Auerswald Symbol Guitar

The Auerswald Symbol Guitar is an electric guitar used by Prince in the mid-1990s. It was built for Prince by the luthier Jerry Auerswald, who also made the Model C guitar and Cleo bass. It resembles the symbol that Prince changed his name to and was introduced around the same time as the name change. The guitar is made of maple. It has a locking bridge and tremolo system, active single coil and humbucker EMG pickups and single volume and tone controls. It also has heart shaped tuners and a custom bridge[1] .

The original Symbol guitar was gold, and appears in the Endorphinmachine and Gold videos. Prince later used a black Symbol guitar in the I Hate U video and for promoting the Chaos and Disorder album. It appears in the Same December video the Today Show Summer Concert TV appearance. Later that year, Prince used a white copy of the Symbol guitar for promoting Emancipation. A purple copy was also made[2] .

There was a purple model built by Schecter named the "Habibe", also used by Prince. Due to the shape and construction of the symbol guitar, and Prince's habit of throwing his guitars in the air, only the original gold model survives. It is in the collection at Paisley Park and appears in the Prince - Guitar & Bass book.