What basses did Prince use?
Prince was a known multi-instrumentalist who played the bass live and in the studio as well as the guitar. Although there isn’t a single bass as iconic as the Hohner HG-490 “Mad Cat” or Cloud Guitar, there are a few key instruments he played throughout his career.
On his earliest records he used an Orr Bass and the Sardonyx. The Sardonyx was the inspiration for the Dave Rusan Cloud Guitar.
In the early 1980s, Prince started using the Fender Jazz in the studio (as well as a hired Fender Precision). In the mid 1980s, the Alembic Spoiler became Prince’s preferred studio bass, and also played this bass live. Later in the 1980s, Prince played an Auerswald Cleo and Guild SB 604 Pilot.
In the 1990s, Prince began a long association with Warwick basses. A white Warwick Thumb with a custom eye design was his preferred bass live and in the studio, and he may have continued using this bass well into the 2010s. In the late 1990s, Prince played a custom Lakland 44-94 live.
In the 2000s, Prince switched back to Fender Jazz basses. He had four of these basses in his collection, with one being his preferred studio bass during this period.
Prince had a tendency to keep hold of his instruments and there is currently a collection of around twenty basses at Paisley Park. Prince would often buy instruments for the way they looked, and there are many basses in the collection that were never played live or in the studio.