar here is the real lesson.

  • The solo relies heavily on wide vibrato and sustained string bends, so accurate intonation on those bends is the central technique to develop.
  • The song is in E Standard tuning at 114 BPM, giving a slow, hymn-like feel that demands control over dynamics and note length.
  • Practise the solo phrases in isolation using the Practice Toolbar slowed down, focusing on matching Prince's pitch-perfect bends before building back to full speed.

How to Play Purple Rain

Tuning: E Standard · Tempo: 114 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 114 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Prince used Stratocasters for versatile lead and rhythm work, leveraging their smooth contours and tonal flexibility across funk, rock, and soul contexts. The instrument's natural sustain complemented his expressive vibrato technique and dynamic playing style.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

The Telecaster's bright, snappy single-coil tone defined Prince's clean funk rhythm work, especially through his signature Hohner Madcat model. This cutting edge made his rhythm stabs punchy and present, grounding his funkiest grooves with crystalline definition.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Prince paired the Twin Reverb's headroom and natural sparkle with his Telecaster-style guitars for pristine clean funk tones that never muddied. The amp's legendary reverb provided subtle space without sacrificing the tight, immediate feel he demanded.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Prince wielded the Cry Baby as both a dynamic filter sweep and a static tonal colorizer, using it to add vocal-like expression to his lead passages. His technique of parking the wah at specific frequencies became a signature textural tool throughout his catalog.

Boss DS-1 Distortion
Pedal

Boss DS-1 Distortion

The DS-1's thick, controlled distortion pushed Prince's Mesa/Boogie amps into heavier territory while maintaining note definition, crucial for the raw crunch on tracks like 'Let's Go Crazy'. This pedal delivered sustain-heavy aggression without sacrificing clarity.

Boss BF-2 Flanger
Pedal

Boss BF-2 Flanger

Prince's BF-2 Flanger created the swirling psychedelic textures that added dimension to his cleaner passages and rhythm work. This effect demonstrated his willingness to layer sonic complexity while keeping his core tone grounded and immediate.

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