Morning everyone, and yes, I know Purple Rain by Prince is now inevitably stuck in your head… I apologise, but in case you were wondering, here’s what’s in store for this fabled synth.
The Yamaha DX7 synth used on Prince’s Purple Rain is now up for auction. You better believe it. It’s not the first bit of Prince memorabilia to be auctioned off either. His iconic Blue Angel cloud guitar recently fell under the hammer as well. Let’s take a closer look at this synth model and why Prince’s personal one was something extra special.
Prince’s Yamaha DX7 synth, used in the recordings of the Purple Rain album and its following tour, is now up for auction at RR Auction.
The Yamaha DX7 synth came to the music scene in 1983 and became one of the best selling synths of the time. This is because it was the first digital synthesiser to sound exceptionally great, spanning five octaves and also allowing players to name their patches. Its bright timbre and piercing sounds were quickly spotted by Prince, who became one of the first to popularise the synth. From there, the synth became a mainstay for that iconic ’80s pop music sound.
Prince’s synth is a little unique though. There is plenty of masking tape across the synth, bearing labels to help organise all the different tones. “Dope drum” and “The Shit LP” amongst others, are included. Nothing like some of Prince’s own handwriting to keep this thing entirely original. It’s estimated to go for a cool $25,000 and is currently sitting on $8,760. So, if your pockets are feeling heavy, and you wanna take this tasty bit of music history home, place a bid right here.
Up next: Watch Dave Grohl and St. Vincent cover Prince for a new tribute special.
