See the Purple Special, the Last Guitar Made for Prince

The last guitar ever made for Prince, who died one year ago today (April 21, 2016) at age 57, was a custom job crafted by Simon "Gus" Farmer of the U.K.'s Gus Guitars.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.

Latest

Joni Mitchell performs on stage accompanied by bassist husband Larry Klein, at Wembley Arena on April 23rd, 1983 in London, United Kingdom.

“Jaco was Joni’s liberator, but she wanted the bass to play a greater part in holding down the groove”: Larry Klein on how he handled the challenge of replacing Jaco Pastorius in Joni Mitchell’s band

See more latest ►

“My first real gig with The Band was in front of 25,000 people and we had no real rehearsal… We just flew out to Dallas and opened for Crosby, Stills & Nash”: Jim Weider on replacing Robbie Robertson – and the ’52 Tele he got while working at a car wash

“$499 is incredibly high value for a guitar you can go and buy, and go and gig it. And that’s what I want: it’s not a toy”: PRS’ Jack Higginbotham reflects on the history of the SE line

“Tom Morello ended up flying to Seattle and doing the vocals with Layne Staley. Tom came back and was like, ‘He’s in really bad shape. It’s scary’”: Martyn LeNoble on a career spent working with alt rock icons – and the kindness of John Entwistle

“I was a Brian May obsessive. I had the Star Licks video and had learned it all by the time I was 14”: Hooked on “bombastic lead rock guitar” before catching the songwriting bug, Seb Wesson is on a search for songs with meaning

“My friend talked to Joe Walsh and gave him my number. Awhile later, I got a message: ‘Adam Jones, this is the Talk Box fairy. Give me a call’”: Tool's Adam Jones on taking cues from Meshuggah, unorthodox pedals, and the trick he learned from Robert Fripp

“Verböten played right across the street from Wrigley Field. Dave Grohl came with his sister when he was 13 and saw us play”: Jason Narducy on inspiring Dave Grohl, getting R.E.M. cover tips from Peter Buck – and being Bob Mould’s bassist

“I love driving people crazy. They come and say, ‘How did you do that? I’ve been working for months trying to get that.’ And I say, ‘It’s just a pedal!’” A guide to the untapped guitar playing of David Gilmour’s solo albums

“My custom-made classical guitar with the synth module was stolen while we were on tour. I got it back thanks to some people who worked with Joe Bonamassa”: Steve Morse on gear-buying, his ‘FrankenTele’ and why he needs four pickups – no more, no less

“Was that open-string a mistake or pure brilliance? Who cares? It’s a masterpiece”: Did bass maestro Willie Weeks miss a note on this Donny Hathaway classic?

“Jimi Hendrix was my superhero, and so I threw a bit of his style into the bassline”: How a young Bootsy Collins took the James Brown bass chair to its busiest level on this Bootsy-fied recut from 1970’s Sex Machine

“Lots of what I play, I wouldn't know how to describe it… I’m following my nose all the time. It’s a process of instinct and desire”: Meet Lazy Day’s Tilly Scantlebury – the UK guitarist-producer summoning sparkling indie tones from secondhand setups

Get The Pick Newsletter

Most Popular