Not only did Prince play the guitar onstage and backstage, but the guitar itself was a prominent part of testing because it was a prototype for the Schecter range he had commissioned for general sale.
This guitar was assigned an in-house PRN MUSIC CORP serial number of PM 16231 which is clearly labelled and displayed on the inside cavity cover on the back of the guitar.
Since Prince ordered the prototype and the guitar was not for general sale, it did not contain the stamped Schecter serial number below the ‘Diamond Series’ logo on the headstock. The guitar is instead entered into the PRN MUSIC CORP inventory, making the guitar truly one of a kind.
The guitar has a yellow finish while boasting symbol inlays which are said to have been one of Prince’s favourite combinations for the cloud.
The auction includes the hard flight case with a soft purple lining.
Please note: The flight case did not belong to Prince, and its purpose is for safe storage.
The guitar comes with a signed letter of provenance from the consignor who acquired the guitar from a previous employee of Prince.
Per the employee, “I worked for Prince as a guitar technician for a little over a year and a half. Around this time he was commissioning the line of ‘Manufactured exclusively for NPG’ Schecter range. This guitar was one sent to Prince for testing and approval. You will notice with this being a prototype for testing that it does not have the ‘Manufactured for NPG or Schecter serial number’ on the headstock. Instead, this was assigned an official ‘PRN Music Corp’ serial number of 16231 which sits inside the battery panel. I witnessed Prince testing the guitar on several occasions and during rehearsals for two separate in house shows. I would set this guitar up for Prince during those times among several other guitars. His approval was eventually given for the NPG line after some adjustments were made. Although Prince was very demanding, he was great to work for, incredible to see in action and very generous. At the end of my time with him, he allowed me to keep 16231 and since then the only change that was made to the guitar was replacing the Seymour Duncan pickups to the preference of EMG and I purchased my own flight case to store it in, however, it has remained unplayed and in storage since my time with Prince”.
The original owner was involved with assisting in productions and testing for over 18 months and witnessed the guitar’s usage on several occasions with testing, rehearsals and live in-house performances—an incredible piece of Prince history.
Gotta Have Rock and Roll values authenticity, and if more than the original purveyor’s story is needed, the guitar also comes with a Gotta Have Rock and Roll Certificate of Authenticity.
Hurry here to bid!