Prince's iconic custom-made Sadowsky T-type electric guitar – which saw action during the Parade tour in 1986 – is expected to sell for up to $400,000 at auction.
Julien's upcoming “Played, Worn, and Torn II” event will take place at Nashville's Musician’s Hall of Fame later this month, and Prince's all-purple Sadowsky build is set to be one of the highlight lots.
Renowned luthier Roger Sadowsky launched his namesake brand in 1979 and would go on to build guitars for Prince, Jason Newsted and Paul Simon, among others. In 1985, he pieced together this striking Tele-styled guitar to commemorate the end of Prince's Purple Rain tour that year.
Its metallic purple finish is decorated with floral artwork created by reggae artist Wayne Jarrett. After making its way to Prince, the guitar later featured in the music video for America, and was used onstage during the 1986 Parade tour.
The 25.5" scale length guitar with serial number #179 is one of six Sadowsky Telecaster builds for Prince, each of which were based on the Hohner “MadCat” he had become synonymous with.
Two were straight-up MadCat copies; two featured copper tubing that, erm, ran up the neck to spew out soapy liquid; and the final two were pink and purple floral creations.
The eye-catching instrument pairs an alder body with a maple neck, with its 24-fret fingerboard flashing some floral cosmetic flourishes. Jarrett has also signed and dated his artwork on the guitar's lower bout.
Specs include Gotoh sealed tuners, a chrome DiMarzio hardtail bridge, and a graphite nut. There's also a cavity in the guitar's rear carved out to house Prince's wireless guitar system that was routed into the guitar before it was finished.
Sadowsky had originally wired a pair of Seymour Duncan vintage-style staggered pole Stratocaster pickups into the guitar. However, its bridge pickup was later swapped for a Hot Rail single-coil, with Julien’s theorizing the move was made to help the guitar go toe-to-toe with the boosted output of his EMG-equipped Cloud guitars.
Prince’s yellow Cloud 3 guitar had sold for less than $10,000 in 2005, but its second trip to the auction block earlier this year saw it raise $900,000 and smash world records.
This purple axe isn’t expected to go for quite as much, but has still been estimated to fetch upwards of $400,000.
“Out of all six guitars Sadowsky made for Prince, the purple floral one saw the most use, and is the same guitar featured on the cover of Duane Tudahl's book,” says Prince guitar historian John Woodland.
The latest Julien’s event takes place on November 20 and 21, with plenty of interesting items on offer. John Lennon's Futurama guitar, which played a key role in the Beatles' early history, and a special Canadian-flag emblazoned Van Halen guitar are also set to go under the hammer.
Head to Julien’s Auctions to peruse the full collection.
