For years, Prince fans have been able to buy a replica of his Cloud Guitar from the Purple Rain movie only at Paisley Park. Now, his estate has authorized the sale of them from his webstore.

Manufactured by Schecter, the Cloud Guitar is available in white and blue, with a price of $1,750. They feature gold hardware, a maple neck, EMG pickups with the Love Symbol used as inlays. The guitar is housed in a purple hard case surrounded by plush purple interior.

According to a press release, the design was inspired by a hand-carved, one-of-a-kind bass that Prince bought for Andre Cymone in San Rafael, Calif., in the late '70s, and was soon spotted in the video for "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" In 1983, Prince asked Minneapolis luthier Dave Rusan from Knut Koupee Music to make a guitar version of it to be featured in Purple Rain as The Kid's dream instrument. Rusan made four, including the one that was represented on the cover of Around the World in a Day and another that was given away by Warner Bros. in a contest.

Over the years, Prince had other versions of the Cloud Guitar made, and eventually asked Schecter to repair his and make new ones. They were first sold beginning with the HitnRun tour.

“It’s so much more than just part of a costume," Rusan told Premier Guitar. "It’s a means of expression, power, identity, you name it. And honestly, I didn’t know how it was going to be portrayed in the movie, because we didn’t have any hints of a plot line or the script or anything. But when I first saw it, I remember thinking, ‘Oh wow—there it is!’ I was quite surprised.”

image-1
loading...
image-2
loading...
image-3
loading...

 

Prince Albums Ranked

More From Ultimate Prince